Dear Quinn,
This morning as I left the house, a man in a total panic asked me for directions to the hospital where his wife was currently in labor. I told him which way to go - and to calm down. It's hard to believe that exactly ten months ago your daddy and I were in the same boat. I will never forget him chasing a cab down the street while I waddled along yelling, "wait for me!"
Welcome to the double digits, Quinn! Now that you've been out longer than you were in, you are pretty well-adjusted to life. You recognize people you know and greet them with your beautiful smile. You understand us if we ask you if you would like to get a bath, go for a ride or have something to eat. You'll do "hands up high!" when you get dressed and you
understand the word, "no" although you ignore it at your own discretion.
I have also been trying to teach you to stop taking the glasses off my face - but you think it's a game and I reinforce this behavior by laughing. I can't help it -your little face is too cute!
You are very, very smart. We've been trying to introduce you to new books lately, but you want the same ones read to you over and over again. You like being able to anticipate what comes next. I've been trying to demonstrate the "smell the flowers" page in
Pat the Bunny, so whenever we come to it you automatically turn around to watch me sniff the flowers. When it's your turn, you put your face really close to the page and lick it.
We have so much fun playing with you! You love to play This Little Piggy with your toes - but you know you're going to get tickled at the end, so you squeal and leap off my lap as soon as we get to the last piggy. You play peek-a-boo with us by lifting blankets over your head and pulling them off by yourself. Your favorite game is "I'm gonna get you." You laugh and scream as we chase you all over the apartment.
Speaking of the apartment - you have explored just about every inch of it. You move very deftly from one piece of furniture to another, along the walls or even clinging to our legs when we move about. Your crawl is lightning fast and I believe you are mere weeks from walking. It is hilarious to watch you take steps with the aid of your walker - until you reach the wall and become frustrated. You've started having mini tantrums where you throw yourself on the floor and kick your legs.
Food-wise you don't have many restrictions and are generally very cooperative. You have only one condition- that you feed yourself. Gone are the days of spooning pureed food into your mouth. You prefer finger foods that you can pick up and will only take purees out of a self-serve pouch. I still pack your lunch for daycare, but have started allowing you to sample whatever meals the school provides. This week you tried waffles, french toast and an apple cinnamon cereal bar.
You are the world's greatest baby. We take you everywhere and you handle it like a champ. At bedtime you put yourself to sleep and stay down for the duration. That is wonderful and I shouldn't complain, but I really miss nursing you and cuddling you in the middle of the night. You are way too busy for cuddles these days - it breaks my heart!
But then you make it all better by reaching out to me and saying, "Mama!"
Happy ten months, baby girl. We love you so much!!!!
