Liam's September - He's 10 months old!

My baby is 10 months old! I really do love every single second of it... but am pleasantly surprised that instead of being sad that he keeps growing and changing, I am overjoyed with each and every new development. And just can't wait to see what's coming next. I love seeing him become more and more of his own person. I get so excited to see each new first and to see our love for him, and his for us, grow bigger and bigger. We had a wonderful September full of many adventures and travels. And our baby boy unveiled some BIG firsts... crawling, teeth, waving, the dropping game, clearing the table, new words and my personal favorite - picking up things and throwing them to an undisclosed location over his head and behind his back. So without further ado.... here we go!

Big Moves:
-in the beginning of the month he started moving out into the crawl position from a sitting position
-16 Aug crawls! hand hand foot foot hand hand foot foot
-22 Aug really takes off
-by the 30th he's a force to be reckoned with... just not content to stay in one place anymore... and is already mapping out his path before I even set him down all the way!
-also by the 30th, he can crawl over obstacles (pillow mounds and toys and such) with greater ease and is starting to get interested in pulling himself up, but remains on at least one knee

Other Firsts:

-first waves Aug 11th, whole right arm all loosy goosy from the elbow down almost as if he's waving you on and saying "whatever":)

-he got his first tooth (upper left) on the 11th of Sep (9 and 1/2 months old just like mommy and Benjamin)... quickly followed by the upper right (18th), and then lower left (26th)... discovered because we could hear him grinding them together at breakfast-yuck!

-he has so many words, I think most people don't believe me until they hear him... and even then, they say, "wow, it sounded like he just said..."

-says: mama, dada, ut oh, hello, bye, ball, all done. and poo poo (thanks to his big brother and our conversations during diaper changes)

Games:
-loves to play roll the ball back and forth
-loves to drop things... and say ut oh, of course
-he has started dropping things over his head behind his back to an undisclosed location
-he likes to hold things out to you, as if he is handing it to you, but when you try to take it he tightens his grip and giggles... he doesn't really want to give it to you, he just wants to show it to you
-has a funny funny new obsession with testing out how his voice will carry in every new room... which he conveniently decided to debut in the Louve! Loved hearing his echo in each new hall! Now he does it all the time... at home or when out. Anytime we leave or enter a new room. He's especially fond of stairwells.

Health:
-he caught his second cold, a major runny nose... we've been very blessed with his good health

-his other blocked tear duct finally cleared up the end of this month, hooray!

-has the most adorable pudge now... it just takes my babies a little while to fatten up :)

Dislikes:
-doesn't like his face wiped when covered in food and certainly not his nose when runny... he has become quite good at dodging approaching tissues or paper towels!
-and of course with his new found mobility, he really isn't too fond of being dressed or having his diaper changed... so he arches and rolls and twists his body all around while yelling his protests

Favorites:
-he still loves to pull off his socks
-loves it when daddy puts him upside down

-gets so excited to see his brother running around

-really wants his mama to hold him over all others

Eating:
-he loves to self feed finger foods (bananas, pears, still loves bread, pinched peas, soft carrots, cheerios)

-he still barely opens his mouth when you're feeding him from a spoon and now with teeth, he likes to bite down on the spoon and doesn't want to let go

Sleeping:
-He has recently decided that he's much happier sleeping if he is physically touching us while sleeping... lucky for him, we think that's natural and sweet and we're lucky to be the one who get to comfort you.
-he takes two naps, one about 2 hours after waking up and the other in the later afternoon, usually a little over an hour for the first and closer to two hours for the second
-he goes to bed a little before 8 and wake up about 11-12 hours later (but has gone back to waking up 1 or 2 times during that span)

Special Extras:

-he really favors being held on my left side and always tries to push out of position when placed on my right hip

-I love how he pats my back and rubs my arm and neck to show affection

-I love how he rubs his face on my shoulder, even if it's to clean his face :)

-he totally poses for the camera :)

PICTURE TIME:

I can fall asleep anywhere my mommy is.... which comes in quite handy with all the traveling mommy and daddy want to do in Europe.
Mommy and daddy just love these jammies because they can't help but ride up over my belly.

Mommy did this same picture on her belly when she was pregnant with me!

Mommy taught me this cool little trick months ago, so I would always be able to drink water no matter where we were. And now I think I should have a sip of her drink whenever I want.

But afterwards she has to convince me to let go, because I think it would be fun to play in the water too.

So I started the month still trying to crawl out from a sit and then right back up... but I quickly realized that I couldn't get to everything I wanted...I just couldn't stretch far enough...

Well, this just won't do... hmmmmm, what to do now?

Maybe I could go back to my low crawling I used before...

Whew! That was just too much work. I've got to find an easier way.

Grandma and I were using one of Liam's absolute FAVORITE German toys to encourage him to crawl out past his 2 foot radius of comfort :)

And before we knew it... he took off. Here are some pictures I took one morning to document his progress:

Hey there mommy! What do you want me to show off crawling to now?

I'm coming!

Here's his precious, "I'm focusing" face! Almost there.

And now I will take that as my reward! Aw, come on mom, can't I take just one picture of you?

Well, alright. I'll just be off again then :)

You love this little chair! You have no idea though that you're supposed to sit in it yet... you have your own idea of what it's for. You love to crawl over to it and bounce and bury your face in it.

You think this is hysterical of course... and so do I.

How wonderful it is to be able to get to whatever toys you want on your own now! You're very busy, now that you can get around more efficiently and more quickly. I love to watch your focus and determination... and to see what you have planned next :)

A large portion of your crawl-to-targets are things you can either tug on, empty out, fill up, or pull yourself up on.

This time from behind... I took these pictures in a cartoon flipbook fashion so you can really see him crawling. We have so many new adventures to look forward to now!

Now that I have the crawling thing down... they just can't keep me out of the curtains. I LOVE to hide in them!

I wait until they say, "where's Liam"? And then I just laugh and laugh!

And when the suspense builds big enough... I pop out and show them, "I'm right here guys"!
Then it's back in to play again... they love it! It just never seems to get old for them :) So I guess I can do it one more time, just to keep them happy of course!

He takes his play time very seriously... there's so much to do in the day. He is always very busy working on his "projects". He's very creative and has great focus :)

He makes the rounds to all the toys he can find... which is a whole lot more now that he can get around anywhere he wants. He like it when I rotate the toys and move them around to new locations. This is how he pulls himself up now, on one knee and one foot.

Well, if you're going to keep taking my picture, I guess I'll flash you a little smile!

OK, now I'm going to have to come take that camera away so you'll top taking pictures and just play!

Pulling up on mommy's legs... such a dear expression, how could I not pick him up!

Loving playing with the guys, doing all the cool things a group of guys do like building forts!

Lots of chewing with all these teeth coming... anything I can find... which makes baby proofing even a bigger challenge for my peeps.

And once I have something in my mouth, I like to play around with the sounds I can make with it!

I like to pull up on all sorts of things now, including my crib. But I only pull up to my knees, or one knee and one foot so far.

I just need to be high enough to peek over the side... to see who's coming for me :)

Mommy put me up here like this, and I think it's pretty fun... and pretty funny.

But then she moved away to take a picture, HEY, come back... how am I supposed to get back down?

Look at this fantastic toy Mommy just gave me! Isn't it teriffic!

And this one makes fantastic noise. OK, now I have to concentrate. Mommy is counting on me to help her with dinner. She just can't seem to manage it without me :)
I'm still Mommy's constant traveling companion... I like the view best from the Ergo carrier where I get to snuggle with her while we sightsee.

Being a second child herself, mommy wants to make sure I don't miss out on anything. So if she and daddy can adapt something my brother is doing so I can try too.... they do!

My big brother is still the best at getting me to laugh and laugh! He's so good about cheering me up when needed and entertaining me to help out mommy and daddy.

You and your adoring big brother at one of our favorite hangouts... the Dino Park. All decked out for Fall. Reason enough to celebrate, with a little clapping of course.

I know he won't remember all the fantastic places we've visited, but I'll have these great pictures to show him and hopefully we'll bring him back again when he's older...

here' our big L's floating picture in front of the E tower in Paris!

The family that loves loves loves you so!!!