10 Months
This past month was full of adventure! From plane rides to Detroit with mommy to visit Grammy and Poppop while daddy was in El Salvador, to our first parade, to lots of outdoor adventure!
Food: We are finding that Katelyn is afraid to try things. Sometimes, if we force that first bite into her mouth, she'll chew it with a crinkled up nose, then she'll pick up and eat the rest making happy "mmm" noises all the while. The last couple weeks we have hit a growth spurt and teething which messes everything up- especially eating but once we pop those top teeth through, I think she'll be back to normal eating habits. Oh and the fear of textures I wondered if she had? gone ;) She often squeezes the food in her hands to test the textures. Some of her foods this month have included avocado (she's still not sure if she likes it or not), lasagna, and french toast.
Sleep: We have weaned from a bottle to sleep! We still hold her and hum a song once or twice and lay her down and she knows it's sleep time. She rolls over immediately and sticks her bum way up in the air and sleeps in the oddest position! She still fights sleep about 50% of the time by crying for the first 30 seconds of being held next to her crib, but even if we lay her down mid-cry, she'll roll over and sleep. She sleeps typically 8pm-7am.
Nap: Usually takes 2 naps. About 2 hours after being awake, she'll sleep for an hour or hour and a half. After waking up and being up for about 2-4 hours, she'll be ready for a good long nap (2 hours), then is up for the rest of the day with a little rest time with a bottle/snuggling around supper time and if her earlier naps were cut short, she may take a short nap in the evening.
Movement: We are now speed crawling (often after kitty), cruising, fluent in squatting and moving from sitting/standing/kneeling. She is getting SO close to walking! She now walks holding one hand and can maintain balance (see video #2 at bottom). I bought her a walking toy (see video #3 at the bottom) and she's just loving getting around the room, pushing that toy. We have yet to learn how to turn the toy once we get stuck, but one thing at a time. I spy that we may be walking by the time baby boy makes his appearance!
Mimicking: She LOVES to mimick us- from what we say (see video #4) to what we do. Tonight, Tyler sneezed and even though she was in the next room standing against the front door looking out, she immediately mimicked his sneezing sound. So silly! She also is starting to say words like "kitty""ball""daddy""mama" after we say them. Although Kitty is one I think she's started to say without us when she sees Todd in the mornings. For some reason, I think she thinks the word kitty has to be whispered:)
Independence: We've been working on a sippy cup. Not such a big fan of it. But has learned how to hold a bottle by herself. It takes us putting it in her mouth and moving a hand up to the bottle and she knows what to do. She's still learning to lift the bottle UP to get more ;)
Missing Daddy: While daddy was in El Salvador, he had made an interactive video (actually several) for Katelyn and I to watch while he was gone. This was Katelyn's reaction to one (video #1 at bottom)
Baby Boy Tufte
Baby boy is doing well! He's 28 weeks along, growing fast and moving lots! This pregnancy I've been a lot less sick (or at least no constant nausea like I had with Katelyn) but it's been a lot rougher on me energy-wise and some issues in my back/hips (although this maybe could possibly be contributed to having 3 months between having a baby and being pregnant again and that whole raising a baby while growing another human being thing... just a thought ;) We're ecstatic to meet him, but we're praying baby boy keeps cooking for another 2 1/2 months. We aren't looking for Irish twins ;) We look forward to his arrival but I'll be honest- I'm very nervous about the first 2 months of his life. I know how dependent newborns are (it almost feels like I JUST did that with Katelyn! Oh wait... I did ;) and I know it'll be a challenge to raise 2 babies a year apart, but we are also VERY excited for God's plan in this and are feeling incredibly blessed with kids so close in age! My brothers and I were never that close since we were 5 and 10 years apart so it's a blessing knowing that these two will probably be the best of friends/enemies as they grow, but at least they'll be close! And although I DID just do this with Katelyn 10 months ago, I am amazed at how much I've forgotten until I talk with other mommies with newborns. Then I look back at Katelyn's photos/videos of 1 month old and realize how incredibly far they come so fast! I think all that will help me enjoy those first 2 months a little more- realizing it's short-lived and how he'll grow up so fast (too fast)! It's amazing how much we love him already!
P.S. no, no names for baby boy quite yet...
