Daniel - 10 Months

Oh, where do I begin with this one. As you can see from this post, the past month has been a little tough. Daniel was also sick for about a week, so that didn't help things. It also doesn't help that everytime I try to stop him from getting into something by saying "No!" or "Eh.Eh.Eh!" he looks at me, gives me a HUGE smile and a little giggle and goes back to doing what he shouldn't be doing. He has become quite the active little guy, crawling around and checking EVERYTHING out. We've had a to move some stuff around in our house to attempt to baby proof it but even so he manages to find something new that he shouldn't be into. He's one curious little boy. A boy who loves to put things in his mouth. Allison never really did that so this is all new to me. I won't even tell you what I found in there, luckily he knew enough to not swallow some things.

Other than being into everything, Daniel has also developed separation anxiety just like Allison had at this age. It's a little different with him though. Allison wouldn't let anyone but me hold her. Daniel, on the other hand, doesn't want me to leave his side. At least he lets people he is familiar with hold him such as Jeff or my parents. But anytime I try to leave the room for a second I get to hear a nice loud scream. Makes going to the bathroom during the day a bit of a challenge.

This post sounds a bit negative but that's not my intention, I'm just recording things how they are so I will remember what I went through. There are so many positives to this little boy I don't know where to begin. He loves to eat! He has 8 teeth (which he's had since 8 months old) so he is able to chew pretty well. There was a point he would eat everything I gave him but then he got a stomach virus and now he is a little more picky. He's not crazy about green veggies (runs in the family) but he LOVES any fruit, cracker, and even some meats. Daniel also loves to smile and giggle and he loves playing with his big sister when she allows him to. She's somewhat patient at times but often gets annoyed when she is trying to build, draw, or create things and he destroys them.

In terms of physical development, he is pulling up on everything and loves to stand. He's not able to stand on his own yet but I have a feeling that might come in the next month (we'll see). He's also learned to wave. I've started teaching him a little bit of baby sign language but he has yet to replicate it. The main word I want him to learn is "more" because I often get a scream when he isn't being fed fast enough.

Amazingly, Daniel actually played with one of his own toys the other day. Usually he only wants to play with Allison's stuff. He learned to put the balls in the hole and he was having a ball (no pun intended) with it. Here is a video of it:

I'm sure during the next month Daniel will continue to keep us on our toes. Most people think I'm nuts when I say this but I really hope he walks soon. The crawling stage is just a difficult one. I'd rather have him on two feet than on all fours. Allison didn't walk until 15 months but we'll see what happens this time around.

Thanks for all the exhausting days Daniel! You allow me to sleep well at night.