Elliott is 10 months old!

Yes.  I have been horrible at blogging the past few months and am in the doghouse with William for not doing an 8 or 9 month post for Elliott, so I will try to redeem myself a bit.

Here is what Elliott has been up to at 10 months:

• Although he is not crawling and still refuses to roll, he is a pro at scooting across the floor on his bottom.  He will scoot his way wherever he needs to go and seems to think that is much better than crawling.  I am beginning to think he is going to skip crawling and go straight to pulling up and walking.  He is pulling up on a few things already, so we’ll see what happens.
• His vocabulary is expanding and he has added “mama” to the list of words he says.  He still seems to say “dada” more, of course, but at least I get some acknowledgement.  He also loves to scream/yell at random times when he gets excited or happy about something.  He is really loud, so it can kind of catch you off-guard.
• He is enjoying eating baby food much more than Laurel did at this age.  I am also mixing in a little table food.  He is slowly adapting to more table foods in his diet.  I am so proud and thankful that I have been able to breastfeed him until now.  I think he is already starting to wean a little bit, so I am hoping for an easy transition to whole milk and will try to start introducing it in small amounts in about a month.
• Teeth!!  Elliott already has his two bottom teeth.  It seems like we waited forever for Laurel to get her first tooth at 11 months, so it was exciting to see Elliott’s teeth this soon.  It reminds me I need to call the dentist to schedule his first appointment 🙂
• His playtime favorites are his fire truck, racing car, and music cube that was a top rated item on Amazon.  Just like Laurel, he LOVES music.  Whenever he hears music, he starts moving and bouncing to the beat.
• He really likes being outside.  I am glad the weather is finally starting to get warmer so we can get out a bit more.  Since the time change and the longer daylight hours, we have been able to get outside for evening walks before bedtime and he either babbles and smiles the whole time or falls asleep.  There is also a great trail nearby that we have gone to for longer walks and both Laurel and Elliott love that.  William and I probably enjoy it the most because it not only allows us to get our stir-crazy kids out the house, but we also enjoy getting some fresh air, getting some exercise, and enjoying a chance to discuss our week, the kids, and whatever else is going on without the usual home distractions.
• Sleep.  This word does not seem to be a part of his vocabulary yet, but I am really hoping he will start sleeping better soon.  He can usually get in a 4-5 hour stretch when he first goes to sleep, but lately he is up every 2-3 hours like his newborn days.  He falls asleep pretty easily when he does wake up, but as soon as you lay him down, he wakes up and cries.  William thinks I should just let him cry it out, but it’s hard for me to do that, but I may have to try  a modified method soon.  Waking up so much is really affecting the quality of my sleep, so I never really feel rested.

Well.. I think that sums up the highlights.  He is really growing fast and is just 2 months away from his first birthday, which means I need to start planning NOW!  I think I already have a few ideas, so I know we will be able to pull together a nice celebration.

Here are some recent photos from his 8, 9 and 10 month “photo shoot”. In some of the 9 month photos, you can see the first tooth that emerged.  The photo with Laurel and Elliott was taken at Bitty Baby’s (Laurel’s doll) Birthday party 🙂