10 months

There are only two months until my little babe turns one.  That's it.  She is quickly turning into a little person.  The aspects that keep her a baby are getting harder and harder to find.  But I think I'm finally starting to be ok with it.  I can start to see where we are going and I'm excited.  I'm not wishing away these last months of babyhood, just rather enjoying them as they go by.

you're stupid if you think I'm going to sit here all pretty for pictures

Based on our excellent in home measurements :o), we are guessing Ryann weighs about 20 lbs 3 oz and is 28.75 in long.  As far as Carter's goes, she is walking the line between the 9 month and 12 month clothes.  The 12 month pants are still too big, as are some of the looser fitting shirts, but some leggings and some of the tighter fitting shirts she can pull off.  This week we started putting her in the 12 month sleepers as well.  During the day she is in a size 3 diaper, but we stick a size 4 on at night to try and prevent any leaks (or really, poop explosions.  thank you teething).  Speaking of teeth, the current count is four, but I'm guessing with the excessive amount of drool there are still some more close behind.

We offer Ry 5 bottles a day, 3 of them are 7 ounces, and then we split 7 ounces in to two bottles in the afternoon.  Giving her a little bit before the afternoon nap has seemed to help her sleep a little better.  And somebody throw a party, we have made great strides in the solids department the last couple of days.  Last night she couldn't get enough bites of turkey!  She sits at the table for three meals a day, and even though she screams as we put her into the high chair, she usually will eat at least cheerios.  She has also been happily eating applesauce and yogurt.  Still no luck with the sippy cup, but with her eating I honestly could care less right now.

she so badly wanted to tear the sticker off

Sleep has also gotten SO MUCH better.  Thank you Dr. Ferber.  Naps can still be tough, and she is regularly skipping one or the other each day (even though I KNOW she is tired), but at night?  We give her a bottle, read her a book, and lay her down by 8:00.  Then I don't hear a thing from her until at least 5:50, usually 6:15.  It is amazing.  And she happily (or at least calmly) goes to bed.  She just rolls over and goes to sleep.  It is such a weight lifted off my shoulders.  I think once we switch to one nap a day, she won't really fight that either, but I just don't feel like she is ready.  Maybe I'm wrong, but some mornings she easily goes down for a nap 3.5 hours after she wakes up, and some mornings she screams in her crib for 30 minutes until I come back and get her.  Though the days she fights the morning nap, her afternoon nap is usually 2-3 hours.  Which is tough to complain about.

Ryann is developing such a strong personality.  She is a complete goofball from afar, but if a 'stranger' gets too close to her she completely clams up, and clings to my clothes with a death grip.  She absolutely knows what she wants, and lets you know if you aren't giving it to her.  She is stingy with her smooches, I think because she knows it drives me crazy :o).  That and she doesn't really appreciate people right in her bubble.  Even though she will be the first to invade mine.

We have ourselves a little chatterbox.  Chris and I just love to sit and watch Ryann play, because she is almost always 'talking' to herself.  She is saying 'ma ma ma' more than 'da da da' now, but she has this really forceful 'uh da' sound that she makes regularly too.  We are also getting a lot of 'ga gi ba ba...' it goes on and on.  And a lot of times it definitely seems like she is trying to tell us something specific, and will look at us with those little puppy dog eyes waiting for an answer.  Too bad I rarely have the right one to give to her.  She is still frequently clicking her tongue, and has also started to make this ridiculous gurgling/hacking noise that she thinks is pretty funny.

dork.

Recently Ryann has started locating objects when we ask her where they are.  Such as 'Where is the light?', she will look up to the ceiling and point at a light fixture.  She also knows who Max is (one of our cats), but I'm not sure that she can distinguish between Max and Soph completely yet.  She can also point out her 'da da', and occasionally will respond correctly if Chris asks where ma ma is.  Chris has also gotten her to identify some of her bath toys in the past couple of days, although when I come in to the bathroom to watch she usually won't show off :o).

I can now ask Ryann to hand me something, and she usually will do it.  If I hold out my hand and ask 'May I have the _____', she will pause for a second, and then give it to me.  Sometimes I can tell she really doesn't want to give up whatever she has, because it takes her a little longer to actually comply.  :o)  It is crazy how much she is really starting to understand.  I know she understands 'No' and 'No Thank You', because she will stop what she is doing, pause for a bit, and sometimes decide against whatever she was going to do.  However sometimes she looks right at me, and does it anyway.  Oy.  She also knows that if I use a stern tone and her middle name she definitely better second guess what she is about to do :o).

showing off her standing skills.  it still scares the crap out of me!

As far as gross motor skills, I would say standing unassisted is really the only thing she has started to do in the past month.  She crawls super fast, and can cruise like nobody's business.  The part that stresses me out is when she decides to cruise along a flat surface, like a wall or the cabinets.  I'm terrified she is going to wipe out on the hardwoods or the tile.  I'm sure it is going to happen sooner rather than later, but I just wish it wouldn't.  I try to confine her to the carpeted family room as much as possible!  Ha.

dude, get this thing off my head.

Ryann's favorite books to have read to her this past month are Goldie Locks Has Chicken Pox, Silly Sally, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and Wow Says the Owl.  When she is pulling books off the shelf she usually goes for Tails, That's Not My Snowman and Where is Baby's Belly Button?, however I try to keep that last one off the shelf sometimes.  It is already missing two or three flaps thanks to a little one who isn't super gentle with her books all the time.

she was completely done with me

She enjoys playing pat-a-cake, and also 'I'm gonna getcha', which is really just me attacking her with tickles when I bring her in our bed.  She is super ticklish when you squeeze her right inner thigh :o).  She also still LOVES bath time, as well as her fake baths.  Unfortunately she has taken a big interest in climbing on the toilet, so we don't really just let her roam in to the bathroom as much anymore.  Her ability to play happily by herself in general is growing, which is nice.  But you still have to be relatively close to her.  If I get up and start moving around the room, she gets pretty curious about what I am doing.  Apparently Ryann has also developed a love for black lab puppies and ferrets :o).  Chris has turned the pet store into an indoor zoo of sorts, and they have gone three times this month.

Happy ten months beautiful baby girl.  You amaze me more and more each day.