10 Months

Marie is ten months old today!

So here are 10 things about her this month:

1. She never stops moving.  Now that she has mastered crawling, and now that we are moved into our new house which is much more spacious than our apartment, she just goes zipping around.  You can always hear her coming because she makes this excited panting noise as she goes.  It's hilarious and adorable.  And her poor little knees are covered with bruises because she goes so quickly on our hardwood floors.  She loves the freedom of being able to move around on her own.

She also won't stop standing up.  She grabs onto anything she can reach and pulls herself up, and in the last few days she has started just standing up in the middle of the room, holding onto nothing!  She is so proud of herself!

2. She claps for herself.  All of her new accomplishments--there are a lot every day--are very pleasing to her and she shows it by giving herself the cutest round of applause.

3. She is super cuddly.  I think that God knew that I absolutely needed a cuddly, snuggly bundle of love.  And that's what we got!  She gives hugs and snuggles and big, sloppy, open-mouth kisses that are amazing.

4. She's a talker.  Marie talks.  She makes so many different noises with so many inflections and so many expressions, that I am absolutely positive she is saying something.  She explains things, comments on things, expresses her joy, disapproval and excitement about anything and everything.  It is so much fun to spend the day conversing with her and listening to her figure out the language.

5. She loves eating.  She is now eating three meals a day with a few snacks, though most of her nutrition is still coming from nursing.  She loves avocado, carrots, turkey, cheese, yogurt, bananas, pears, rice crackers, and almost anything else she tries.  She's very open to trying new things, loves feeding herself finger food, and still likes eating from a spoon.  I feel very blessed to have a good eater. She also sips from her own little water bottle, and it's really dang cute.

6. She's a Momma's girl.  And she makes it known sometimes that no one but mama will do.  It's a very great compliment, and I know it won't last forever.  I try to remember that when all I want to do is go to the bathroom without holding her...

7. She is interested in everything and doesn't miss a thing.  Right now she is especially interested in things she can't play with.  Like cords.  And outlets. And the garbage can.  And many similarly non-baby items.  And she's starting to throw little fits when you take things away from her.  Oh boy.  A very common phrase lately is, "Not in your mouth, please." or "That's not for playing."  But she also is just interested in life--all the noises, sights and happenings of the day.  You can't put anything past her at all--she's too observant for it--and she wants to know what you are doing at all times.

8. She is very entertaining.  She is so much fun to watch and play with.  Days are rarely tedious because there's always something fun to do with her.  Any little thing--and pretty much every little thing--is interesting to her, so there is always something new to watch her check out.  Right now, for instance, she's trying her hardest to peel packing tape off of a box.  And she got it off.  And now it's stuck to her hand.  And it's very entertaining to watch...

9. She's a good player.  She will spend a long time just playing by herself and she does the cutest things when she is absorbed in her own little world.  She talks to her toys and moves things around and around, examining one object and then another.  She entertains herself for a long time and enjoys having a little time to herself.

10. She discovered baby dolls.  Though I thought she was too young for a real baby doll, my mom brought one out while we were staying there for a week, and Marie loved it!  She hugged it and kissed it and wiped its nose.  She's a great little mama.

The joys continue and deepen.  We love our little girl!