Grace - 10 Months Old

Grace will be 10 months old on the 26th, so I am putting this post up early because I know that if I try to do it the day after Christmas, it'll never happen!

It is impossible to put this sweet, snuggly, curious, gentle creature into words, but I will do my best.

8 months old

Grace hard at play. I love me some chubby baby thighs!

Most exciting development first: Grace has started talking! Her first word was "bubble." Grace started linking concepts to words a little when she was seven and eight months old, but she wasn't very consistent. My favorite moments during this stretch were when she mixed up the syllables in "Daddy" and called Michael "dee-dee-dah." Then, one day during Grace's evening bath, I showed her how to blow bubbles into a cup of water. She blew bubbles herself and said, "buh-buh." Over the next few days, she said "buh-buh" and "buh-bow" every time we blew bubbles. That's when we were convinced that she was talking.

Now, I listen closely to her all day to try to pick out words from that English-like babbling she does. So far, the only other consistent word besides bubble is up ("pupupup") -- a very fitting second word since she wants to be held all the time.

Toward the end of November, she started to say "Oh, wow!" I had a hunch that she didn't know what it meant. Sure enough, she gave out a hearty "WOOOW!" during our pastor's benediction one Sunday. Nothing wrong with our pastor and his benedictions, they just aren't something that has the wow factor for a baby.

Grace's most interesting nap position ever.
After we took the picture, we unfolded her so we could feel like competent parents.

When she was eight months old, she was hit with a whole new level of separation anxiety and fear. For a couple of nights, she woke up scared and screaming, wondering where "mama" and "dee-da" were. We employed the good old "cry it out" method and she began to sleep well again. The silver lining of all the separation anxiety is how much she likes to snuggle into me. I savor those sweet moments.

9 months old

When Grace was nine months old, she learned to crawl. She's now quite mobile, but because of her slow-paced, observant nature, we haven't had to baby proof much because she isn't motivated to get into everything (yet).

What are some of Grace's favorite things at this point?

• Chewing on an orange slice and and trying to eat the box that the "Pat the Bunny" book came in. She throws a mini temper tantrum if I take either away.
• When we blow our noses, breathe loudly through our noses at her, or snort at her.
• Books. Especially "Are You My Mother?," "Hop on Pop," and "Oh the Thinks You Can Think." We read at least ten books a day! The first command she followed was "turn the page."
• Music. Grace "sings" along in church, she likes it when "dee-dee-dada" plays the guitar, and she stands at the piano stretching as tall as she can to play the keys. She hits our djembe, blows into my penny whistle, and shakes our egg shakers.
• A lot of kids have a comfort object like a blanket or toy at this age that helps them transition to being apart from parents. The only thing that comes close to being a comfort object for her is a song called "Cello from Portland" by a folksy rap group. The song has taken her from crying to asleep a few times.
• Rockets. To entertain Grace, Michael flies some candles we own around the house like rockets. She makes the rocket sound along with him and sometimes even flies her hand or her vitamin D bottle like rockets.
• Food. I cannot believe how much this tiny child eats. She's in the 50th percentile for weight and the 60th percentile for height, but she eats as if she's shooting to be Jabba the Hutt. For instance, last Saturday I bought a half gallon of yogurt just for Grace to eat for breakfast and her pre-bedtime snack. It was gone in five days.