10 Months

My sweet little baby keeps on truckin' toward her first birthday--she is now officially 10 months old. Adrienne is such a darling, sensitive, happy little person. Though I am perpetually tired and fantasize about lots of time to myself, I secretly love that I am clearly her favorite person. She is a momma's girl for sure, and always snuggles into me as she shyly smiles at anyone that approaches. A few facts about our charming 10 month old girl...

-Adrienne is such a good eater. She hasn't met much she doesn't like, and I hope this continues. I am counting on her to convince Jillian to try new things via peer pressure! Avocados are still her favorite. If you do not keep her tray well-stocked, or don't get the food in her mouth fast enough via spoon, she will start shrieking her trademark shrill scream. It is unbelievably loud, and it gets her results quickly. She is down to nursing four times a day.

-Adrienne is doing much better in the sleep department. She goes to bed around 7, and usually gets up about 5-5:30 to eat. She falls right back to sleep and gets up around 7-7:30. I'll take it. Morning naps are so sporadic, and often impossible, that I have been just focusing on a good afternoon nap at an earlier time. She will usually sleep 2-3 hours in this situation. If I am home and put her down for a morning nap, I often have trouble getting her down in the afternoon, so I'm thinking we are close to dropping it all together. I am good with that, too.

-Adrienne is at that stage of dangerous, curious exploration. She does not like to be confined in the "baby jail" or exersaucer, and is happiest when I let her roam free around the house. This of course requires my constant supervision, and adding Jillian to the mix complicates the scenario. She likes to engage Adrienne in rough play, or give her toys that are unsafe. We are working on keeping hands to ourselves, and not man-handling our little sister! Adrienne is cruising on furniture and loves to play in standing. She has more of my cautious personality, however, and resists walking while her hands are held. She quickly plops down and attempts to crawl. Last week I tried to get her to stand alone, which she did for about 3 seconds before realizing she was doing it. At that point, she got a terrified look on her face and reached for me. Such a difference from her thrill-seeking big sister. This week, she discovered that those shiny round knobs on the kitchen cabinets serve a purpose, and so my secret is out: there are fun things to explore behind those doors!
I guess it's time for us to discuss official baby-proofing in this house.

-Adrienne is making lots of sounds, and babbles away constantly. She can say "hi", and "more" ("mmmmoh") appropriately, and will imitate "mama", "dada", and "Shhhhh" ("ssssss"). She plays peek-a-boo, pat-a-cake, and smiles continuously to flash her 6 (almost 7) teeth. I took some videos during dinner last week that I found to be especially cute--I think they really show how interactive she is.

I am so biased, I know, but I think this baby as is adorable as they come. Can't get enough of her sweet spirit.