"S" @ 10 months: The Animals Have Something to Say!

Wow - Month 10 was a BLAST! S has been workin' a whole new set of physical and social skills, and she cut her first two teeth early on in the month! You can see the right one poking out a bit in her shiny happy official 10 month pic!

(Take a look at her up-to-date month-to-month album here.)

Growth-wise, she continues to gain weight slowly but surely, clocking in at 16lb 6oz on our digital scale. We didn't get a measurement for height this time around.

Let's take a closer look at some of the awesomeness from Month 10!

First of all. her motor skills and associated problem solving abilities have really been ramping up. A week or two into the month, she was able to work her Bright Starts Drop & Giggle toy like a pro!

She's even beginning to figure out her shape sorter, which is a much loftier challenge! I swear she totally knows how to do it but doesn't want to let on, as I saw her put the cross and triangle in their respective holes back to back, but then when she caught me looking she "regressed" to frenzied shape banging. Hmmmm.... :)

She loves cruising with the Stride to Ride Walker her friend Caleb lent her (until his sister has grown big enough to enjoy it!), and has become quite adept at climbing stairs in both directions. This video highlights her proudly doing all three!

She has also become coordinated (and social!) enough for a rousing game of "pass the ball"! I'm pretty sure she has better aim than I do.

She has become quite nimble and Chris commented that her reflexes are particularly solid; one time she held up her hand to halt a rebounding cupboard door that was about to smack her, and another she dropped a toy out of her mouth but then caught it under her arm. Unfortunately she hasn't been able to avert danger every time, however. Flimsy desk chair + inquisitive pre-toddler + Mommy taking her eye off the situation for a split second = one mean shiner! :-/

In other news, all that work on early baby signs has paid off recently, as she can sign more and flower reliably, and is starting to get the hang of a few others! She has also been impressing us with her recognition of animals and ability to mimic her favourites! For example, dog is "uh uh uh", cat is "ahhhhh" and cow is "oooooooh". Watch as she copies Daddy and then busts out her burgeoning impressions:

As for her first "word", no surprise here: Polynomial.

I kid. It's "Dada", of course; the first word uttered by, oh, 99.763% of babies. In any case, it warms Chris' heart every time she looks at him and says it! Not so much when she proclaims it to her Papa, one of the New York Yankees or our Borat DVD, however. Evidently all men (including those sporting super-scary moustaches) are Dada.

Let's see - what else?

She is turning into an affectionate li'l thang! She now loves to give "kisses" to her stuffed animals, her reflection and of course to Mommy and Daddy (that is, if you consider a toothy, open-mouthed assault on the chin to be a kiss!)

Sleep-wise, I'm happy to report that she has become a dream. I should definitely knock on wood now as I know this could still change at any moment, but as of right now she goes down super-easily both at naptime and at night, and she's currently sleeping for 11-12 hours straight. Sometimes she's right out after nursing, but when she's sleepy yet awake, she is now able to nod off on her own without issue. Sometimes we play a little peek-a-boo and "throw the doggie out of the crib" first, which amuses her greatly. :)

And I'm sure it goes without saying she has continued "cultivating" her mischievous ways. She takes everything out of / off of all surfaces, cupboards and containers in reach, and manages to navigate herself into some interesting places!

Finally, she has been training with Daddy for her G1. I think they'll pass her on cuteness alone!
   

Well that's a wrap, folks! Good thing too as we're almost halfway to 11 months! I need to start compiling notes for the next post, gah!!