Last week, Judah turned 10 months old, and as we inch closer and closer to his first birthday, it’s getting harder and harder for me to find time for anything. Which is why I’m getting around to writing this post almost a week late.
Not much has changed as far as physical development. I felt sure that he was on track to start walking any day, and then he suddenly discovered that crawling is faster and easier, and now he prefers to get around on all fours. He pulls up on anything and everything and cruises around furniture, but he’s still not balancing well enough to stand on his own or take anything close to a step without leaning on something for support. He’s got plenty of time for that, but I’m looking forward to seeing him toddle around.
In the past couple months, Judah’s communication skills have exploded. His babbling has become increasingly more expressive, but the biggest change is in what he understands. He’s recognized his name for a while now, and this month he started recognizing simple commands. “Hand me that toy,” “Come to Mama,” and “High five” are his favorites. We can also ask him to place small toys into containers, and he’s incredibly proud of himself when we tell him what a great job he did.
Sharing his toys is one of his favorite games, and when he’s playing on the floor and I’m working, he’ll crawl over to hand me whatever toys he can carry. I tell him, “Thank you!” and he beams with pride. When he’s particularly enjoying a teething ring, he reaches up to shove it into my mouth as if to say, “Try this! It’s delicious!” When he’s eating Cheerios or banana or any other food, he holds out his hand and reaches for my mouth in an attempt to give me a taste. It’s sweet, but I usually pass on the soggy Cheerios.
The high fives and waves hello are absolutely adorable, but it’s a little sad when he waves to the dog and looks crestfallen that Howie doesn’t acknowledge him. Howie has become one of his favorite creatures on the planet. Sometimes he just watches Howie shake or scratch himself, and he giggles and giggles like it’s the funniest thing he’s ever seen. I wish I could say the feeling is mutual, but Howie still doesn’t quite know what to make of Judah. He certainly seems to appreciate the Cheerios that are scattered on the floor each morning after Judah’s breakfast, and in the past few months he’s started resting his head on the arm of the chair when I’m holding Judah as if to say hello. I’ve even caught him sneaking in a face lick or two, so there’s hope that they may end up being friends after all.
Judah has developed a love for books, and the board books are some of his favorite toys to play with. In the past couple weeks, he started bringing me books instead of toys, and he sits relatively still and looks at the pictures while I read to him. This development couldn’t come soon enough for his English professor father.
We spend a lot of time at the park now that the weather has cooled off, and Judah loves the swings. He thinks it’s hilarious to watch me get closer and closer and then further away as he swings back and forth. He climbs up the steps on the playground equipment like a champ (I stand behind him in case he loses his balance), and I marvel at how easily he’s getting around these days.
His front teeth on the top and bottom have mostly grown in, and he’s working on cutting four more teeth — one on each side of his top and bottom front teeth. He’s finally sleeping through the night most nights, but once or twice a week those teeth seem to bug him, and he wakes up frequently. I’m okay with it as long as he’s giving me 7 or 8 hours pretty consistently throughout the week.
Now that Judah is eating three solid meals a day, a nightly bath has been a necessity to rinse off the food and grime. There was a time when I thought a nightly bath would be a real pain in the butt, but seeing how much Judah enjoys it has actually made it a lot of fun. He loves his rubber ducky and smacking the water to watch it splash.
He’s been doing a lot of experimenting with cause and effect, which means dropping things out of reach is a new favorite game. When he plays in his playpen while I’m doing dishes or cleaning up, he spends the whole time systematically dropping each and every toy to the ground so he can watch it fall and savor the thump as it hits the ground. He tosses toys out of his reach when he’s in his car seat, and then he’s mad that he can’t reach them. The other day in Target, I handed him my keys to occupy him while I finished shopping, he and started dropping them on the floor every time I handed them to him. One of his favorite parts of the game is watching me pick them up and hand them back to him. As you can imagine, this is my least favorite part of the game.
We are having so much fun with him now that he’s communicating so much better with us. It’s fascinating to watch him learn to express himself, and I love that we finally have a small window to show us what’s going on in his head. I’m starting to see the kind, caring, adventurous, funny, sweet little boy he’s growing to be. I can’t wait to get to know him better.
No matter how independent he longs to be, it’s comforting to know how much he still needs me. When we’re playing on the floor and he starts to feel sleepy, he crawls up into my lap, wraps his arms around my neck, and rests his head on my shoulder. In those moments, I sometimes wish I could stop the clock only for a little while, because I’m afraid it’s all passing by too quickly. All I can do is enjoy it while it lasts, and anticipate all the milestones that still lay ahead of us.
Related posts:
{ 2 comments }
Awww, so cute. Great pictures, love you kiddo. And a great read. Keep up the great work.
Shiaa´s last [type] ..Physical Therapy Assistant
It seems to go faster and faster every day… enjoy every minute.
Hanelene´s last [type] ..Inspired
Comments on this entry are closed.