Ten Months!

 It doesn't seem possible for you to be 10 months old already!  It seems like you try something new every day, and are growing in so many ways.  Mommy's favorite thing that you have started doing this month is SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!  Hallelujah!  It's only been for the last week, but it has been heavenly.  It must be because you are wearing yourself out as you play and crawl all day.  You are quite the little explorer and are curious about everything.  If we put you down to play with your toys in the living room and go to do something in the kitchen, you will crawl over to find us.  You are growing weary with your exersaucer and jumparoo - probably because they keep you contained and you can't roam free when you are in them.  We used to be able to put you in there for chunks of time to keep you entertained while Mommy vacuumed or made dinner, but now you aren't having it.  You want to be out and free!  When we are in the kitchen working, you love to play with spatulas, wooden spoons, tupperware, and anything you can get your hands on in the dishwasher.  You learned the hard way earlier this week that the dishwasher shelves roll.  Most of the time you like to play independently - you don't want to be messed with, and you want to choose what you will play with.  You do still love wrestling with Daddy and shooting hoops with Daddy - two of Daddy's favorite things as well.  When Mommy has you upstairs in her bathroom, nothing is safe anymore!  We have to close all of the doors to our bedroom, the toilet, and the closet or you will roam in while Mommy is showering.  Earlier this week you wandered into Mommy and Daddy's closet and in the 3 minutes it took Mommy to get out, dry off, and get you - you had pulled most of her shoes off the shelves onto the floor.  You just looked up at me, grinning - "look what I did, Mom!"  You have also started pulling yourself up on everything - bookshelves, the entertainment center, couches, the bathtub...  And speaking of the bathtub, you still LOVE your baths - as well as throwing all of your toys into the bathtub when Mommy is getting ready.  When you are playing downstairs, you basically start on one corner of the room and make your way around until you've played with everything and the living room looks like Hurricane Evelyn just came through.  One of your favorite things is to pull all of the books off of your bookshelf and "read" to yourself.  This month we started using the Burley (bike trailer) to go on bike rides.  You really like to be outside and ride along with Mommy and Daddy.  You also like your new swing outside!  Eating has become much less of a chore this month as you generally will eat what we give you - especially if it's something you can pick up and eat by yourself.  Vegetables are your favorite (green beans, peas, corn, and carrots are the front-runners) - thank God for individually packed tubs of these!  You also like deli meat and cheese, and most fruits.  You still have no teeth, so pretty much everything you eat is still pretty soft.  You started eating Cheerios this month for snacks.  And finally, we had to lower the mattress in your room this month.  You figured out how to pull yourself up onto your knees - and though you were very cute peeking over the top of the bumper when we walked into the room - we didn't want you bailing out.  Mommy used this as an opportunity to rearrange your room!  Baby girl, you are such a sweet, blissful, joy in our lives.  Everyday is a new adventure with you, and we are so thankful to be your Mommy and Daddy!  Happy 10 months sweet Pete!