{Miss Maylin} 10 Months Old

Maylin has moved into the double digits. Once again, here I am inwardly amazed at how fast the last month of her life went by. I have probably typed that sentence a thousand times on this blog, but it's true. Time has never sifted away this fast in my life. I think it might have something to do with how much she changes and matures in just a few short weeks. 

Pretty soon, my baby won't be a baby anymore. She'll be a toddler. A toddler!! And then this whole parenting thing will for sure sink in, right? I mean, when you have a toddler you are waaaay further into parenthood than when you have a baby. Excuses like "I just had a baby" and "But she's only a baby" and "I'm a new parent" kinda fly out the window when your child is over one year old. But let's not talk about that right now.

At 10 months old, Maylin::

~  has a full understanding of the word "no." I didn't think we'd have to tell a 9-10 month old NO as often as we do. Probably the ability to crawl accelerated that command.

~  is crawling ev.er.y.where. And pretty fast too. M and I nicknamed her "Gollum" {from Lord of the Rings} because when she wants to get somewhere in a hurry she hikes her up left leg so that her foot is flat on the floor and uses it to propel herself along. So picture my baby scooting around the house like Gollum, okay? That's how she does it.

~ uses a universal hand squeeze sign for "want." I was super excited last month because she finally started signing the word "milk," which is a vertical hand squeeze. That sign has kind of morphed, though, into a "I want that" sign. Oh well. The three signs I've been showing to her most this month are "more," "eat," and "mama." She hasn't repeated those yet, though.

~ waves "bye-bye" pretty well. When she wants to. {Have I mentioned I have a stubborn child?} She waves bye to Daddy in the morning when he leaves for work, and has recently started waving to people in the grocery store that pass us. People think it's pretty great. I'm going to have to have the "stranger danger" talk with her soon...

~ pulls up on literally anything her hands touch. She even pulled up on a paper sack once, which immediately collapsed under her, so she's learning that not everything that looks solid and sturdy is actually solid and sturdy. Our dog Deuce, who tolerates Maylin at best, is getting harder pressed to find places of refuge. He was sleeping on the couch the other day when Maylin pulled up on the edge and started patting his nose. They were looking eye to eye. He immediately moved to our bed, which is about the highest surface he can get atop now and he stays there most of the day.

~ has discovered the bottom step of the staircase. I have not so secretly wished that by the time Hartlie baby arrives, Maylin will be able to adeptly climb up and down the stairs by herself so that I only have to carry one baby up to the changing pad a thousand times a day instead of two {too much to hope for? Don't burst my bubble}. Therefore, I have been slightly encouraging {okay, maybe more than slightly} her to pull herself on the bottom step. All while closely monitored of course. 

~ is not too sure about walking just yet, but she sure loves standing up. I've tried to get her to take steps while holding her hands or while behind her walker. Her booty hits the floor immediately if she even suspects I want her to take a step. It's just not happenin' right now.

~ still has no teeth. And that's just fine with me!

~ makes the sound "ba ba ba" for everything. "Maylin, say 'Ma-ma.'" Pause. "ba ba ba" // "Maylin, do you want a bottle?" Pause "ba ba ba" // "Maylin, say bye-bye!" Pause "ba ba ba" // You get the idea. 

~ loves cheese toast, Cheerios, oatmeal with berries, sweet potatoes, mozzarella cheese, and pretty much any meat. She's not a picky eater at all. Thank goodness!

~ is getting braver at venturing into rooms that I'm not in. She'll crawl all over the house while I'm in the kitchen.

~ wears diapers size 2.

~ wears pants, shirts, and pajamas size 6-9 months.

~ wears 3 month dresses as tops and 6  month dresses as, well, dresses.

~ has been weaned {see that post here} and now takes 24 ounces of formula a day, plus eating three meals and snacks in an effort to boost her weight.

~ weighs 12 pounds 9 ounces. Hopefully when we go back for her weight check in a couple of weeks she'll have put on a little chunk.

~ sleeps 6:30 PM to 7:30 AM every night. And I am relishing it until Hartlie baby gets here.

~ takes two 2 hour naps daily, one in the morning, one in the afternoon. Sister likes her sleep.

These monthly photo shoots are getting increasingly difficult. These pictures were taken oven a span of two days {during which time I was a Nazi about keeping that white onesie clean}, and most of the time she sat there with a scowl on her face while I tried to get her to smile. See below. Of course, not that she actually sat still very long. And she loves pulling that sticker off. 

I finally had to enlist Michael's help on his lunch break and was able to snag a few decent, non blurry ones. 

Sweet Maylin, we love you so much! Happy 10 Months, Sister!!