Oliver is 10 months old today. And his eyes seem to be getting bluer and bluer. He is walking a lot more now. I'd say he walks 1/4 of the time and crawls 3/4. But, each day, he is walking more and more. So, he is definitely walking, it just isn't his primary mode of transportation yet.
He is eating great. He drinks 4 - 8oz bottles a day still and eats breakfast, lunch and dinner. He loves pancakes, french toast or eggs for breakfast and will usually eat a jar of fruit with it as well. For lunch he will eat grilled cheese, mixed vegetables, green beans, corn, watermelon, strawberries, peaches, chicken, pizza, broccoli, grapes, hot dogs, gerber sweet potato puffs and a jar of baby food (not all at the same time though). For dinner, he will eat whatever we are eating. He does well with large pieces of food like pretzels, pizza crust, fries, apple slices, etc. He likes to gnaw on them for a while. He will bite off little pieces and eat them. I can usually get a jar of baby food in him if he is eating other food with his fingers.
He watches his sign language videos while he eats, just like Madeline used to. He loves the lady and little girl on it and gets a huge smile on his face while he watches them. We have seen glimpses of the signs, "dog" and "eat".
Up until this month, he has been pretty uninterested in books. But, something switched when he turned 9 months old. He loves books now. I can often find him in his room with a few books pulled off the shelf and looking through them. He loves anyone to read with him. His favorites are 10 Little Ladybugs, the Peek-a-boo books and other touch-n-feel books.
When I dry my hair in the mornings, he will hang onto my leg and fuss until I pick him up and put him in the sink.
And once he's in the sink, it's not long before he figures out how to turn the water on. (Doesn't he have great bed head?)
Oliver enjoys going on walks in the stroller. But, he isn't too happy when we stop. So, we have to keep moving.
He is definitely into everything. He goes up the steps in a few seconds. He has figured out how to start coming down. He will turn around and put his feet first. Although, I haven't seen him come all the way down that way. As soon as I see him going up the steps, I go to get him and he starts bookin' it back up the steps to run away from me. It doesn't help that he can scale the gate now as well.
He is obsessed with Madeline's night light in her room.
If the toilet seat is left open, his little hands will be going for a dip in 2 seconds.
He think the kitchen cabinets are for him to explore.
And we usually have to leave a big toy or box in front of the fireplace so this doesn't happen all day long.
Other things:
~He says "ma ma ma ma ma" a lot. It seems to be mostly directed at me. He will also say, "da da da da". He also babbles a lot of other sounds.
~He doesn't seem to be yelling quite as much as last month.
~He can wave, but does not do it on command.
~He can click his tongue when I do it first.
~He is sleeping wonderfully. He sleeps about 11-12 hours at night from about 8 or 9 at night until 8 in the morning. He takes a 2-3 hour nap in the morning and a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. He will only nap in his bed though. He will fall asleep in the car when he is really sleepy. But, his car naps will usually only last about 20 minutes.
~He has been pretty sick this month. He has had 2 bouts of Strep. This has caused his appetite to go down a little since his throat probably hurts and he can't breathe through his nose to drink his bottle. But, for the most part, he is still pretty happy, especially for being so sick.
~His 5th and 6th teeth have popped through which has probably added on a little discomfort on top of the Strep. This is also causing him to bite a little. He likes to bite my upper arm while I am holding him. It hurts.
~He plays a fun game with me at night when I am getting ready to put him to bed. He puts his paci in my mouth and then closes his eyes and opens his mouth really wide and waits for me to spit it out at him. Then he giggles a lot and does it again. It's pretty cute. I'm not sure how I don't have Strep at this point.
~He went to the doctor last week (for his 9 month appointment, a little late) and now weighs 19 lbs 5 oz. (24%), is 29 3/4 inches (80%) tall and his head circumference is 47 cm (85%).
Oliver is such a joy. He laughs and smiles so much. He still plays great with Madeline and loves her lots. We love him so much! How can there only be 2 months before he is a year old? Ahhhhh!
