Ten months old

Taylor is ten months old today. Two months to go until the big One. Unbelievable. Chris and I are having flashbacks from a year ago, me rather swollen with a constant supply of Fritos and ice cream, and everyone warning us how fast the first year goes. And we were all, Really? This is the most exciting thing ever and we’re just going to savor every second of it. And now we’re all, Are you kidding me? She has already grown out of some of her 12 month clothes.

And now she’s standing by herself! And I say it with such force because she’s getting more and more stable, and we know what’s coming next. Walking. Dear Lord, I’m not ready for walking. Right now we have a good system where I put her in the jump-up and take a shower. And she’s happy doing that because she’s NOT walking. Which means that if she continues this progress I’m going to become one stinky Momma.

Another advancement came in Ruby’s love of our newer addition this past month. Which I fault completely on the increase of Taylor’s finger food portions. I actually watched my baby hand-feed my dog scrambled eggs this morning. And I haven’t had to sweep or mop the dining area for about two weeks. It’s a win-win. And other than eggs, their favorites this past month were kiwi, pineapple, avocado and biter biscuits.

Taylor’s also started recognizing certain words, such as her name, Ruby and Kisses. You say, Where’s Ruby? And she’ll swivel her head in fury to try and spot Ruby. Who’s usually under the table licking the floor. And if you say, Give me kisses, she’ll open her mouth and nose dive on your face. And you’ll feel all special until you say, Give the monkey kisses, and she’ll open-mouth kiss her stuffed animal. Yep, she’ll pretty much kiss anything you tell her to. Much to the delight of her father, who would rather die that have his daughter get a reputation as the frequent open-mouth kisser.

Something else she started loving this month are cartoons. During a come apart one afternoon, I switched over to Sesame Street and she stopped in her tracks and stared at the television. Big smiles and a little bit of bouncing, and Momma and Daddy have a new bullet in the chamber. We don’t use the cartoon-soothing-method often, but it always works. And Chris has gladly volunteered for the animation-watching 6 am shift on the weekends. Because my husband has discovered Sponge Bob Square Pants, and thinks it is hilarious. And I think it is wonderful too, because I get to sleep until 8 am.

And just so you don’t label us a solve-our-problems-with-TV Family, we’ve been very diligent in reading to Taylor from her vast children’s book library. Not that we have to coax her into it. She loves pulling books down from her bookshelf. It’s her new favorite game. And after she pulls down a book, she’ll stop and flip through all the pages. She doesn’t pay any attention to what’s actually on the page, but she LOVES flipping through the book. Hey, it’s a start.

We also started parent-child swim lessons at the YMCA this month. And the cuteness that is my daughter in a ruffley-butt swimsuit it too much to handle. Her belly sticking out and her chubby legs! A person could feast on those thighs for weeks. It’s not the most intense class, we basically just spend the half-hour going back and forth across the pool with Taylor clutched to a bath toy, squealing in delight and splashing water in my face. So she’s not exactly learning how to swim, but I just want her to be familiar with the pool by this summer. Because for the first summer since forever, Momma’s going to be able to spend most of her afternoons at the pool getting a tan. And maybe I’m being totally outlandish in thinking that I’ll be able to get a savage tan during that two-hour window between lunch and naps, but let me hold onto this for a moment.

And later this month Chris and I have planned a four-night vacation to Folly Beach, which is just south of Charleston, and we’re going to be able to spend two nights as a couple and then two nights as parents. Much thanks to Chris’s mom for coming in to babysit and then bringing Taylor to meet us. Our first of many trips to the ocean. I can’t wait to see my daughter’s reaction to the beach – I’m guessing the sand will be a bit horrific to her. But dipping her toes in the Atlantic for the first time – Well, that vision makes me so happy and proud that my heart just might burst.