10 Month Update

Wow, we're officially in the double-digit months!! What a fun and exciting time this is to watch Jackson grow and learn new things! This month:

-Jackson has learned to wave hello, point to things, and dance!! Of course, you know I am most excited about him dancing! It is just SO cute. He will be walking along and pushing his toy that makes music and then he will stop, start clapping and then bending his knees in a little dance. I got a little video of it! He is also waving hello and pointing to things, but right now he mainly does it to the ceiling fan. Boy, does he have something to say to the ceiling fans in our house. If one catches his eye, he will get a very serious look about him and start pointing, waving, and "talking" to it. I wonder what he is saying?

-Speaking of walking, he is getting closer and closer every day. He loves to walk with the help of his toy, and once he gets going, he is fast! He will also stand without holding onto anything for long periods of time. The ladies at his MMO program are convinced that it will be walking any day now. When he is not practicing his walking, he is crawling like a wild man!! When he starts crawling toward something that he knows he is not supposed to touch and then sees me come after him, he will speed up his crawling to try and get there before I can get him. Smart little guy!!

-I think he definitely understands the word "No" now. He still kind of smirks at us when we say it to him, but now we are able to use it to stop him from getting into something that he shouldn't be. When we tell him no, he will inch closer and closer to whatever he's not supposed to get into until finally when we raise or voices a little more. Then he will laugh and crawl back toward us. This works most of the time.

-He LOVES his independent play, and gets very upset if you take him away from his toys before he is ready. He will take each toy out and play with it. He loves to carry his toys around the room and even tries to stand up while holding them. He will fuss if we pick him up before he's done and his newest way to let out his frustration is to let out a short scream and bite...that's right, we have a biter on our hands! This is not surprising to me since I was a big biter and used to get in trouble at daycare for it. We are really trying to curb this behavior now and let him know that it is not acceptable. When he does it I lay him on his back (so that he has to make eye contact with me) and tell him in a very stern voice-"No biting! That hurts mommy." He seems to get the message, so we'll see!

-His favorite new food is YoBaby Yogurt. He loves it! We are still slowly introducing new foods, although I know I need to get him to eat more chunkier foods. We tried peas and carrots, which he hated, and we also tried to give him a small piece of pancake out at breakfast one day. That was a big mistake b/c I guess he hated the texture and he started gagging. You can guess what happened after that...yuck! At least we were in a back booth and I hope that nobody saw it. We were fast on the clean up! Anyway, note to self-always introduce new foods at HOME! Jackson still loves his puffs, mum mum crackers, babyfood, cheese, and yogurt. I think I am going to try some deli meats or small pieces of chicken next. I also want to let him try some small pieces of fruit.

-His vocabulary is getting bigger by the day. He still calls most things "Alf" (does that qualify for a first word?) ha! :). His other favorites are fuh fuh, vuh vuh, ba ba (sounds SO much like dada, but it is baba), pa pa, ga ga...And he has starting saying muh muh every now and then, although It's hard to tell if we can count that as "mama". I am just waiting for him to look at either me or Justin and say "mama" and "dada". But I am still confused as to what counts as a first word...Is it the first time they babble and make a coherent word, or is it the first time they recognize something and say it's name?

-He has finally noticed our cat Annabelle and he loves to talk to her. He will see her and then point and yell "ALF" to her. He gets louder and louder as he gets more excited.

-This story is too cute not to tell: Jackson still loves when Justin and I go through all of the animals and do the sounds that they make. He seems to have a new favorite every day. Currently it is "A Snake says sssssssslither sssslither ssssslither" and "A rooster says cocka doodle dooooo". One night I was reading him his favorite bedtime story, Goodnight Moon. In the book, it starts out "In the great green room there was a telephone and a red balloon, and a cow jumping over the moon". When I read the cow part, I let out a big MOOOOOO after I read the line. He started laughing SO hard and just got so tickled that he honestly laughed throughout the whole rest of the story. He was still laughing when I got him all ready for bed. Then he settled down and I went to nurse him. He closed his eyes, and about a minute later they popped open and he let out the biggest laugh again! It was the cutest and sweetest thing!! He is over it now and I guess it's not near as funny anymore when I do it these days, but it was such a funny thing that night!

-Tooth number 5 is in and wreaked all kinds of havoc to his sleep schedule. For about a week he was up frequently through the night, but now he seems to have settled back in to waking only about twice a night. It makes it REALLY hard to wean him when he goes through periods of nightwaking. It is going to come to a point where I am just going to have to stop offering it up at night. We are getting closer and closer to my goal of breastfeeding for a year and-changes, they are a-coming. I really have such mixed feelings about weaning him. It will truly be a bittersweet time. Anyway, as for this week, we have gotten back in our routine, but I am sure that Tooth # 6 is right around the corner and will decide to pop in soon!

-One last thing, Jackson is doing really well in his MMO program. Most mornings he doesnt cry anymore when we drop him off or pick him up. Also, he is becoming more interactive with people when we take him out in public and loves to smile at everyone. He also will pick someone in a restaurant and stare them down until they look at him and interact with him. Anywhere we go, little old ladies absolutely love him. He is still experiencing some stranger anxiety, but it is very hit and miss. I really think it has to do with his mood that he's in. If he is awake from a good long nap, he seems to do much better than if he is cranky. I am sure that is true of all babies, though. At any rate, on any given day, Jackson is just so smily and happy that it reassures me that although Justin and I are learning as we go, we must be doing something right. I am so thankful for this precious little boy who makes every day better than the last! Happy 10 months sweet baby!

*pictures to come!