Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Ari Kyle - 10 Months


Dear Ari,
Today my dear, you are 10 months old. 5/6 of a year. Where has the time gone? It seems like just yesterday I was holding my breath for February, that magical 6-month mark, and then I blinked and you're 10 months old. Unbelievable. At 10 months you are:
  • sitting up very well, and going from crawling/standing to sitting up.
  • clapping, playing pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo.
  • sleeping through the night, 11 to 12 hours each night. Finally!
  • in a size 4 diaper, and 12 - 18 month clothing.
  • cutting teeth. You have four already, two on top middle and two on bottom middle.
  • eating three meals of solids a day, and a snack in between.
  • taking two to three bottles of formula a day.
  • using a sippy cup for meals.
  • really good at the pincher grasp, and you can pick up little tiny pieces of food.
  • pulling up on everything, furniture cruising, but not standing up on your own.
  • dancing to music, and "singing" along when we sing.
  • crawling everywhere, very quickly.
  • saying a few words. Your favorite word is "dog" and the dog is your favorite toy.
  • enamored with big brother. He's the first person you look for when you wake up.
  • pointing with your index finger at things that interest you.
  • giving kisses, making the kissing noise and trying to blow kisses.
  • waving bye-bye or night-night.
  • expressing yourself with vocalizations, especially your temper.
  • crawling up onto stepstools, tall toys, anything you can lift a knee onto!
  • Mommy's boy, in a major way, wanting me to hold you all the time.

Blink and you'll miss it, isn't that the truth. From tiny infant to big boy, when did that happen? You're almost a toddler, and almost a year old. You've been such a joy to me and your Daddy. You're not Owen, you're so different than Owen, and getting to know you is an adventure. We have our special games we play, you and me, and we have special routines that we do before bed, things we share that Owen never did, or never cared about. I love to see you interact with your big brother. As you get bigger, he is realizing that he can actually play with you instead of ignore you or shove you over, and the two of you are becoming fast friends. After every nap, when I bring you out of your room, you immediately start grunting and pointing and looking for Owen. He always brings a smile to your face.

As Owen grows older, I treasure your infancy more and more. He is an obvious reminder in front of me every single day that you are only going to be a baby for a little while longer, and then you'll be a little boy. So I take photographs in my mind, to remember certain moments, to recall your face or your smell at any time, to remember your little rubbery cheeks or your drooly hands poking at my face. I keep mental reminders of your voice, your squeal, your laugh, your snore. I know it won't be long before we're arguing, you and me, about all kinds of things - like why you have to wear pants when we go out, or why it's not okay to have three glasses of chocolate milk, or why it's not a good idea to stack a chair on the couch and stand on it. But for now, you're still a baby, you still trust me to make all of your decisions for you, and we're still best friends. May we always remain so. Nothing but love for you, baby.

Mommy

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What a great picture!!

Betsy