Happy 10 Months to my little Eli!

Dear sweet Eli,

You are becoming quite the little boy -- no longer a baby!  You are becoming more and more adventurous and um...... dramatic?  :)  We love every minute with you and can't wait for the excitement ahead!

10 months old

You are still wearing 6-12 month onesies, although many of them look like scoopneck tops on you.  I'll explain that later.  Your pants are 6-12 months, also, although some are probably on the short side.  You have a great Carhart jacket Papa & Grandma Shelby got you that you've worn alot since Christmas, and a navy puffy vest that you also wear.  Your dad and I are partial to puffy coats (he's a recent convert - I've been staying warm (while choosing to ignore the unflattering affects)) with puffy coats since grade school.  The three of us look pretty funny together!  We experienced your first snow this month!  You thought it was pretty cool... until your little bum got a little soaked.  It happened much quicker than I anticipated.  So sorry!  :)

SNOW!!!!!

This month has flown by.  We settled back into a work/PDO routine after a couple of weeks off around Christmas.  That time was so special - we took several trips to Tulsa to see family and had a few playdates too.  We celebrated Christmas with your Grammy & Pops, Uncle John, Aunt Carolyn, and Uncle BJ on the Monday after Christmas.  You got a cute outfit and some fun Converse sneakers!

Seeing sweet Maria and my rfl Mary

Playdate with Caden and Karsten

 You have started becoming more vocal even in the past two weeks.  A lot of "bah bah bah" and some "mah mah mah mah mah mah" that you typically say when you are exasperated.  It isn't quite the "mama" I was expecting to "count it" as a word, but Peggy says that counts.  :)  You also make some funny noises with your tongue - clicking and clacking.  You think it is so funny! 

You mostly army crawl still, but crawl normally on carpet.  You are starting to crawl normally more often on regular floors, but quickly drop down into your army crawl.  You are pulling up on everything - this morning you were hanging on to the side of the kitchen table!  You push anything that will move when you're standing next to it, including your high chair and the stools we have in the living room, let alone your push toys.  You and I have a funny trick where I ride your John Deere and you push me around.  It's so funny!  You laugh so hard when we do it!  

You still have 6 teeth, but I can see #7 nearing its debut.  You take milk 4 times a day.  We are nearing the end with nursing as you just simply won't nurse sometimes.  You did yesterday, and did this morning, but I am working on weaning you this month.  I have dropped to nursing (or pumping) only twice a day.  You are still a great eater.  You still prefer to eat finger foods, although you will let me feed you yogurt (which you still love) and sometimes breakfast baby food.  I had bought a few to have handy in case we were headed somewhere and I couldn't get homemade food packed properly, and I'm trying to work through that little stash.  You love canned green beans most right now.  You also love red and black beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, pears and apples.  You have had roast chicken and grilled pork chops and loved those too!  Oh, and lasagna!  :)  You are headed towards eating what we eat.  The only thing you haven't liked was a tomato from a can of rotel that was in a soup.  Sorry about that.  Perhaps it was a tad too spicy for ya.  Noted.  ;)  You still get excited when you see me reaching for the (plain) cheerios and still enjoy your fish or chicken sticks.

You might be trying to change your 2nd naptime on me, but I can't quite figure it out.  Some days you go down easily, and others you play in your crib for up to an hour before falling asleep.  You also have decided that you don't like sleeping with a dirty diaper, so sometimes I have to go in mid-nap and sort that out before you'll go back to sleep.  Can't say I blame ya, but not sure why that changed all of a sudden.  :)

I should have known it was too quiet... you were UP to something!

Thanks to you, we now have a big wad of toliet paper to use piled behind the toliet seat (out of your reach!)

We still love playing peek-a-boo.  We also play catch.  I thought months ago that you understood the concept, but dad wasn't convinced.  But, there is no denying it now.  You love throwing the ball.  You also love dropping your sippy cup from your highchair, but I'm going to thank you right now for not throwing food.  We get enough food on the floor without you throwing it, so thank you for not making it worse.

This is your fake cry face.  I laugh when I see it.  I think it's cute!  :)

You still LOVE bathtime.  We've been playing with your hair lately during bathtime.  It's getting so long - it touches your eyebrows!

You stayed overnight with your Papa and Grandma last weekend.  You really enjoy being around your cousins!  When your dad and I went to pick you up, we went to visit your Great Grandpa Bob.  We feel blessed that you got to meet him as he is not in the best shape.  He asked several times what your name was.  But, he thought you were pretty cute!!  After that, your dad let you sit in his lap and drive us home (1/4 mile on a deserted road -- no hate mail, please).  Your dad considers driving young a rite of passage.  He started driving in the watermelon field when he was about 7 (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!!).  Anyway, we headed straight for the pig barn where they are housing a bottle calf.  You weren't eager to touch the calf, but you seemed to enjoy seeing it.  You kept turning to your dad and smiling.  It was so sweet!

10 & 2, ELI!!!

Hanging out with GGrandpa Bob and his Mountain Dew :)

I could go on and on!  Your dad and I love you so much and cherish each moment with you!

Love you,
Mom