10 months

it feels like this month our little boy has really started to grow from a baby to a toddler. he is changing so quickly! he is really mobile and is getting more and more confident each day. he has also tried lots of new foods and has started getting really good at feeding himself finger foods. he is LOVING his music class and is now one of the oldest babies in the class. he loves the shakers and the drums and has fun playing with and crawling over the other kiddos in his class.

quinn also loves:

• dancing! we've been playing lots of christmas music around our house and he has recently been pulling up into standing and then shaking his hips to the music. so adorable.
• cruising along the furniture in our apartment
• walking around the house holding onto our fingers. it is still his absolute favorite thing to do. most of the time he doesn't really need to hold on with both hands but he's not quite confident enough yet to let go with one hand.
• playing with his toys. he is so great at playing independently. as long as he has his toys, he's occupied for probably at least 30-45 minutes at a time, which is great for when i'm cooking dinner or trying to get something done around the house. he loves his music table, rings, books, blocks, and puzzles.
  
• playing with bella and leila. i think he likes this almost as much as walking. he crawls around with them as they all chase bella's ball and he loves to play tug of war with them.
  
• pointing and waving (though he doesn't really have the waving motion down yet - he just sticks his hand up in the air)
• giving high five's
  
• riding in the laundry basket as we push him up and down the hallway

this month has also brought his first tooth (finally!) and his third ear infection (booo!). we saw an ENT and he is willing to treat him conservatively for the next few months, which we are thankful for. however at some point he may need to have tubes put in because the fluid that has been there since september may begin to affect his language development. we pray that the fluid will drain on its own, however we trust that God will take care of him if he does need to have surgery to put in the tubes.

as i mentioned, quinn has really expanded his diet this month. some of his new foods include:

• chicken soup with orzo and diced veggies
• graham crackers
• mashed / cooked diced white potatoes
• egg yolk: hard boiled, scrambled, scrambled with diced bell pepper
• pork tenderloin, turkey
• whole wheat pasta
• lentils
• thanksgiving!! he celebrated by eating mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, and "pumpkin pie" (pumpkin puree with pumpkin pie spices and crumbled graham crackers for the crust). all were dairy free, of course!
• curry chicken puree with jasmine rice
• onions and bell peppers
  

whew! i told you a lot has happened this month! unfortunately his 10 month pictures were a major FAIL. i guess that's what happens when you try to make a sick little boy who is pretty mobile sit still for a picture! so here's our little boy at 10 months:

after failing in his usual picture-taking spot, i tried for a few pics in front of the christmas tree. also a fail!

this was the best i got all day. at least he is smiling in this one!

happy birthday sweet boy!! we love you and are so excited to share the christmas season with you this year!!