10 Months

Okay, yeah yeah, I am late on this post. Indiana's 10 month birthday was the day before Thanksgiving and we were heading out of town and then my laptop refused to cooperate so, whatever. We did take photos on the day though, and I've got a fancy new laptop that WORKS, so here we go!

Ten months is dangerously close to a year, is it not? And these last months of the year always fly by. I am honestly in shock that it is almost December.

THIS BABY THOUGH. She is a mess. The craziest, happiest, silliest, most fierce mess. This past month has been a wild ride; she is everywhere. She has fully conquered crawling and will pull up on anything she can grab onto. Baby proofing has commenced; outlet covers, bookshelves bolted to walls, I got rid of a table purely because it had sharp corners (it was also ugly), and we have a baby gate??? Parenthood, man. I never would have thought this would be me, but GAH I LOVE IT.

Indiana is a silly silly baby. She is always down to laugh and play and cause general mayhem. Playing is her favorite. Daddy does all kinds of fun tricks where he tosses her into the air and dangles her upside down and she laughs and shrieks and is in heaven while I'm seeing every possible scenario of how badly these hi-jinks could end because I am a paranoid protective mama bear. My brave baby stresses me out! But she is brave. She is very very into exploring. Now that she can crawl whenever we are out she's like, "put me down, put me down!" which is frustrating, but understandable. Indiana has a sixth sense for things she shouldn't get into and moves at lightening speed to get to them. If it didn't stress me out so much it would probably be pretty impressive, but like, I understand why people get leashes for their kids. Ha ha, kidding. But really.

Indy is a pretty independent chick. She likes to play on her own and keeps herself pretty occupied. With her mama sitting nearby of course; me leaving is obviously not okay and causes panic when it occurs. She is still the biggest flirt and smiling at strangers is her favorite. Being held by them is a different story, but we are getting better! Still loves to eat, although she's figured out how to spit out what she doesn't want to eat. She's becoming a bit pickier, which I knew was inevitable but buhhhhh. Still going strong with breastfeeding! That baby hasn't had a drop of formula and I'm so proud of us. Still rocking the two bottom teeth, and although she's been "teething" her entire life, no sign of any other toofs. Still thinks daddy hung the moon. She watches him leave in the morning and when she hears his car pull up in the afternoon she looks towards the door. So sweeet! And of course, Indiana is still heartbreakingly adorable.

I think my favorite thing is that when she needs mama, she turns into a different baby. Indiana is not a cuddler. But when she's sleepy or grumpy or scared or not her usual perky independent self, she looooves her mama. She wants to be held and will put her head on my chest and suck her thumb and sometimes I can even sing to her and rock her like when she was teeny-tiny and I LOVE IT. She's beginning to show real signs of affection and it is the best. I love that she reaches for me and crawls to me and hugs me and smiles at me from across the room. It makes me very very happy to know that I can make her happy. That was a big struggle for me with newborn Indiana, I just had no idea if what I was doing was alright because she had no way to show me. But these days thankfully I've got a better idea. Although the flip side of that coin is she's finding more (and more) ways to tell me when she is NOT happy. But I'll take the good with the bad, because the good is just so so so good.

I am seeing less and less baby and more toddler (waaahh) everyday. I mean she's definitely still a roly poly baby, but sometimes she'll pull her self up on something and give me the most triumphant grin and I get a big fat glimpse of the little GIRL that's growing up like a weed before my eyes. It is the weirdest, most amazing experience watching your child morph into a bigger child. Also very humbling.

Taking these photos is like pulling teeth. She wants to eat the letters and play and NOT stay still, and I'm just like ASKLJFIOVBSDK. But we struggled through and did the damn thing, with lots of bribery and help from daddy. And I know it will be more than worth it later on.

She is NOT about those photos on her back. But for continuity's sake, here they are, blurry as can be.

TWO MORE MONTHS. One year is looming ahead. I am equal parts excited and sad. Actually, I think I'm more excited. Indiana gets better and better, and as much as I adored those days of having a tiny soft newborn snooze on my chest (CRY FACE), these days of laughing and playing are pretty unbeatable.

Here's the rest of Indiana's first year!