William is 10 months old

William turned 10 months old last Tuesday, 8.19. My first thoughts about him being 10 months were ones of worry that I have less than 2 months to plan his birthday party. Terrible, but true. Birthday party planning aside, my little baby is getting big and is really starting to show his personality. He is content and easy-going but has a feisty and mischievous streak. He is also becoming quite the daredevil. Gasp, another one. I'm convinced that it must come from Patrick because my boys certainly don't get it from me!

Swinging at a park near my Dad and Sandi's house

He loves to swing, but lately at the park he would rather be set down in the mulch to dig, crawl around and play (and eat if no one is watching).

Showing off his teeth

He still has 6 teeth; 4 on the top and 2 on the bottom.

William in the backyard
He never stays on the blanket for long. This day he found a pine-cone and as I was snapping a picture he tried to take a bite.
He is still putting everything into his mouth!

A few notes about William at 10-months:

• He loves balls, Cheerios and dogs.
• He babbles a lot; mostly ga-ga-ga and ba-ba-ba
• He said his first word last Sunday, 8.24. He said doggy while we were on a walk and strolling past a dog. It sounds like "gaw-ghee", but he kept repeating it when I asked him if he could say doggy. He is definitely obsessed with dogs - this boy needs a pup!
• No more baby food! He eats all finger/table foods now. His first day of all table foods was Monday, 8.18. He will eat anything I set on his tray. He loves vegetables and meat! Some favorite foods are broccoli, carrots, strawberries, pineapple, cheese, yogurt, chicken, lean ground beef, turkey sausage, and definitely Cheerios.
• He is bottle/formula fed 100% of the time now. He sort of weaned himself at 9.5 months. I think it was a combination of his eating a lot of solids and my production slowing down. He did great with the transition. It has been a little bit harder on me since I was planning on nursing him until he turned one. But I'm thankful that it was an easy weaning and I will admit I have been loving caffeine (yum, Cherry Coke).
• He is busy. He pulls himself up and is now cruising along furniture or whatever he happens to be holding on to. He can stand on his own for a couple of seconds, like maybe 2, but he's only done that a few times and it seems like a fluke. Honestly, I'm in no rush for him to walk!
• The child safety gates are up. He has a couple of favorite danger hot-spots. Upstairs no matter which room I set him down in, he always crawls out the door and heads right for the stairs. I now put a gate there when we're upstairs. And downstairs when I have my back turned (it can be for only 30 seconds) he always makes a break for the bookshelf in our living room, pulls himself up and grabs the frames from the second shelf and tosses them on to the floor. I feel like a bad mom, but I feel compelled to admit, he has broken two in these brief moments. That shelf is now empty-I moved the remaining frames, and luckily he was never hurt. He still goes for that bookshelf every time we are in the living room. I've totally forgotten what it's like to have a mobile baby. Oh and when I say "no-no" he smiles and laughs. I don't think he gets it.
• He really loves his daddy and gets so excited when Patrick gets home from work.

He is a joyful baby and adds so much life to our family. We just love him so much!