10 Months

Dan the man turned 10 months old this week. He is getting so big so fast! Sometimes I feel like I a missing all of his babyhood because I am not home with him every day. But, at the same time, I love to see him grow up and learn new things and get this super cute personality.

This week, one day, Dan woke up and it was like the lights turned on. He understood more, he was saying more words and responding more to what we asked of him. It was amazing! I always feel so proud when my kids learn something new.

Dan's words: Mama, Dada, More, Done, No, Hi, and Baba(bottle).

Dan doesn't know as many words at this age as Nicoley did, but I am not concerned. Boys usually have slower speech and Nicoley has always been very advanced with words. Coley could already say her own name by 11 months, but even if Dan said his own name, we probably think he was saying Dada.

Last month when we went to the doctor, the doctor asked us if Dan was clapping or waving and he wasn't. So, we put a lot of effort into teaching Dan those things this month. Dan can now clap, wave, and put his arms up! Your baby can read has helped with this a lot.

But, Dan is not a performer. Nicole at this age would perform for us when we asked her clap or wave. Dan just looks at us and smiles when we try and get him to perform. But, then he will surprise us. The other night, at dinner, Dan was being a good eater, so I said, "Dano, you are doing so good eating your food!" And then Dan started clapping for himself. So cute!

Dan's favorite things include:

Dan loves to climb the stairs and going into the bathroom. The bathroom is his favorite room in the house (I don't know why, but Nicole did the same thing at this age). He loves to unroll the toilet paper and throw bath toys in the tub. He also is very fascinated by the toilet and it grosses me out. He is always pulling himself up on the toilet and that is just too yucky to me, germs!

Dan is a bathtime baby. He LOVES bathtime. He and Nicole bathe together and Dan loves to splash and Nicole hates it! She is always telling him not to splash. Dan also likes to try interact with Nicole in the bath, but Nicole prefers her space. When Dan crawls toward her, she says, "Dan is getting me Mama!" I think Nicole would prefer to take her own bath, but Dan definitely prefers to bath with a friend.

Dan loves playing piano. Dan pulls himself up on the piano bench, then he grabs hold of the edge of the piano and presses the keys with his finger tips. He can just barely reach the keys when he stands on his tippy toes. Then, he walks down the piano playing all the keys. He also loves to sit on Daddy's lap while Daddy is playing the piano so that he can pound on the piano keys. Nicole's interest in the piano wore out after about 4 days, but Dan still loves it.

Dan loves remotes. He is always going after the tv remotes and smashes the colored buttons, which always is the power button. So, every time that Dan gets a hold of the controller, he is turning off the television. He also loves the Wii mote. He grabs one and starts swinging it by the wrist strap and then inevitably hits himself in the head with it and starts crying. I am constantly trying to hide the remotes from Dan, but he is very sneaky and finds them or climbs to them. He watches where I place them and tries to go for them.

Dan's favorite person is still Nicole. He follows her around and bothers her to no end. But, Nicole loves him so much. If he is sad, she tries to comfort him. If he is hungry, she either shares her food or comes and tells me that I need to feed him. They are becoming very good friends.

Nicole and Dan FINALLY are falling asleep in the same room together. We put them down in their room in their beds and they play together for a while before they fall asleep every night. It is glorious! Bed times are so much easier now. I often find extra items in Dan's crib in the morning because Nicole loves throwing things in there with him in attempts to comfort or play with him.

I love this little boy. He is so much fun to play with, but he also still loves to snuggle up to me when he is tired. He loves falling asleep in my arms. My little man really is becoming a little man.