10 Month Old

We moved the week you turned 10 months, Eleanor. Always an excuse from your mom, huh?

At 10 months, you:

• cruise like a pro, and learned a new trick last week. You now stand up without holding onto anything. You're sitting, and then you're standing. That's it. Boom and you're up!
• are eating everything in sight. You try it all and usually like it. You seem to reject eggs and avocado, but everything else goes straight into your belly. Even a bit spicy doesn't seem to sway you. Big Sister could learn from you.
• sleep well now that you've adjusted to the move. You wake around 4:30 am to nurse and then you're back down for a couple more hours. It's hard to drag myself out of bed this early, but you're super snuggly and I love when you fall asleep on me. I'm savoring this time with you because I don't know if you'll be my last baby to nurse. 
• are napping twice a day, about an hour in the morning and another 1.5 to 2 hours in the afternoon. Every once in awhile I get super lucky and you stretch it past that 2 hour mark. You just have so much to see and do that you aren't too interesting in sleeping. 
• nurse 4 times a day, though some days it's only 3 times. I pump on those days to keep my supply up since I'm having to store a bunch of milk for an upcoming trip.
• are interested in all things Avery. You love her toys, though she isn't so willing to share.
• are still into everything and can destroy a room in a matter of seconds.
• are also interested in putting things back where they belong (yay!!). You like to take things out of boxes and then put them back in. We were recently at a party in which you decided to empty the favor bucket, but when I asked you to put them back and showed you once how to do it, back into the bucket went all of the squirt guns. Smart girl!
• say Da-da and hi, which sounds like ha! Sometimes I think you ask for night-night, but it's hard to know for sure. 
• are sporting one tooth! You're cranky this week, so I wonder if another one is coming along, though I don't see anything to indicate so.
• began shaking your head back and forth, mimicking us.
• act insanely excited to come wake me up in the morning when Daddy lets me sleep in. You squeal and crawl all over me and burrow into me and give me big wet slobbery kisses on my nose. 
• Understand the sign for "milk" and flash me a smile or acknowledge with an excited arm flap.
• love playing peek-a-boo, and Avery loves to hide your face under a blanket or her lovey and then watch you pull it off. 
• love tickles and giggle up a storm
• bawl your eyes out when I drop you off at the church nursery, and the second you see me at the end of church or Bible study, you start bawling again. I haven't been paged out in awhile, though, so I think you're doing better. At least they tell me you don't cry the whole time.
• play well by yourself for the most part, wandering around and exploring and eating everything, but you like to keep a close eye on me. 
• love the pool and don't mind water in your eyes too much. You prefer to be in the baby pool where you can crawl around, but you don't mind going around with the big kids if Mommy or Daddy are holding you
• wave your arms like a Bollywood dancer when music is playing, and you bounce and waggle your hiney to the beat.
• sniff and wrinkle your nose like Avery used to do at this age, as well as your daddy (this is one of my favorites!)