John's 10 Months Old! 5-31-13

 Our little boy is 10 months old! So close to 1 year, I can hardly believe it.

John has started crawling the week he turned 10 months. He has taken 8 crawling steps at a time for his biggest stretch. He bounces on his hands and knees a lot, and then he'll take a couple crawling steps, but when he sees something he really wants, he goes to his tummy so fast and army crawls to it as fast as he can, which is pretty fast! I really have to watch him or he'll be across the room in seconds! John army crawls with his left arm and his right leg. His right arm is usually holding something, and he kind of drags his left leg along. He is also getting really good at sitting up all by himself.

John is our little explorer. He loves to play in boxes and laundry baskets. Check out his squishy thighs! He is so cute and pudgy. I just want to squeeze and cuddle and kiss him all day long! So I do.

Bath time is Daddy and John time. John does so well, and is very cooperative in the bath. He like to splash and feel the water. And his hair is getting so long now that it can do some fun styles!

This month, John enjoyed his first parade, and especially loved the marching band music, and a visit with Abuelo John and Abuela Terri, and Tio Trey and Tia Ashley. Earlier in the month, we also visited Seattle to see  Tia Hannah, Tio Michael and John's cousin, James. James was definitely John's favorite. John laughed and smiled every time he saw James, this novel person, a similar size to himself who could smile and talk and walk. John couldn't take his eyes off James. It was so fun to see them play together! Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera on that trip...

When John is sleepy, he puts Bert and Ernie, his favorite fingers on his left hand in his mouth to suck on, and he puts his right hand on top and strokes his lip with his pointer finger. It is adorable.

 John is a READER! He has finally gotten the concept, and he isn't as interested in chewing on books anymore, but he actually sits still, snuggling in my lap, and intently looks at each page and listens! Sometimes he looks back at me to watch me talking; it is so sweet. He even helps me turn the page now, and he knows there is going to be something good on the next page. I am so thrilled!. I am translating the children's books we have into Spanish (by writing the words in with a Sharpe) so Seth can read in English if he wants to, and I can read them in Spanish to John. John loves word books that have 1 picture on each page with the name of the picture. We have one that has a couple photos of children, and he lights up when he sees them like they are old friends. He loves people! He loves babies so much. We have a book that has all pictures of babies, and flaps he can lift up with more pictures of babies. He is so anxious to lift the flaps to see them and is often sad when I turn the page, as if he wasn't done playing with that one.

John loves swinging in our baby swing we recently put up in our back yard.

He has also tried out park swings for the first time and liked that too!

John has really begun responding to clapping. He even tries to clap his hands together, although one of them is always in a fist. He is getting close though!

John's top 4 teeth are coming in strong! They broke through his gums and are getting more and more visible. Next month, you'll probably be able to see them in photos. He does not like it when I try to lift up his top lip to see them though, so I just have to catch glimpses from the right angle. Though he bites everything he can get his hands on, he has thankfully lost interest in biting me. He clenches and grinds his teeth a lot, it sounds like nails on a chalkboard to me. Maybe it makes his teeth feel better; I know they bother him sometimes. 4 at once is quite a lot!

I have to tell you that in the next video, there is a fan going on high that is loud. It was about 85 degrees inside our house, and so John was drenched in sweat whenever I put a shirt on him, so I didn't that day.

John babbles quite often. Each week it seems like he focuses on a different sound. Now he is putting a lot of different sounds together.

Truly, I feel to thank the Lord every day for this sweet boy He has sent to me. John is so loving, and he makes everyone happy. He reaches out to people he has never seen before and lets them hold him, and he always has a smile for them to brighten their day. He doesn't judge people by their age, race, education, size, position, etc. He just loves them, and if they have a smile for him, he always has an even bigger one to return to them. John is teaching me to see people more as the Lord sees them, and to love them as He loves them. John values each person he comes in contact with, and it helps them feel important. 

John's favorite foods are Spinach and Hummus. He loves an assortment of fruits and vegetables, and week to week, it seems like his favorites change, but he is a cooperative eater (most of the time), and will open his mouth for me when he is ready for the next bite. John hates puffs, those little dissolvable cheerio type things for babies. He will pick them up and play with them, but has no desire to eat them, which is fine with me. We'll just keep letting him work on the motor skills by playing with them. 

I am so thankful for this wonderful family I can call my own. We are so happy together. Seth has been studying so diligently for the GMAT for the past few months. It has been busy, and our family time is so precious. We all look forward to that excellent hour and a half from 5:30-7:00 that we all get to spend together before John goes to bed, Seth goes to study, and I go to do some housework and take care of other things. John gets fussiest around 5:00ish. It's as if he is impatient for Daddy to come home. He can hear the sound of the door opening, and he is so alert, intently waiting for Seth to come around the corner. Then when he sees Daddy, he lights up like a firework. He smiles and laughs, and flaps his arms and kicks his legs and says his favorite, and only, word, "Hey!" When Seth picks John up, he continues his antics and hugs and pats his daddy and smiles the biggest smile he can muster, which is pretty big! I am thankful that Seth is such a great father, and that he is so involved. The moment he gets home at 5:30, he clocks in as Husband and Father. John and I are very blessed, and we know it.