Gah! Our little man is TEN months old already!

....WHERE has the time gone? It is insane how fast it goes.

"Don't worry if your formerly voracious eater suddenly turns up his nose at lunch. As his growth (finally) starts to slow, his appetite will decrease as well. One thing that definitely won't decrease is his desire for discovery, which can lead to some serious climbing. Keep in mind, though, that babies learn to climb up long before they learn how to get down, so be on the lookout for potential spills or strandings. In other news, chances are your baby is now able to get what he wants by pointing. He may also be able to stand alone (for a second) or even walk unassisted (the chase begins, Mom!). You (and/or your baby) may be ready to wean (or not) so make a plan (though be ready to revise your timetable, perhaps more than once).

Some pretty weird behavior problems may pop up around now, including head banging, rocking, rolling, teeth grinding, and hair pulling. While no one's exactly sure what's behind such (generally nonhazardous) behaviors, they may simply be a way of blowing off steam and are often triggered or increased by stress. What else is baby up to? He may be biting you or Daddy or his big brother — definitely a habit to nip in the bud. He may also become fearful of things he never feared in the past, like the vacuum cleaner or your neighbor's pooch. As for you and Daddy, now's a good time to build a united front when it comes to discipline as your baby's desire to do his own (possibly dangerous or hurtful) things will only grow as he does. You'll no doubt get plenty of opinions on spanking and determine that physical punishment is never an effective way to discipline a child."

-whattoexpect.com

** Random thought.... after much discussion with our pediatrician and each other, we decided to get Andrew a flu shot. He had the first about two weeks ago and the next in another 2 weeks. He had no symptoms or reactions and it made us both a little more relaxed. This article is what helped us decide.

Basically, we had his 9 month appointment and after talking to the Dr, we decided to hold off on the shot. Later that day we decided to get it, made an appointment for less than a week away and then he got sick. He had a super runny nose and a cough for over a week and that combined with the article and Dr.'s thoughts and also that we were starting music classes with Andrew made us know it was definitely the right decision for us. **

What is new with Andrew:

• He is regularly pushing himself up to sit up.
• Exploring boundaries.... mainly doors and the stairway gate.
• He tried for maybe 2 or 3 days to pull himself up to stand without any luck and BOOM this morning there he was standing up in his crib playing with the framed photo of himself. Now he can hardly go 5 minutes without standing :)
• Feeding himself EVERYTHING and loves it!
• Swimming in the bathtub. Sitting is no longer an option.
• TEETH! He has his two bottoms, his top left is coming in well and his top right is soooooooo close to popping out!
• He is becoming social! I am so glad because I am such an introvert. But thanks to these music classes we've been taking him to, he is getting more adventurous. The first class he stayed right in front of me, wanting to crawl into my lap and stay there. The last class was today and I had to drag him back once or twice to participate in the songs cuz he was rolling around on the floor, hanging out with the other tots.
• That being said, he took some of his first LEGIT crawls yesterday!!!! They were tiny but he is getting it! Huzzah!!
• It is so neat to his personality coming out. He definitely is bashful but SUCH a little charmer/ flirt. He is a people watcher and observer to the extreme and is so very patient and focused. I just love every single thing about him and think he's perfect in every way. And of course I am not biased at ALL on that ;-P

We bought him a toy truck that plays music and he loooooves it. We weren't going to get it until Christmas but we have a super secret thing goin' on and we needed it for that, haha. More details on that to come later.

We have all the thanksgiving. Fall decorations up but I am soooo eagerly awaiting the day after Thanksgiving so we can put up Christmas decor!!!! Our new tree is sitting in it's box in the living room as we speak.

How hard is it to find kid's books on Thanksgiving? We ended up searching 5 stores and finally Barnes and Noble had I think TWO that were holiday appropriate. Yikes! But it's cute and has facts in the back so whatevs.

Getting excited for the big holiday! We have ham, green bean casserole, cheesy potatoes, and pumpkin pie on the menu (and actually we bought turkey specifically to make turkey salad sandwiches for leftovers the next day on homemade buns. The perfect meal after decorating ;) We also are planning on lounging around, going for a walk and watching the big parade! We're loving coming up with new traditions for our family come the holidays :)

Alright well I guess that's all for now. Food post to come within a day or two here, cuz God knows I could talk about food forever lol

TTFN! <3