James is 10 months

My sweet baby J won't be a baby much longer.  He turned ten months last Thursday.  His stats at his 9 month well visit were 10% for weight, 30% for height, and 50% for head cir.  I can't find the paper from the visit (which frustrates me to no end) or I would put exact numbers-- he's around 19 pounds.  My translation: he's a small baby with a big personality!   He is such a happy boy-- always quick to smile and laugh.  He is very social- loves watching and interacting with people.  He has recently started ducking his head and acting shy when people say "hi" to him, but don't let him fool you.  It's just part of his plan to charm you.  In the last week or so, the word charisma has popped into my head when I am watching him.

He is such a sweet boy.  I always rock him for a few minutes before bed.  I admit it's probably more for me at this point than him.  Guaranteed snuggle time with my quickly growing baby is hard to pass on.   He snuggles with me sucking on his thumb and it's such a sweet moment.  He'll lay his head down on my shoulder, hug me around the neck, and play with my hair.  Then sometimes, just after my heart is melted, he looks up at me beaming (he doesn't give small smiles) and tries to bite me on my jaw.  Sweet moment is over.  He reminds me of my niece and a story my sister-in-law told us about a sweet moment of her singing a lullaby to Meadow during nap time when all of the sudden my niece grabs her nose and says "honk, honk."  Ah, second borns.  I sing to him at bedtime and now he sweetly moans along with me- he's so funny.

Happy does not necessarily mean easy-going.  When James is happy, he's very happy.  When he's not, he's.....NOT!  He does this funny thing that Charlton and I call the "little hulk" because he balls up his fists, put his arms in front of him with his elbows bent, and squeezes them together while he growls loudly.  Usually, it's in his highchair.  You wouldn't like James when he's angry.  (ha ha)  It makes us laugh every time.  At about 9 mos. James had had enough of toys being taken from him, so now he gets MAD- really mad.  The nursery worker actually commented on it Sunday which I thought was funny.  Sunday mornings we have a separate nursery for infants/crawlers and another for walkers.  Sunday night the two are combined.  James is the oldest and most mobile in the first.  In that nursery, all the volunteers comment on how sweet and easy-going he is.  They are mostly right.  He is really good at entertaining himself but he also loves to have playmates.  He is very happy and chatty.  But if he doesn't like something, he's gonna let you know.  I guess shyness isn't in our genes.

(Getting his second haircut from dad for Easter) 

James is on all table food now.  He eats pretty much anything.  He did his first baby sign last week: more.  I was so happy that I was almost in tears.  He'll do the sign for "all done" sometimes but then other times will do "more" instead.  It's a learning process for both of us.  He likes fruit (of course) and vegetables but really loves meat.  Dinner is never a battle.  I use my trusty food mill to grind up whatever we are having for dinner and he loves it.  It is so nice to have a child that likes to eat.  He really wants what we are eating and I am enjoying that he can now eat most of the same things.  My only complaint is that he has discovered the drop-things-over-the-tray game.  So when he's done with a particular food or his sippy cup he just drops it over.  Fun times.  When he's done or if he doesn't want his bottle or food, then just forget it.  He's not going to eat it and no amount of coaxing is going to convince him.  He is becoming less and less interested in his bottle.  Neither of us will be sad to see it go in two months.  It is a struggle to get him to take the 21 oz the pediatrician wants him to have every day.

He is quite the mobile little man.  He started crawling a week after he turned 8 months and was crawling all around the downstairs within days.  He is now standing without any holding on and I predict will be walking before his first birthday.  He is quite the little stinker and makes a mad dash for any open door (pantry, laundry room, etc.) we normally try to keep closed.  This week he managed to pull out a outlet cover off a wall socket and was trying to stick his finger in the outlet.  Fabulous.  The cover doesn't fit very tightly in that particular one but still...how does he even know to do that????

James is very dexterous.  He really likes textures.  He loves to read especially touch and feel books.  I don't have to direct him to the textured spot, he dives right for it and then gives the book a big smile.  He loves cars and anything with wheels.  At 6 months he was flipping over any toy that had round parts and trying to spin them.  He's been saying the sound mama for a while.  Yay!  And very recently it's actually been directed at me.  I think I heard a dada and baba this week.  He hates having his clothes and diapers changed and I usually have to distract him with a toy to get his diaper on.  He loves sitting in the grass.  He loves baths.  He loves his big brother.  He loves sippy cups and playing peek-a-bo.  I love James.