10 months.

Nathaniel is 10 months today! I cannot/refuse to believe that he's going to be one whole year old soon! But, as much as I'm sad when I put away yet another box of outgrown clothes or look at photos from 6 months ago, I am so excited that my baby is growing up! He's doing it a bit too quickly for my liking--but, oh what fun we're having together! The older he gets, the more fun he is! (Don't get me wrong, I love a good teeny infant cuddle, but this is such a fun age--he laughs, he makes me laugh, yet he still smells like a baby!) I used to work in the 1 year old room at the daycare, and I thought that those kids were of the best age--still babies, yet able to do/learn so much! And, as Nate quickly approaches that year milestone, I am pretty sure that I was right!

Nate can do so much--he surprises us all the time with skills that he's picked up! Last week in church, he started waving. And waving. And waving! {The people in the pew behind us were waving back!} I've noticed him recently putting his toy phones up to his ear. He has learned how to push his toy cars on the floor, and he loves to pass them back and forth. He also loves to pass his green ball back and forth. He knows how to "color"/pound his crayons on paper, and one of his favorite activities is ripping up newspaper advertisements (which he shreds into tiny pieces).

I continue to be impressed with Nathaniel's fine motor skills. He uses his index finger to do things very often. He pushes buttons on toys and phones, and he loves to turn his toy cars over and spin the wheels with his finger. He can feed himself anything, even crumbs. (Gee, maybe I'd better start sweeping the floor a little more thoroughly!)

Nathaniel's favorite toys include his pop-up toy, his little cars, his squishy ball, and, of course, Grover! He still loves to watch the dog run and play, and he laughs at him often! Grover has been wonderful with Nate--he lets Nate pull his fur and pound on him when he's sleeping. And, even though we're working on "gentle hands" with the doggy, I feel good knowing that Grover seems to understand that Nate is too little to know better.

Nate enjoys getting outside often. He gets excited when I carry him to the door that leads onto the deck, so we usually go outside several times a day just to look around. We go on walks down the street (and up the big hill!) several times a week, and I carry Nate in the Ergo carrier. He also loves to get in his little splash pool when it's hot outside!

Nate is not crawling yet, although we continue to force a little tummy time {almost} daily. He is turning into quite the insistant little guy--he knows what he wants, and he wants it now! (Usually, he wants to be in mommy's arms with her undivided attention.) When he does not get what he wants, during tummy time, or whenever he hears the word "no", Nathaniel cries a very loud and very fake cry. Then, he usually pauses to see if he's going to get a reaction--if not, he cries again. And again. And again. Depending on the situation, this can last a while until a distraction comes along (or until Mommy gives in a rescues him from tummy time!).

Despite his lack of crawling, Nate is very strong. He can pull himself into a standing position and hold himself up for a long time. He loves to stand in his pack n' play, and he gets mad when he falls down to a sitting position (he cannot pull himself up there because there is nothing to hold on to).

Nathaniel has 8 teeth now (4 top, and 4 bottom), and might be starting to cut his first molars. He seemed to be in pain for a few days/nights, but I haven't noticed any discomfort recently. Nevertheless, he is getting very good at "chewing" with what teeth he does have!

Nate eats very well, and is almost finished with pureed foods. He loves fruits and vegetables and almost anything that he can feed himself. I usually give him a fruit with yogurt or oatmeal for breakfast, a fruit or vegetable with a grain for lunch, and a vegetable (sometimes with a meat) for dinner. He often eats (salt free) saltines, yogurt melts, fig bars, or animal crackers for snacks. His most recent favorite foods have been halved grapes (I think he ate a whole pound in about 3 days!), blueberries, bananas, strawberries, and Gerber crunchies. I am still nursing him several times daily--usually 4 times during the day, and twice at night. He drinks water out of his sippy cup in between.

Nate loves to "talk" to us, and he is constantly babbling to us, to himself, to the dog, etc. He says "mama" when he wants me, and says "bwa bwa bwa!" all the time. When he's finished nursing, he almost always looks up at me and says "ma bwa!" We've been trying to get a "dada" out of him, but he usually just laughs and says "mama!"