Jayna @ 10 Months

I know, I know. She turned 10 months old a week ago. Yeah, yeah. So I'm slow. Sue me.

Anyhoo, I had to go back and read what I wrote about the kid at 9 months because she's doing so many new things that I can't remember what's new and what's old. It's ALL cute, so determining how long she's been doing things is getting more and more difficult. She's doing well and getting huge...but I say that every month. So, here's the skinny:

• Jayna now cruises along furniture like a pro. She can even let go of one piece and reach for another. She can stand on her own without holding onto anything and can stand up from sitting by herself. She falls quickly if she doesn't grab onto something or if someone doesn't catch her, but still. She can stand up by herself!! Awesome!
• She crawls faster than I can walk. That may make me sound slow, but no. She can just crawl that fast. She can also crawl over the top of things (like over the dog or over her cousin Anthony) and she can crawl under things if she has motivation (like under her leapfrog toy to get to her nightlight or under the table to get to my shoes). She also has this funky one knee/one foot crawl that she does when she can't get proper traction on two knees (like when she has on a dress) or when she wants to go EXTRA fast. And trust me...it works.
• She is figuring out that she can climb up to standing at the kitchen cabinets and open them. They have safety latches on them , but they still open about an inch. She can also reach the drawers now...and they don't have latches. We'll have to look into that...
• She has decided to whittle the front panel of her crib with her teeth like a beaver. I'm not sure what she's whittling, but at the pace she's going we'll know soon enough. Maybe she's trying to break out of there...
• She LOVES to be outside. Put a blanket on the grass in the shade and sit her so she can reach the grass and she'll be content for an hour. She likes bubbles and flowers and the dogs and her toys to play with outside. Oh, and her cousin.
• She LOVES LOVES LOVES squeaky dog toys. And we have given up on the dog toy fight. We don't let her play with the cloth toys like the rope and the socks and we make her give the toys to the dogs if they want them. And we DO NOT LET HER CHEW THEM...and she understands that now. It has crossed my mind *several* times to just buy her a ton of new squeaky dog toys. She just gets so excited that she can make them squeak and it's so cute that she has a sense of accomplishment. When she picks up a toy that she knows doesn't squeak which is usually a tennis ball, she immediately looks around for Moe and throws the toy in his direction. It doesn't go very far but it just makes me so very proud that she knows that those toys belong to the dogs and she's willing (for now) to give them up.
• Her relationship with the dogs continues to bud. She loves Moe kisses and she likes to abuse Ollie, i.e. crawl on him, pull his ears, play with his feet, etc. And he loves it. She shares with them...she even tries to give them her toys sometimes. She gets so excited when she sees them after being asleep or away from home. She squeals and laughs and grabs them to get kisses. Cute!
• She EATS. And EATS. And EATS. Everything. She really likes taco flavored ground turkey. She loves chicken and cheese and Nutrigrain bars. She really just eats everything.
• She is learning more and more how to express love. She gives kisses and hugs. She has begun to lay her head on my arm or leg or shoulder when she's content. It's very cute...and it makes me feel good.
• She understands ALOT of words and phrases. She understands "no," "give it to Moe" (when she should give a dog toy to Moe), "jayna's mouth" (when she tries to give Ollie food), and she knows what her juice cup is. She is also learning to say more words like her own version of "dog" and "bubby" (for Anthony) and "Ted" (her bear). Funny.
• She knows people by name. She knows who mommy, daddy, Morgan and Ollie are. She also knows Aunt Summer, Anthony and Uncle Tony and Nana.
• She is getting her one year molars. I think they'll begin coming through in just a week or two. Her gums are very sore in the back and very red.

And now some photos from her recent 10 month pictures: