Busy busy month! I knew in the back of my mind I wasn’t going to get this update out on time. With hosting Friendsgiving, buying a car, and a week long trip down to Southern California for Thanksgiving, November disappeared quickly. December is already feeling like it’s out the door as well but that is for different blog post. But here we are, a million things still to be done for Christmas, along with all the normal stuff, reflecting on the blessings of the month we just lived through. Which brings us to 10 months. Blue eyes is 10 months old! Bright, happy, and as even keel as ever.
Play
Play time is getting interesting. He is definitely building upon his opening and closing of doors/drawers ability. He has learned to be a bit more cautious when opening cabinets. So much so that I’ve seen him stop and move his fingers out of the way before closing something. I wish I could say that he does that all the time but I am impressed none the less. Building upon these skills is his push/pull ability. He has learned that by using his hands and putting his weight into his play yard he can push and pull on it. Not gently, no not gently but more rocking the play yard back and forth which thuds it on the ground and against the wall. I’m not ready to call him a “Thor” but oh the power of discovering physics!
He has also discovered how to open and close lids. I pulled out the Christmas stuff early this year because of our travel plans. We keep all the Christmas stuff in large plastic storage containers with lids. In no time Gabe figured out how to open the lid… though it took him a little bit to figure out how to not squish his fingers on this one. He also had the latching handles on a few figured out in no time.
Another fun thing he learned to do is to play with kitty! We have several long sticks with strings attached to them that Kitty loves to chase and jump after. I was playing with kitty one morning and he caught wind of it. So I handed him the stick. He grabbed it, looked at it and before I knew it he was waving it all around. Then, much to my surprise, Kitty jumped in and started playing! I’m just going to say it, it made me so darn happy to see her playing with him. Ridiculously cute too!
And then there is the quasi walking he did with my mom’s’ tea cart over Thanksgiving. Once he realized the tea cart rolled he was pushing it all over the house. He was “walking” from his knees rather than his feet but that doesn’t matter. The kid was having a blast! Aside from keeping him straight and turning him around he was doing it all on his own. It was quite squeaky though. The cart hadn’t seen this much action in a very long time so it was all kinds of squeaky when he pushed it.
He has also started balancing on his feet for a significant amount of time. It started with him being distracted with something in his hands and my eyes widening as he stood there for 10 seconds unassisted! And then it was 20-30 second stints. We are so close to having a walker!
Can’t forget about the socks either. He has the grandest time pulling off his socks. I put them on, he pulls them off. I don’t think it has anything to do with a sensory issue either. No, it’s just Gabe having fun. “oh you are going to take 5 minutes before getting me from my nap? Socks off. Diaper change? Oh those are my feet… socks off! In the car seat…? Socks off. Normally it wouldn’t be that big of a deal if it wasn’t winter! He just has way too much fun taking them off.
Food
Still introducing him to everything I can think of. I started making green smoothies again and in following in the “eats what I eat” philosophy Gabe gets his portion in the morning. He drinks them right up. It’s been a great way to get him dark leafy greens, collagen, and various fruits he isn’t too interested in eating. I call it a win. He also tried prawns for the first time. They were marinated in olive oil, rosemary, and spices then grilled. Completely devoured them. I really need to start introducing all kinds of seafood while he is young. I want him to have a palate for it.
Thanksgiving
Gabe’s first Thanksgiving meant his first road trip to Southern California. It also meant meeting the rest of my immediate family. I wasn’t terribly concerned about the 8+ hour drive given that he sleeps well in the car but it still is a long drive for an almost 10 month old. We decided to drive through the night so he could, in theory, sleep through most of the drive. So we left at bedtime and for the most part it was successful. He ended up waking up more than I would have liked which resulted in a very broken up night for him. He woke up when we stopped for gas, his “white noise” stopped and the lights at the gas station are very bright. And then he seemed uncomfortable because he couldn’t stretch out like he is used to doing when he sleeps. We had some crying towards the end of the drive because he simply wanted out and that is understandable. Also learned the importance of having a ton of pacifiers. They got tossed left and right and it is kind of hard to find them from the front passenger seat. He was a little out of it the next day but bounced back pretty quickly and mostly fell back into his sleep schedule… minus the whole getting up at 6am! No sleep for mama! It was nice though having company in the early am with my dad.
A trip down south is always a flurry of activity. Gabe got to meet all of his cousins this trip. All of them a bit older than him, the youngest is 4.5 and the oldest being 12. But they couldn’t WAIT to meet “baby Gabe.” Baby Gabe, baby Gabe, baby Gabe… we heard over and over. It was cute. Gabe was enamored by their energy and movement. They played with his toys and he chewed on their (large) legos. It was a good exchange. Meeting the cousins also meant meeting his Aunt’s & Uncle. It’s fun to watch people oogle over babies. And I must admit, I do it now too.
We also got to visit with Jay & Lynda, spiritual mentors of ours who recently moved back to Southern California. And then Gabe got to hang out with two of my very dear friends, Elizabeth & Amanda. They were part of the So Cal cohort that threw a baby shower for us this time last year. So much fun watching them play together as we chat about life and the intricacies of life with a baby. An enormous blessing all around.
Gabe had a lot of fun getting into things at my parents house. My goodness it has always been a treasure trove for the littles. Pushing the tea cart around, playing the harp, touching the tiffany lamps, examining the linen closet, getting into the dog food, trying to play on the bird cage. And then there was the tractor! There is always some kind of motorized vehicle at my parents for the kids to ride on, from the mini kids quads, to the real quads, to now the John Deere tractor. Of course we had to take him on it. He neither loved it nor hated it. It more of a “meh” kind of expression. We definitely had more fun than Gabe did. I had a ton of fun being pulled in the cart behind it and taking pictures.
The trip was also really helpful with Gabe’s aversion to other people. A week of consistent time with my parents, family coming and going, and friends proved to really push him over some of his hesitations. This was also helped by him simply getting older. But less crying and fussing at others is a win in my book. A friend who occasionally watches Gabe for us definitely noticed a difference in how he was with her. We aren’t completely out of the woods but are headed in that direction. Grow my son, grow. A little less stress for your mama.
And now we start (actually have already been) preparing for Christmas. Then his birthday. Lots and lots of great stuff ahead. Quite a few people asked me what they could get him for Christmas/birthday so I went ahead and put together an Amazon wishlist for him. I figured I would say something here incase anyone was interested. Also, if you have any suggestions for great learning things/toys/etc for an almost one year old, please do share!!
And with that, that is a wrap on Thanksgiving.
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Not So Serendipitous 