10 Months!

Picture and video overload this month... Don't say I didn't warn you.  I'm not sure if we just happened to take more, or if he really is doing a lot more this month.  I'd say both...

First and foremost, Shad is WALKING!  That deserves a post in and of itself.

He started walking on Christmas Day and has been getting better and better ever since.  He can walk long distances if we walk backward in front of him (and give him the confidence that we're right there,) like across our bedroom and out into the hallway.  He also is starting to push off of things like the couch and stand on his own, and sometimes will walk between close objects. This video is from Christmas Day when he first started walking:

He still loves pushing things around, specifically his walker, laundry baskets, and kitchen chairs/stools:

He is definitely smart, and has seemed to pick up on things quicker the past week or two.  He knows ta da, how to squint, clapping and the sign for "more" which looks the same, and come here.  He waved bye bye to my mom on Skype for the first time today, though I'm confident he would've done it sooner if we'd shown him that one more.

Here he is squinting.  This is one of my favorite things he does right now:

Signing "more" while at the store.  (He was doing it without my prompt before... just not on the video of course.)

He recently started putting his head down onto a soft white blanket we have, and when we started saying "awwww" everytime, he started doing it on command.  Now he'll put his head down on whatever is nearby when we say it.

This particular day he also decided to have a wrestling match with the blanket:

He loves drinking from our cups, and I think he knows what the word drink is. I've just recently started trying to teach him what the sign for thirsty is.  I really  need to learn more baby sign language and be more consistent with it.  This video is one of our favorites, and accurately depicts how he drinks from our cups: 

He also has started imitating our actions more, like rocking back and forth or swaying, dancing, and sticking our tongues out.  (Though that is probably a terrible thing to teach him, it's super cute watching him figure out what we're doing and then finally stick his own little tongue out.)  He was already clicking his tongue and smacking his lips, but he's getting better at doing it when we do it.  He knows what his socks are and will even get them when we prompt him.   He LOVES socks for some reason.  Especially his own.  He'll chew on them and crawl around with them in his hands.

Here is a quick rocking imitation:

And a little dancing and walking:

He babbles a lot and is using more consonants when making sounds, but nothing is understandable yet.  He makes the same sound when he holds his play phone up to his ear, and we think he's trying to say "hello" like we do.  He also likes holding it up to our ears so we can say hello too. 

Whenever we use his hand to do something, like showing him how to open something or wave or tap, instead of doing it himself, he grabs our hand to try and get us to keep helping him do it.  It's funny, I love it. 

Now that he is doing so well with the stairs we have gotten more confident and haven't been putting the baby gates up as often.  He loves carrying objects to the top, dropping them off the edge, and looking down where they went. 

He's starting to enjoy putting things back in a bucket, basket, etc rather than just taking them out. 

He loved kicking this ball around.  I think he has the right sport in mind... ;)

He now has EIGHT teeth!  I can't believe he has so many.  I've heard that babies that get a lot of teeth quickly have less healthy teeth than those that take longer to come in.  I haven't confirmed that but I hope it's not true, cause I'm pretty sure 10 months is early to have 8 teeth!

(The two on the sides on top are in now; this was taken when they weren't quite there yet...)

He has started freaking out/ throwing mini tantrums when we tell him no or take something away from him.  I hope this is not a preview for the future...

He took his first dive off our bed, and came out with just a scuffed up face.

He touched snow for the first time!  He seemed to like it.  He was definitely curious.  He started whining when his hands got cold, but cried when I took him inside.

I have a feeling we'll be outside a lot this summer.  This kid loves the outdoors.  He even found and ate his first leaf:

And enjoyed a few walks on our unusually warm days a few weeks ago.  He loves the stroller, despite his lack of enthusiasm in the pictures:

He was sick for the first time this month.  He had a fever during the night on Dec 28th and when they continued the next day, coupled with a thick runny nose, whimpers and whines, and lack of normal appetite, I called the doctor and took him in.  Turns out he had an ear infection in his left ear and a very sore throat that could've been the startings of strep, but it was too early to tell.  We got him on amoxicillin and he was back to himself in a day or two, minus the stuffy/runny nose.  That last a week or two so we're pretty sure he had a viral cold along with the ear infection

He's been a stinker when it comes to food lately.  He hasn't had baby food in a long time, because he doesn't like spoons or any utensils for that matter.  Even if we let him try on his own, he just flings it around and doesn't have any interest in taking it to his mouth.  He still likes finger food, and is interested in trying just about everything we're eating, but hates baby food.  I'm pretty sure he's going to skip the whole pureed thing altogether.  These videos show how he pushes it away, but when given something to chew on, he's totally okay with it... the little stink.

His hair is starting to get long and wispy in a few spots.  It's especially nasty when it sticks out over his ears.  I need to get a picture of it.  For now this bedhead will have to do.  We're contemplating giving him his first haircut, just for the few long gross hairs..

He favors his left hand when he eats, but uses his right equally when he plays with objects.  He also likes to kick a ball with his right foot more than his left.  I don't know if these are dominate indications this early or not.

He is definitely getting good at making messes.  He loves taking all the books off his bookshelf, emptying the shelves on the fridge door, emptying his diaper bag, pulling all the toys out of his basket, emptying my makeup bag, etc. He loves to be where we are and to be in the middle of everything.  

I've always had a thing for long, dark, curly eyelashes.  Jeff's fit that description fairly well, so I've always hoped that our kids got his eyelashes.  Shad's have been pretty blonde since birth, but they are starting to darken a little and I love it!

Random Favorites:

Learning from Dad:

Getting stuck in the sink at Jeff's parents newly remodeled rental property.  He totally didn't care and just sat there for like 10 minutes:

He loved trying to bite into these clementines and apple:

Charming Cody and Jess with his smiles and squints: (especially in the second video)

Enthusiastically curious face.  I love his expressions:

Helping hold tools:

He still loves playing with the frayed edges of blankets or pulling something over his eyes when he's tired and eating:

Playing Grandma's piano: (I love how he reaches to both ends and talks here and there...)

Cute little feet:

Stuck under our bed:

"Helping" take down the Christmas tree.  He mostly just liked trying to smoosh the branches like Dad:

 We love this kid to pieces and love how fun and smart he is getting! 

I worry for the day when he will completely understand all we're saying.  I hope I can teach him appropriately and be a constant in his life and positive influence on his future.  We so love this happy little face!