river james - ten months

 

ten months and so many changes. each day i realize just how much river understands now and it is mind-boggling. the other night i was reminding him that he needed to eat his carrots before he could have any more chicken. initially he kept playing with the bits of food on his tray (i wasn't sure if he really understood my command) but after awhile when he saw i wasn't giving him any meat he deliberately picked up a carrot and shoved it in his mouth. after being rewarded with a piece of meat, i told him to eat more carrots - he threw a little tantrum, begrudgingly threw his hand down on his tray and scooped up two pieces of carrot into his mouth - josh and i could not stop laughing! he comprehends soo much! 

this month we have transitioned to a complete table food diet and while i love not having to keep purees on hand  i also am finding it a challenge to discover new and inventive ways to offer veggies. le sigh. i think this is a battle for every parent. he drinks from a cup now (he was not getting the sippy-cup, it was more fun to chew on) and is so proud of himself when he finishes guzzling his water. we have a total of six teeth now and they are still the bane of our existence at night. 

river loooooves petra and vice versa. he loves crawling all over her and tugging her ears and attempting to gouge her eyes out. yikes.

he's just started 'helping' me with the laundry - handing me one piece at a time from the basket with the biggest smile on his face.

books have become more popular as literary entertainment rather than their former position as chew toys. he loves interactive books like 'pat the bunny' and 'brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?' and we love to snuggle him on our lap as he attempts to turn the pages.

dadada has turned to mamamama and sometimes he says it as he starts towards me (not sure if we'll say it's a word yet). he likes to mumble 'mumumum' (mmmm?)while he's eating and sometimes 'bababa' (bye-bye?) while waving.

he's also picked up pointing and waving. the other day i was heading to the neighbors' to pick him up after work. i was about halfway up their driveway and i could just catch a glimpse of him in the doorway. apparently he saw me right away though because he was waving before i had even called out to him. melt my heart right there.