10 Months

John Henry is 10 months.  How crazy is that?  We don't have another well check until 12 months (very scary) so we're not sure how much he weighs or how tall he is.  We do know that he's happy and healthy (if you don't count the ear infections and numerous colds).  September and October were great months for our little man.  He had a lot of quality time outside, which is by far his favorite thing.  

John Henry rocking the Auburn look for his 10 month picture.  It's been an up and down season this year but John Henry supports his team no matter what.

Getting taller in his chair...

We've had a great time enjoying the fall.  John Henry has been able to participate in outdoor festivals, outdoor birthday parties, and a fun pumpkin patch.  We rarely get a picture of all three of us and the one below does a pretty good job of capturing how happy we really are.

John Henry spends lots of time with his cousins.  He sees them at least once a week and he's taken a special liking to Sumner, Holland, and Aunt Sherridan.  I think that tide will change and he'll eventually be more enthralled with the boys.  At this point the girls love on him, carry him around, and kiss him to death.  I'm not surprised that they are his current favorites!

John Henry's favorite thing is still his car.  We have one at our house and one at Bebe's house.  I've never seen a child love a piece of plastic so much.  If he's ever unhappy we just put him in his car and take him for a stroll. 

Since we're out of the "baby baby" stage we've become a little more comfortable putting John Henry on kitchen counters, couches, and seats.  We're always right there to catch him if we need to and we still spend a considerable amount of time on the floor.  There's no doubt he's getting bigger and for some reason I realized it the day he was helping me open the mail.  It was one of those days I saw him as a little boy and not so much a baby.

And then he reminded me that he is a baby.  I doubt little boys use the taste test method to determine which envelopes to open! 

At 10 months he continues to love the bath.  He splashes and has the best time in the water.  It doesn't matter if it's in the tub or sink.  He could care less as long as there is water.

Now that he is more stable he's been playing with some "new" toys.  (I say "new" since they were given to us or bought at a consignment sale).  He doesn't have the hang of pushing himself around with his own feet so we do the pushing.  This car's like the indoor version of his big plastic car.  We go racing around the house until our backs can't take it anymore.  He loves it and always wants more.

I know I've talked about his love for being outside but I don't know that I'll ever be able to really explain it.  He loves to sit and listen to the birds or pull on the grass/leaves.  He is his father's child in the fact that he'd rather be outside than in,  any day of the week.

Another big first for John Henry is that at 10 months he is finally walking around.  Not by himself but using his push toy.  We like to do it on the grass so that if he falls it doesn't bother him.  We have a long stretch of grass in the back and he walks up and down until his little legs give out.

And even though he can't walk he is an expert crawler and uses that skill to get anywhere he wants.  He's figured out how to crawl up out of our sunken living room but hasn't figured out how to crawl back down.    Thankfully his crawling hasn't caused too much trouble yet but I know it's coming.  Just look at that face.  It's sweet at first glance but it has trouble written all over it! 

John Henry's favorite person is his Daddy.  It could be because they look so similar.  It could be because his Daddy always takes him outside.  Or it could be that his Daddy is just the favorite for this month.  It doesn't really bother me.  It's a fun relationship to watch.

Since Jay is his favorite I do my best to steal as many hugs and kisses as possible.  I probably kiss him a thousand times a day.  It doesn't seem to bother him yet so I'm taking full advantage.

John Henry is a happy little guy (most of the time). I have to admit that he doesn't love the part of the night in between bath time and story time.  Meaning he doesn't like to put a diaper on, get all lotioned up, and get into pajamas.  Jay thinks I'm crazy to put lotion on him every night but it's a habit.  And it's not a bad one.  So until he really starts to protest I'm going to keep doing it.  He's had the same night routine since he was itty bitty.  After bath, it's lotion/pjs, then we read a story to him while he drinks his evening bottle.  After we finish the story we say our prayers, sing a song or two, and then put him in his crib .  He falls right to sleep (usually) and sleeps until 6-7 the next morning.  He's a good little sleeper. 

He's such a curious little guy and growing by the minute.  Some random developments this month are:

1. He's babbling a lot and assumes you know what he's saying. 

2.  He lunges for the food / bottle when he's hungry. And if he's hungry, he's sure to let you know.

3.  He enjoys clapping along to patty cake.  He'll even keep clapping once you finish the song.

4.  Continues to protest taking naps during the day.  Especially at daycare.

5.  Loves his new sippy cups we bought him and drinks a ton of water each day. 

He makes me laugh every day.  We do our best to get some good time with him before and after daycare and on the weekends.  It never seems like enough so we try not to take any of our time for granted.  I don't think anyone can argue that this 10 month old isn't loved.