eLLe - 10 months

Dear Nutter Butter,

You are ten months old today! Congratulations!

I don't know why I'm on a "Nuts" theme with your nicknames these days. For the first five or so months of your life it was "Monkey": Monk, Monkfish, Monkbone, Monkey Doodle Dandy. Then, I moved on to "Toots": Tooty, Tooter, Tootface, Toot Bottom. And now, your strange Mama is on "Nuts." Nut Face, Nutty, Nutbone, Nutty Buddy, Nut Belly, Nutter. Sometimes I'll combine fun snippets from all of the above, and call you things like Tootnut or Tooty Monkbottom or Nutty Monkfish. You can totally bring this post into therapy with you.

Ten months. Gee willakers. What a fun 10-month-old babe you are. You're everywhere! You're pulling, reaching, straining, climbing. You zip out of the room and are halfway up the stairs before I have a chance to turn around. You're "cruising" the furniture, pulling yourself up and sidestepping all the way around the coffee table or down the length of the couch.  You have stood without support for up to five seconds. Look out world - here comes the new Walker, Texas Ranger!

You still don't have teeth. Honestly, part of me was wondering if you aren't some kind of anomalous toothless ten-month-old toddler, but more and more mothers have been assuring me that their little ones didn't get teeth till 11 months or so. Granted, they got four teeth at once, or vampire incisors first, but they are now sporting sweet lil' baby smiles and appear to be completely normal. So, you know, I'm cool with that.

I am learning that teeth don't have to be present to eat, however. All of a sudden, you can chow down! We're feeding you bits of pasta, shredded cheese, pieces of toast, and chicken bones! Okay, maybe not that last bit, but you are officially joining us for meals in your new high chair. We finally had to spring for one of those because you've outgrown the Bumbo sitter. But I have to say I am really enjoying it. I can plop you in, sprinkle a few Cheerios on the tray and actually turn away for a minute to wash a dish or pick my teeth in the mirror. You like it, too! You're coming thisclose to clapping when you're excited to sit in your chair. Sure, it kind of looks like you're just flailing your arms haphazardly, and your little hands have yet to actually make contact with each other, but those of us "in the know" realize you're showing your delighted approval of things.

And to show your disproval, you squawk. And screech. And squeal. I admit it, I have referred to you as "annoying" on more than one occasion this month. I also admit I tried drinking caffeine this month. And I'm realizing that as long as we're nursing (which I still absolutely relish, though you're slowly -sniff- showing signs of not being that into it anymore), I should lay off, because that single shot of Starbucks goes straight to your itchy little larynx. 

You are curious and inquisitive. You follow sounds by craning your whole little body, and intrigue registers openly on your angelic face. You're very bright. You have begun flipping the pages of the books we read together, and your wee thumb gets in there to turn just one board book page at a time. "Book" is one of the words that I'm almost positive you recognize. I say "Where's your book?" and you crawl right over to the toy stack in whatever room we're in and pull one out. You also know (I'm pretty sure): Mila, eat, bottle, Daddy, bath, bubbles, Luciya, butterfly, ball, and clown. And you also know I love you very much.

I often think about how saying I love you doesn't even come close to the way I truly feel about you. You are the truest voice in my soul, the purest blend of every emotion ever conceived. And now that you've - incredibly - been out of my body longer than you were in it, I realize how truly blessed I am to have had this time to experience being alive.

I love you, Luciya!

Love,

Mama