10 months

Y'all, for real. When did this happen? In two short months my baby will be a YEAR old. Holy cow. I'm absolutely loving this stage in little man's life. He is an absolute joy to be around...except for that week when three top teeth came in at once. We're putting that behind us, though.

He loves his independence.  In fact, he's content without being held at all.  He'd MUCH rather explore the house without us in his way.  In some ways it makes me sad.  I wish he were cuddly and loved being in my arms.  In other ways, I love his adventurous spirit and the fact that he figures things out on his own.  We'll see how I feel about that when he's walking, but for now it's good.

He doesn't like to do things on demand.  In that regard he's like his father.  He can clap, shake his head "no," and copycat with noises you make.  However, if I get the camera out and try to document it...no dice. 

 Frozen expression like above.

He has 5 teeth now, and like I mentioned above, 3 came in one week.  I looked this morning and I think he'll be getting another bottom one soon, too.  Lord help us all.  He's not-so-much a trooper when he's teething.  I remember wishing his teeth would come in late because I loved his gummy grin.  I'm sad I wished that, because his toothy grin is adorable!

His newest trick is my favorite: standing on his own.  We've been practicing for a while, and he'd do it every once in a while.  Now, he's caught on and for the most part will stand on his own...if we're dangling something nearby.  It's so cute seeing him gain his balance, and he's even getting a bit brave and dancing while standing on his own.  I adore this.

Speaking of dancing, this little man LOVES music.  I love this about him, because I feel like this was genetically given to him by me :)  We listen to music and watch music videos in the morning, and he's obsessed.  His little booty shake is too much for me to handle.

Pretty soon he'll be walking on his own.  He still walks behind Dino, and in fact he's started basically running around the house behind him.  He is very comfortable on his feet, so we'll keep practicing and maybe one day soon we'll be there. 

Loves:
Walking around furniture (including Dino and pushing the ottoman around the house)
Dancing
Standing on his own
Walks/Runs-basically being outside
Feeding the dogs his food from his highchair
Clapping
Bathtime and splashing water all over the bathroom
Copying dad's head shake saying "no"
Fav foods: Grilled chicken, string cheese, fresh strawberries and teddy graham crackers
Drinking out of his sippy cup (with a straw, can't grasp tilting his head back)
Says Mama, Dada, duh duh (I think for the dogs) bababab, ggggrraa, and other random things

Hates:
Sleeping in unknown places (but he doesn't have stranger danger)
Being contained (long gone are the "I'll just put him the exersaucer while I shower" days)
Hearing "No" when he wants to unplug everything in sight
Changing clothes
Mom wiping his face after meals, or getting his boogs
Sitting in his carseat if we're not moving

 We absolutely adore this little man. His little personality shines through every day, and we couldn't feel more blessed.