Ten months old

Dear Annika,

Today you are 10 months old. Ten! Only two more of these until you are ONE, and we are done with the monthly photos. Judging from your desire to rip your 10-month sticker off your onesie while I took your photo today, I'd say that might not be a bad thing.

 

This month has been all about the standing. You always want to be upright, and you're very good. You pull yourself to standing on almost anything, and you only need a surface of an inch or two (like a puzzle box) to get yourself upright. Once you're up, you no longer need to hold on to anything to stay that way, and will stand upright totally unassisted, clapping your hands and banging toys together. You cruise and walk behind your walker wagon and once--just once--you attempted to take a step without holding on to anything. You failed, and landed right on your butt, but somehow I'm thinking actual first steps aren't too far in our future. You're also a crawling speed demon by now, and you can climb stairs, swapping back and forth between knees and feet, without any help (other than someone hovering behind you in case you lose your balance, obviously).

This has also been a big month for communication. Your babbling has become more varied and distinct, and you say lots of random syllables in combination as though you think you're talking. In addition to "more," which you still seem to be saying but I'm still not totally willing to make the call on, there are two more words that you are possibly saying, but that we haven't definitively determined: Mama (I'm almost positive on this one) and "doggie" (which I believe you use to refer to all animals and not just Montana as you also say it when looking at books that feature animal pictures, but again, this isn't consistent enough for us to be totally sure quite yet). You still clap your hands and you've started responding to other requests too, such as "hooray" (throw your hands in the air), "dance" (you bob your head energetically), and "come here" (you hold up your arms to be picked up). You've also started shaking your head no, which is extremely adorable.

Generally speaking you're just starting to turn into this person who is starting to understand how the world works. You know that hats go on heads, for example, and you will grab them and try to put them on your own or my head. You know how to get dressed and try to help us take your clothes on and off. You're very good at self-feeding and you've figured out how to drink water through a straw. You give yourself your own bottles. You play peekaboo and pat-a-cake and you try to copy your brother in whatever he does. You're also very firm in your opinions, and if something displeases you, you make it very clear. Your new trick is if you're mad and we try to distract you with a toy, you will take the toy, stare us straight in the eye, and then throw the toy down as hard as you can.

You continue to adore your brother, and have a surprising level of tolerance for his shenanigans and horseplay. His toys are your favorite, and wherever he goes, you will crawl as fast as you can to follow. He loves you too, thankfully, and always asks for you and wants to entertain you, and seeing the two of you together, laughing and playing, is basically the best thing that's ever happened to us.

Your eating and sleeping haven't changed all too much this month. You continue to sleep about 11-12 hours most nights, with a 2-3 hour nap most afternoons. Your formula intake still hovers around 30 ounces most days. You still adore solid food--I think you have a strong preference for variety, and get really excited whenever we give you anything new, and I would say that your favorite foods mostly appear to be meat-based. You got three new teeth this month, all on top, for a total of five. You're still in size 18-month clothing (which I expect will last for awhile), and my at-home measurements have you at 30.5 inches long (99th percentile) and 22.5 pounds (94th percentile).

You continue to have a very delightful, social little personality. You still have stranger danger, and have a strong preference for your family and the people you know, but we've learned about you that if we give you some time and reassurance and don't force it, you will, on your own terms, start to migrate away from us to explore new places and interact with new people. You remain extremely happy, and whenever you manage to do something successfully, you give such a huge, delighted grin, and it's just so clear that you are pleased with yourself. It's incredibly adorable. Just like everything you do. It's amazing--you're so little, not even a year yet, and yet you're already so YOU, and so RIGHT. We are so glad to have you.

Love,
Mama