Only two more months until my little baby girl is a one year old! Wah! It has really hit me this month how she's not really a baby anymore...she's like a TODDLER! I can't even deal with it. But at the same time it is so fun!
On her 10 month birthday she started swimming lessons and Jon and I got our first taste of what our future will be like. We run home after work, change Penny into her swimming suit and a cover-up, run out the door wiping the remnants of dinner off of her face, and speed over to the high school to make it to lessons on time. By the time we're done, have gotten her out of the pool, rinsed and dried off, changed back into her clothes, and driven home, it's almost her bedtime so we play for a few minutes and then start up her bedtime routine. This meas Jon and I are throwing dishes and laundry in as we're standing in the kitchen hovering over our dinner plates at 8pm. Penny is loving swimming and I love taking her and it experiencing it with her, but I'm so not ready for this type of extra-curricular schedule and will not be overly sad when the next two weeks are over.
Weight: 20.4 lbs according to our home scale
Height: Unknown
Head Circumference: Unknown
Biggest Struggle This Month: She's growing and learning so fast and is becoming so much more aware of what she's able to do by herself, but she's also becoming a lot more frustrated with things she can't do. She used to be pretty patient and chill when she couldn't figure out how to do something and would just take her time and keep trying, but now it will sometimes set her off if it takes more than a few seconds to master a new skill.
Mommy's Favorite Moment: Our mommy/daughter date at the park. Enough said. I absolutely love that the weather is warm enough to get her outside more often!
Mommy's Least Favorite Moment: Mine is a collection of moments. Penny has decided this month that she can be picky about foods and will throw her green beans, broccoli, and anything else she's not feeling at the moment onto the floor. I loved being able to brag about how my kid eats anything and I'm not a big fan of this new stage!
Daddy's Favorite Moment: Similar to Mommy's, Daddy's favorite moment was the first day we took her to the park. She LOVED the swing, playing in the rocks, and riding the bouncing...duck?
Daddy's Least Favorite Moment: Also similar to Mommy's, Daddy's least favorite moment was one lunchtime when she was eating green beans. She normally loves green beans, but apparently this particular day she decided she didn't. Or maybe it was the texture since we had given her French cut green beans so they stuck to her mouth a little more. Anyways, she began taking handfuls and throwing them on the floor. We both instantaneously shouted, "No!" and Penny's lips slowly formed a pout and she began making the most pathetic fake crying noise in the history of time. Mommy thought it was hilarious, but the combo of Penny becoming a picky eater and learning how to throw tantrums was Daddy's least favorite moment.
Ten Month Developmental Milestones According to What to Expect in the First Year (highlighted in green Penny has accomplished, highlighted in red she hasn't yet):
"By ten months, your baby...should be able to:
*stand holding on to someone or something
*pull up to standing position from sitting
*object if you try to take a toy away
*say "mama" or "dada" indiscriminately
*play peekaboo
*exchange back-and-forth gestures with you
...will probably be able to:
*get into a sitting position from stomach
*play patty-cake (clap hands) or wave bye-bye
*pick up tiny object with any part of thumb and finger
*walk holding on to furniture (cruise)
*understand "no" (but not always obey it)
...may possibly be able to:
*stand alone momentarily
*say "dada" or "mama" discriminately
*point to something to get needs met
...may even be able to:
*indicate wants in ways other than crying - her big thing this month is that she's learned when she's hungry and either wants food or milk, she'll make a clicking noise with her tongue that kind of sounds like someone chewing. If she's hungry or sees food or her bottle and wants it she will make this noise consistently every time and it's pretty funny. She'll also get really excited and look around for food if you make the noise to her.
*play ball (roll ball back to you) - I don't know if she's done this at all this month but I know she did it last month so I'll leave it as a yes
*drink from a cup independently
*pick up a tiny object neatly with tips of thumb and forefinger (keep all dangerous objects out of baby's reach) - peas, cereal, you name it and she can probably pick it up with her pincher grasp
*stand alone well - just like last month, she's able to do this well but she doesn't know it. She's only willing to stand on her own when she lets go of her "support' without thinking about it. She's still convinced she can only stand up if she has something to hang onto.
*use immature jargoning (gibberish that sounds as if baby is talking in a made-up foreign language) - she has definitely moved from babbling to this. I could listen to her "talk" all day. So adorable!
*say one word other than "mama" or "dada" - she's been saying "la la" in reference to Bella for longer than she's been saying "mama" but this has recently started turning "la la" into "ba ba" for Bella
*respond to a one-step command with gestures ("Give that to me" with hand out) - she's actually learned in the past couple of days how to do this even without the gesture. If you ask "Can I have it?" she will usually hand it to you without you even putting your hand out.
*walk well
