Catchup: Ten Months

January 23:

Dear Finn,

We had so much fun with you this month.  Celebrating Christmas for the first time as a family of three was something we had been looking forward to ever since we found out you'd be joining our family, and it didn't disappoint.  We loved introducing you to all of our traditions, and starting some new ones too.  You were wide-eyed on Christmas morning as we showed what Santa had brought, you loved to stare at the lights on the tree and touch the prickly branches, and you even sat still for most of the Christmas Eve service we attended at the Naval Academy Chapel.  We know these things will be even more magical (well, maybe not the sitting still during church part!) as you get older and can understand more.

This month marked the first time we took a real vacation with you.  The day after Christmas you flew on your first plane and you were a champ!  You then got to show off your shiny new passport and saw your first (second, third, and fourth) foreign countries while we cruised around with our families.  You were so much fun to travel with, taking all disruptions to your schedule in stride.  Other than a few nights of not-so-great sleep, taking you on vacation was wonderful.  You ate at the table with us for every meal, impressing everyone with your willingness to try just about anything we put in front of you.  You're already a more adventurous eater than your mom, enjoying salmon and mahi mahi.  Fruit is still your favorite though, and you had more than your share of papaya, pineapple, and cantaloupe.  Your first taste of pancakes was also a big hit.

Another big first that happened the day after Christmas was your much-anticipated first word.  Drumroll please... mama!  Although you'd been babbling the syllables for a while, it was on vacation that you started associating the word with your mom in earnest, and you made her the proudest mom in the world.  You rewarded your dad with the same treatment on New Year's Day, clearly saying dada while reaching for him.  We were both beaming ear to ear.  A couple of weeks later, just to include all members of our little family, you introduced "dit dit" as your third (and to be honest, most often used) "word", the name you've given to your brother Duncan.  Once in awhile you throw out an enthusiastic "hiiiii!", rounding out your four word vocabulary at nine months.

You sprouted two new teeth this month, #7 and #8 on the top and bottom right.  You're still cruising along furniture like a mad man, and experimenting with a little standing without holding on, although you're not attempting any steps alone yet.  While in Maine after Christmas (you and your mom took that trip solo which was an adventure!) your Mimi taught you how to climb stairs, and it's become a fun new pastime of yours.  Other fun new skills include high fives (to the sheer delight of your dad) and clapping.

This month you are definitely much more into playing with your toys, with your little cars and trucks among your favorites.  Instead of just banging them together or on the floor, you actually scoot them around on their wheels or skate along with them while crawling.  You're really content to play by yourself as long as you have a bucket of toys to dump out, and we watch with amazement as you are starting to really figure out how things work.

Ten Month Stats: 21.5 lbs, no official height measurement this month.

Size: 12 month clothes.  A size 3 diaper when you wear disposables, the setting on your BumGenius diapers is three snaps open in the center on the highest rise.

Nicknames: Finno, Finny, Dude, Doo, Finner

Must-haves: Super Puffs, Fisher-Price Stacking Vehicle Fire Truck, maracas in Melissa & Doug Band in a Box

Milestones:

December 25: first Christmas!

December 26: first plane ride and first word: Mama

December 27-Jan 2: first vacation out of the country, visited the Bahamas, Honduras, Mexico, Grand Cayman

Dec 28: tooth #7

Jan 1: second word: Dada

Jan 8: climbed stairs

Jan 12: tooth #8

Jan 13: calling Duncan dit dit

Jan 22: clapping

 

Unfortunately both you and your mom picked up colds on vacation, and the second half of the month
has been spent battling them, in a bit of a haze of snotty noses and little fevers.  It's made you extra snuggly, which we don't mind at all, but we hate to see you feeling sick!  You're back to waking up at least once overnight again but we don't blame you.  Even when you are sick, your happy little personality shines through and we've loved getting to see more of it this month.  We can't believe how fast you're approaching your first birthday... slow down little man!

Love you so much I can't stand it,
Momma