Our baby is 10 months old and quickly becoming, well, not a baby.
We are just two months away from his first birthday. I have already started planning a small joint party for him and Dannie. (It’s going to be so cute!!) Ok, I’m off topic. And this was a picture for Maddie’s school and the best picture we could get of all of us. 
Alex has started to actually crawl instead of army crawling. He also does this funny sideways scoot. It’s weird. But he is happy that he can get places more quickly. He is also working on standing and pulling up on things. Since Alex has learned to stand, he has started pulling up in his bed and only once kind of got himself stuck there and forgot how to sit down. He was so mad! But mostly he’s just happy with his new skill.
His favorite game is crawling all over me. Some days I just want to sit on the couch a minute and watch them play. But Alex does not like that game at all. He will sit at my feet and cry. Once he forgets why he is crying, I’ll go sit on the floor (because I don’t reward the kids for crying at me when they want things). Then I’m just a huge jungle gym and climbing (and eating) toy.
And if I am lucky, I’ll get a snuggle. But mostly it’s very short lived because this kid does not sit still unless he is sleeping. And he is still a great sleeper!!
With Alex being good and mobile, he has gotten himself into a couple funny places. Last night he crawled into a box. Then he put his head in another box and got stuck. It was hilarious! He also crawled under the jumper and I thought he was stuck. So I went to take a look. Nope. Happy as can be and crawled right out. Ha! Goofball!
Alex has been eating just about everything we eat at meals. He had grilled cheese and peaches last night and I think he thought he was in heaven. But, still no sign of teeth. That certainly hasn’t slowed him down eating at all. And if you put your finger in his mouth, you know he could chomp anything…ouch! He loves loves loves squeeze food. He sucks those things down faster than I think should be possible. And I got him a new straw cup and he loves being able to drink whenever he wants by himself.
He has also gotten really good at holding his own bottle. I mostly put him on the boppy to keep him in one place. If I am getting the girls’ breakfast ready, he can lay there and feed himself. It is so nice and I think he enjoys doing it. He seems quite proud of himself.
The girls are very in love with him. Maddie loves playing with him and sometimes has to be reminded to be a little more gentle with him. But she means well, she just thinks Alex is her own baby. Dannie loves to help him with things and bring him toys. Every once in a while I will get a rare, sweet moment when all three of them are playing together.
Alex loves playing with his friend, Brayden (who is 3 weeks younger than Alex). They are buddies. Brayden is such a teeny little guy. I about throw him in the air when I pick him up. They follow each other around looking for toys and snacks their sisters have dropped on the floor.
We took the kids to a park one weekend and they all love swinging. Alex giggled (and snorted) the whole time. He is also obsessed with sticking out his tongue these days. It’s the funniest thing.
We have been working on sign language and I have caught him signing for a drink a few times. The other ones I am working on are “more” and “all done”. They are so very helpful! He can also do a few other tricks (except he never does them on command when I’m trying to show someone he can do it). He does “so big” (with his hands in the air), he will clap when you sing “If You’re Happy and You Know It” and “tick tock” (he will tip his head side to side, although lately he just does “tick” and looks a little silly)…that’s all I can think of right now.
He has been talking (babbling) more. I have heard “dada”, “nana”, “baba”, “mama” and a couple other silly noises on occasion. Still nothing incredibly consistent. “Dada” is pretty clear on command and he usually yells/cries “mama” as he is crawling to me when it’s time for a bottle.
He has been loving books and toys with lots of buttons to press. There’s one toy that is a pretend cd player and he could sit and open and close that thing ALL DAY LONG. And everything is still going in his mouth. Maybe that will calm down if he ever gets some teeth. We are still waiting on the first one to pop through.
Other than that, he’s an extremely happy baby. He laughs and giggles all the time. We love him to pieces!
