Anna

Dear Anna,

Today you are 10 months old.  Now it is most definitely time to start planning that birthday party of yours.  As far as you’re concerned, as long as it involves chocolate cake you’ll be happy – we went to another baby’s birthday party last week and you were desperately trying to get that cake off my plate!

Big news this month: you have two brand new teeth!  And now you’re fascinated with all teeth, especially mine.  You’re starting to figure out body parts a little bit – at least noses.  And you like to play the “eyes, nose, mouth, kiss!” game just like your sister used to.

You play “how big is Anna?” and peek-a-boo a lot.  And you’ve learned to wave bye-bye.  You have signs now for “all done” and “water” – that one looks nothing like the ASL sign, instead you clap your hands together and then clasp them and rock them back and forth.  No idea where you came up with that, but we all know what it means now.  You don’t really have any words yet, but you say “Ma!” a lot when you’ve run out of food on your high chair tray – I’m not sure if it’s suppose to mean “Mommy!”, “More!” or “Yo, lady who dispenses the food! You’re not doing your job very well here!”

You’ve tried lots and lots of new foods this month: strawberries, cauliflower, mandarin oranges, Lima beans, kamut (a grain in puffed cereal form), tomatoes (in salsa!), corn, ice cream (of the mint chocolate chip variety), eggs (whole, scrambled), Brussels sprouts, watermelon, ground beef, honeydew melon, red peppers and pea butter.  Phew!  That’s almost as many foods as the hungry, hungry caterpillar ate!  You’re still nursing 5 or 6 times a day, but you do love your solid food.  I can’t eat anything without you wanting to share it with me.

Naps.  Baby, we have to have a little talk about naps.  You’re supposed to take them.  At least every now and then.  If for no other reason than that Mommy gets tired and needs a little break.  You know, to do things like, oh, fold laundry.  Or use the bathroom.  So, could we maybe work on that this next month?  I’d settle for one nap, and it doesn’t even need to be a terribly long one…

It’s hard to keep up with you, my little monkey.  You have become danger-baby to the extreme.  I’m not sure what compels babies your age to try to kill themselves several times a day, but really, trying to climb head first over the changing table?  Not the best idea you’ve ever had.  Neither is trying to fling yourself backwards out of my arms, or, in fact, pulling up on any object in the house that has wheels, like your sister’s doll stroller.

So this month, do Mommy a favor and try and get a few naps in and keep the gray-hair-inducing danger-baby exploits to a minimum, okay?

Love, Mommy

Dear Anna,

Yesterday you turned 9 months old.  As it was Easter Sunday we didn’t get a chance to take your monthly pictures, so we did them today.  I can’t believe how quickly this first year is going by!

This has been an amazing month for you!  Last month you could sit up if we put you in a sitting position.  Now you can get yourself there.  And you pull up to your knees so you can play with things while kneeling – that’s a lot more fun than playing with things laying down!  You can even stand for a bit while holding on to a piece of furniture or someones hands, and at least a few times you’ve actually gotten up on your feet yourself.  And you are an amazingly fast crawler – I can’t take my eyes off you for two seconds or you’re out the door of whatever room we’re in!

You’ve tried many new foods this month, including broccoli, chicken, blueberries, eggs (“hidden” in pancakes and muffins), zucchini, spinach, kale, olives, fish, green beans, cookies (G.G.’s sugar cookies), egg yolk, ham and cantelope.  You have continued to only eat table food, and have expanded your repetoire to include things like ravioli and chicken noodle soup.  You even eat “real” slow-cooked oatmeal, and drink out of a straw cup.

Yesterday you signed “help”.  I’ve been sort of inconsistently signing lots of different words, so I’m surprised you’ve picked anything up besides “more” and “milk”.  But you had dropped the toys you were playing with while you were sitting on Grandma’s lap, and you clearly signed “help” – one day last week I had signed it to you in a similar context, and not before or since.  I think I’m going to have to start getting more consistent, because I would love to know what else is going on under all that hair!

The babbling continues, and you’re starting to jargon a bit – babble like you’re carrying on a conversation.  You don’t really say “mama” or “dada” yet, although you do say “dadada?” and laugh when I say “daddy is at work”.

See?  An amazing month.  Every day it seems like you’re on the verge of a new skill or a new discovery.  I can’t wait to see what this next month brings!

Love, Mommy