Jake Month 10

Here are some of my favorite pictures from our 10th month together.  He is a little harder to get a picture with in focus, but Grammy still managed to get a lot of good shots, many of which show him in action, because he is ALWAYS in action!  The pictures here show him exploring, popping up where you least expect (like a prairie dog his Papa says), on his "search and destroy" missions, running from Mama during a diaper change with a bare bottom, on bike rides, broken swings, and out to lunch or dinner, enjoying his food, hanging with Papa, and just being silly and cute like always.  Just before he turned ten months old we got a quick visit with his Ti Ti Boom.  He loved seeing her and his Uncle Sammi too.

 His smile warms my heart every time.  It is completely impossible not to smile right back. 

Ten Months Old

Happy 10 Months to sweet Jake!

At 10 months old Jake was:

22 lbs 10 oz

30+  inches

The 10th month is most definitely marked by Jake being on the move and constantly exploring.  He has totally mastered crawling and by the end of the month he was crawling to push things and taking things with him.  He is always on his knees to reach things he wants and not happy unless he has something in his hands to discover. He definitely has a usual route around the house and some of his favorite stops are the stick that secures the back sliding glass door, the handles on the tv stand back there, any kind of remote control.  He loves to play with doors (scary for his little fingers) and will push them shut and pull them open over and over again.  So far without a pinch, but I stay close by just in case.  In the kitchen he loves the tupperware in the pantry, the plastic tongs in the cupboard and a ladle I strategically placed so we wouldn't drag the pots across the floor.  He still thinks the heat vents are pretty cool and is more interested in his high chair as a toy than he used to be.  He loves to be outside and will demand to get some fresh air by whining by the door.

Jake loves to chat.  He makes a lot of "Ba" and "Boo" sounds and points when he does it.  He loves loud trucks and airplanes and will stop what he is doing and point in the direction even if he can't see the object making a sound.  Jake is not pulling himself up yet, but started to do a bear crawl this month, up on all fours.  He will mimic any sound or motion you make, which makes me laugh and is always a daily activity.

Jake was nursing 3 times a day during this month and eating 3 solid meals.  He is a great eater, he has still found no food he won't eat.  He has 6 teeth now, 4 on top and 2 on the bottom.  I don't have to ever trick him or anything.  The kid loves food and hopefully continues to be open to try new things.  I'll feed him hummus in one bite, apples in another and then some chicken and he just keeps opening his mouth.  By the end of this month he is feeding himself finger food much of the time.  He still loves yogurt and fruit, but eats a lot of veggies and was orange for a while from the all the sweet potato.  He easily drinks from his sippy straw cups.  Sometimes he gets a little wet, but he is just playing then.  I give him a glass of previously frozen breastmilk some afternoons when he needs a little snack to get him to dinner.  He can suck down about 5 oz in 3 to 4 minutes.  Its incredible.

Changing Jake's diaper is a total nightmare, he never stops moving and we have had some pretty messy changes because of it.  There doesn't seem to be a toy in the world that will hold his attention through a diaper change.  He always enjoys the iPhone in my moments of desperation and has known to update my Facebook status once or twice.  He will also sit still if I give him the fingernail clippers.  Great toy.

We had a little refresher course on putting himself to sleep at bedtime this month.  Over time the length of my rocking and singing had gotten out of hand and he was mad when he was put into his crib.  One or two nights of a little crying at bedtime and we are back to easy bedtimes.  This kid has no faults, literally he is the best baby ever...but he is an early riser...like never past 6am kind of riser.  Luckily we are morning people, but sometimes just to sleep to 6:30am would be nice.  I guess if that is the one downfall we have to deal with we will survive.  We usually leave him in his crib for 15 to 40 minutes when he wakes up and plays until a more reasonable time to get up.  He sleeps through the night.  It just happened one day, he had gotten up for an early morning feeding at 4am for so long and then it just stopped.  If he is up (no matter how early) it is always for the day now! His naps continue to be hit and miss.  He almost always has a good morning nap 45 min to 2 hours, but the afternoon is a little harder.  If I do get him down it is never longer than 45 minutes.  Sometimes he is just so wound up he can't relax, I mean too many new tricks to do.  If he falls asleep in the car I have to keep moving to keep him asleep.  I have toured much of the eastside and NW Portland to give him a good nap.  I never mind though.  I have explored some new places and it is relaxing for me if I am not chasing him around!

This life we've got right now is pretty special.  We are buds, he thinks I am funny and although he is constantly on the go he still has time to swing by Mommy for some snuggles.  I have been there every single day since he was born and still when I look back at pictures it is hard to remember that little baby.  I feel so lucky to have all the little moments with Jake.  He would have been starting daycare at Nike right about now.  I know he probably would have loved it and made friends and charmed everyone, but instead we get to continue this crazy adventure we are on.  Days with Mom, nights with Papa, and a lot of laughs all around.  I get sad to think about Jake getting older, it must be time for another one...