Carrying a Pearl: Dear Cora: 10 Months

Dear Cora,

Today you turn 10 months old ... actually at the very moment I am typing this you turn 10 months old. 10 months sweet, 10 months silly, 10 months determined. We can't get enough of you, Baby.

It seems that not much has changed in the past month, except that you are doing everything faster and better than when you turned 9 months old. Your eating and sleeping schedule is the same, but you have been hungrier lately. Finger foods are your favorite and you've taken a great interest in drinking water through your sippy straw cup and holding your own food pouches, which is how you normally eat when we are out somewhere. Occasionally you even want to hold your own bottle, but I try not to encourage that too much. You're already too wiggly and busy to cuddle for long, so I would like you to rely on my arms for bottle-feeding as long as possible. You've also started trying to feed me your bottle, which is pretty sweet. A little mama already.

A little mama on the go. From day one of crawling you were pretty confident, so now, over a month later, you fly. You crawl with your arms in a wide stance, which makes you look a bit like a cute little bulldog, and you usually make a loud panting sound as you attempt to catch up with Liam. You have also perfected the art of cruising, and just this week you've been playing with the idea of standing on your own. You'll let go of whatever you were holding on to for a few seconds before you grab back on or sit down, and you look SO pleased with your accomplishment. You don't care too much for holding our fingers and trying to walk - I think because you have places to go and you know how fast you can get there crawling. Why mess around with wobbly walking?

Your personality is so darling. From a distance you'll play games with anyone; but if someone gets too close, you get pretty nervous that they might hold you. I think if you had a vocabulary right now your number one rule would be, "Thou shalt not hold me (unless you are my mom)." You actually do fine with other people holding you as long as I'm not around, but you make it pretty clear that you need to be in my arms if we're in the same room. Now that you can follow me you usually recover from the sadness of me walking into the kitchen or laundry room much more quickly. Oh, and on an unrelated note, did I mention that your hair is finally long enough to clip a tiny bow into it? It's so precious!

Clapping is probably your favorite trick, these days. You clap anytime I say, "good job!" or when I turn on music in the car. You and Liam have also added clapping to your mealtime repertoire, so it's nice that sometimes you are engaging in that, quieter, activity instead of just squealing back and forth. You also wave, play peek-a-boo, blow kisses, and occasionally point. The pointing isn't really specific yet, but you practice getting that little finger out, especially when we read. Your shy routine is a hoot. You'll give a huge smile to someone and then quickly duck your head into my shoulder and peek at them with a coy little grin. I think you might be aware of how cute it is.

I'm really starting to see some wonderful aspects of your determined nature developing (as opposed to simply refusing to go to sleep for the first 3 months of your life). You seem to have a lot of patience when you are attempting to figure something out ... perhaps more fine motor determination than I ever saw in your brother when he was a baby. You love playing with the Little People barn: putting the animals in and taking them back out. I think our favorite thing that you do right now is "sing" into the microphone on a Vtech toy Liam got for Christmas. You are quite the performer, sticking it into your mouth and making all sorts of faces as you hum/yell into it.

I love that shot of you and your sweet brother. You both stood and watched your Daddy mow the yard for about 10 minutes - you with your dimpled fingers gripping the windowsill and your little eyes barely able to peek out. I know there are going to be times in your life when you won't believe this, but your big brother thinks the world of you. Just tonight, as I was getting your jammies on, he looked at you and said, "She is so adorable! She is a sweet precious." I know the two of you will have plenty of fights and frustrations as you grow up, but it's my prayer that the Lord will grow in both of you a deep affection and respect for one another. I hope you always look out for one another and are able to truly enjoy and appreciate each other when you are adults. Your Daddy and I will do our very best to help foster that relationship.

This month has brought some sweet memories and fun times with friends. Little Rooney and her parents came to a baseball game with us a few weeks ago, and you were both happy to cheer on the Razorbacks.

Then, two weeks ago, you got to meet your new friend, MaeLynn! Her mommy and daddy just brought her home from China last month, and the two of you seemed as interested in one another as any 9 month old and 13 month old ever are. You're such cuties!

We took our first mini-trip (besides the 20 hours we spent in St. Louis with family at Christmas) at the end of April. Grandad & Nana graciously gave us a couple of days at the apartment in Kansas City. You and your brother did great on the drive, and even though you both woke an hour or two earlier than normal both mornings, it was better than we expected.

We played in Loose Park, where I used to come look at the roses when I was in high school.

and we ate at Fritz's in Crown Center. You and your brother loved watching the trains drive by.

We had lots of play time as a family, and we even got to spend some time with my old friends, Amanda & Joel, and meet their sweet boys, who are the same ages and you and Liam. We had a wonderful time and are looking forward to lots of fun family trips in the future!

For your monthly pictures this month, I dressed you in your Easter dress even though Easter was back in March. You just look so precious in white and I know you won't have many more opportunities to wear it.