Ten Months Old Today

Well, technically tomorrow, but I didn't know when I'll have the chance again to post. So here we are.

Here's the big guy at ten months old. I thought I'd give you a brief rundown of what he is and isn't doing now. If I had enough brain cells left to compare him to his sisters, I would. But I don't, so you should just look here and here to see what they were up to at this age. Robbie currently weighs in at about 20 pounds and stretches out to just about 30 inches. We finally moved him into the big car seat a couple weeks ago. It was about time seeing as how he was well over 3 inches too long for the infant carrier. But I miss the infant carrier! It was so much easier to get him in and out of the car, deal with him napping on the go, and keeping him warm on these freezing cold winter mornings. But he does seem happier in that big Britax. And he can see Padyn better, which makes them both very happy.

He has four teeth...two on the bottom in the middle and two on the top, but not in the middle. You can almost see them in this picture...

He loves playing, especially with things he's not supposed (as pictured below). But, like all non-first children, he's pretty happy to sit and watch as long as there are bigger small people around to entertain him. He definitely prefers Padyn to Kate, but that's obvious as to why. Padyn doesn't shout at him or yank things out of his hand. Nor does she get right up in his face, so close that he falls over backwards to gain a bit of personal space. No, Padyn is a really good big sister. I can just see Robbie deciding to call her Momma instead of me when he finally can say that. Right now, it's still just "Dada," although he does have a new word that he occassionally repeats. I can't quite make it out, but it is possibly the "P" or "K" followed by the short /a/ sound. Hmmm...is he going to say his sisters' names before "Momma"?
Now that the worst of his cold and teething stint seem to be over, Big R is back to eating with some regularity. A month ago I would have listed every food he put into his mouth as a favorite, but these days he has turned a bit picky. Must be something about having trouble swallowing with too much mucus in your throat. If I had to say what his favorite foods were, they would have to be the following (in no particular order):

Bread, oranges, oatmeal with peaches, bread, cheese, bread, cheerios, graham crackers, bread, dehydrated fruit, bread, bread and bread. Notice a pattern?

Other favorite activities seem to include watching TV, sucking on his pacifier, taking a bath, banging toys, putting everything in his mouth, and lying on Mommy (as seen below). He is usually pretty happy to take one of his two naps. The morning one lasts anywhere from 45 minutes to three hours. The afternoon one is a bit more difficult to get him down. It's usually only 30 to 45 minutes, but that means he is usually asleep at night by 8pm. I'll take it.I can also tell you what Robbie is not interested yet: crawling, pulling himself up, lying on his stomach, giving up nursing, and sleeping soundly through the entire night. Obviously, a few of those items don't bother me in the least. The longer he puts them off, the easier it will be for me. But that last one. Not so fun. He typically wakes up right as I am drifting off to sleep. Lately it's been his cough that wakes him, but sometimes it's his teeth and sometimes we have no clue what his deal is. After assuring that all his needs are met (Tylenol, Mylecon, pacifier, etc.) we just have to let him cry. Usually it's not more than 10 minutes, but still. It's an additional 20 to 30 minutes that I'm awake. And since he's up around 4:30am to eat again, Mommy isn't getting a very good night's sleep. Maybe next year.

But, now that this cold and teething seem to be past, I'm happy to have my happy boy back, even if he is a bit clingier than he was. Separation anxiety? Maybe. Still feeling a bit out of sorts? Possibly. Just a Momma's boy? Who knows. But this face makes it all worth it.