well folks. we’re in double digits!!  10 months, you came awfully quick!

letter board //  tee // cardigan WHATS NEW

• mama uses daddy’s hair product in this man hair. I went with what I knew was ‘okay’ for boys hair and used just what Jordan loves from dollar shave club! I have been using the hair clay and like it a lot!
• leaps and bounds in development this month! he’s making more sounds and very frequent baby babble. he’s saying his first words consistently and in the “correct context”.
• LOVES Mickey Mouse.  literally screams when he sees it on television and if ever he watches it on my phone, which DOES happen, he’s mauling the phone with kisses.
• loves to independently play. works quietly on stacking and knocking down, loves to put toys into buckets and bins.
• TEETH.  we have two MORE teeth.. the two on either side of his top teeth have officially burst through the gums. I can see one more on the bottom left coming in, so that makes a total of almost 7 teeth.
• hes mastered crawling- the fastest little booger!
• almost standing independently. he can stand on the carpet for about 3-5 seconds before sitting himself down.
• he also shows ZERO interest in walking or taking steps. half the time he won’t even put his legs on the ground when I’m trying to get him to stand up.. stinker.
• he pulls up to stand and play by himself any chance he gets.
• he thinks my telling him “no” its absolutely hilarious. he often waits for me to offer a reaction to him throwing his food from his highchair and then proceeds to say “NO!” as he throws whatever it is on the floor.
• sleeps really well during nap (about 3 hours) and through the night! finally.
• BLW continues to go great!  we’ve added a bunch of new foods in this month and he’s come to try most everything I offer him. he’s also started to spit things out that he doesn’t like- ha!
• pointing, waving, and recognition is a big one this month.
• he remains Mr. Demolition. good gawd he’s into slamming toys, dumping the dog water, and knocking over blocks just to hear them hit the floor.
• he has added plugs, knobs, and light sockets to his random obsession list. he is also all over any door or open cabinet. if he manages to get to the open cabinet he’s got the contents of said cabinet on the floor in 11 seconds.
• he shakes his head no.  and when he really doest want to do or eat something he purses his lips together and waves his arms in front of his face.
• he LOVES to play with his sisters! “chase” is a new game- the girls will crawl around the island in the kitchen and he follows quickly behind them screaming and giggling in joy.
• still working on that sippy cup! added some whole milk to his dinner cup this month in addition to his water throughout the day.
• Brady is in size 4 diapers and wearing 9-12 months clothing.

EAT

okay. compared to my other three kids, Brady is killing it. Parker and Jolie basically hated food their entire infancy. I sobbed through their dinner one night when they were about 7 or 8 months old. they refused everything I offered (they only ate purees until 12 months of age) and I remember thinking after they were in bed why in the world was I so frustrated about this?? weird, the things you remember.. Baker did somewhat better but she was well over a year old before she really got into feeding herself and not just playing around.

Brady loves it all. with a MMMMM through each and every bite! and its been a lot of fun! we’re still on the same eating schedule and I foresee it to be the same until he’s a year old.  when he turns 12 months and that midday meal becomes more important I’ll push his nap a little later, to about noon or one in the afternoon so he can eat lunch before he goes down.  but for now this is working out great for us!  one thing that is a little different every day is the time he’s waking to eat in the morning. he’s sometimes sleeping until 6:30am or 7am (and not 5am!) before waking for a bottle, which is AWESOME.

daily feeding/solids schedule:

5am: 6oz bottle

9am-9:30am: breakfast

11am: 6oz bottle (nap)

2pm: 6oz bottle / snack

4-4:30pm: 6oz bottle

6pm: dinner (protein + starch + vegetable + puree pouch)

7pm: bath

7:30-8pm: 6oz bottle/bed

 a big change this month is the addition of whole milk to his dinner sippy cup. at Brady’s 9 month well check, Dr. Butler mentioned adding whole milk a little here and there to help the transition off of formula when he turns a year old. I think I added whole milk to the girls’ diets around 11 months, but since he’s been working on the sippy cup and doing well I decided to go ahead and move forward with it. he usually gets only gets about 2-3 ounces down at dinner because he’s playing with it (read: throwing it on the floor) more than he’s drinking it. throughout the rest of the day he drinks water. Ive had to really be mindful of the amount of water I’m offering him all day because since he’s eating quite a bit of food he can easily get constipated without enough water. NEW BLW foods at 10 months: string cheese, chicken meatballs, pinto beans, fish (tilapia and salmon), donuts, prunes (he LOVES them, ha!), zucchini, pears (canned in juice), roasted sweet potatoes, roasted butternut squash, beet noodles, hot dogs (quartered), grapes (quartered)

other foods Brady has been eating since about 6. months of age: avocado, corn tortilla, macaroni, spaghetti, pizza, granola bars, quinoa veggie burgers, grilled cheese, English muffin + peanut butter, bananas, grilled chicken, chicken nuggets, graham crackers, waffle + almond butter, whole oats made with water and a scoop of almond butter, goldfish (crushed), pancakes, scrambled eggs, blueberries, and strawberries.

oh, this boy is getting SO big! I’m really loving this stage at 10 months! he pulls up to play on everything- no assistance needed! sitting to standing, crawling and cruising.  this also means he’s climbing up on the toys and pulling every single cord or plug within his reach. he’s obsessed with the night lights we have in the hallway and especially loves to watch me freakout when he goes for the carbon monoxide detector (that wails when it is pulled out of the socket). I swear he knows what he’s doing to get a rise out of me or his sisters because he squints his eyes and gives the BIGGEST grin showing all his teeth and throws in a fake laugh. followed by a scream the moment he can feel me behind him.

like this.also. the screaming. what IS that??! he screams all day long. like, happy screaming. its hilarious and really loud and somewhat obnoxious when his sisters get going along with him.

Brady has a few words- he will point and say “that” and will say “no” and “dada” and occasionally he’ll throw in a “mama”. he’s also been able to associate names with people- I can ask him where Baker is or Jolie and he will immediately point and find one of the girls I’m talking about. he will also recognize Auntie and Uncle J, and Tim and Teresa, and the will direct himself towards Oscar when the dog’s name is said. its really amazing to watch his development happen right before my eyes!

I’ve started to work chunky puzzles with him along with handing him balls or blocks to throw into a bucket, working on his motor skills! he’s figured out how to fit smaller toys into larger ones, which makes blocks and stacking cups his favorite entertainment. he LOVES the leapfrog alphabet bus and has learned to put the letters in the slot to make it sing! the sit to stand alphabet train is another new favorite this month along with the bright beats play space music toy! all three of these toys were handmedowns of the girls, so bringing them out brings back their interest in them, and they will all sit together and play which is a huge help with keeping Brady occupied! he’s definitely exploring and observing his surroundings- taking it all in like a little sponge.

we have continued with the separation anxiety that started last month.  he wants his people (which typically is myself + Jordan) and won’t be satisfied with anyone else holding him.  dropping off at the nursery for church has become really hard.  sometimes when I pick him up I can tell he’s been crying- but the sweet teachers will always tell me “he did SO good!”  he’s only made it through service a handful of times anyway.

we have had lots of days full of fussy, crawling up my legs and standing at my feet crying for me to hold him.. and even sitting on the floor isn’t well enough- he wants me to stand up and carry him around.  once he finds himself busy playing or entertained by the girls he’s just fine, but getting him to that point can be a challenge some days, and its always the days I have things to do!

SLEEP

I am VERY HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE!!  sleep doesn’t suck. he finally found his groove and is okay with not making nighttime a complete nightmare for everyone. there is the occasional wake around 1am but he’s back down without a fight. I have also been laying him down awake for nap and around bedtime. by the time he goes down at night he’s out before I even have a chance to snuggle him very long!  I do still snuggle him for a bit before each rest time, mainly because I don’t get him to snuggle much else during the day at all- he is BUSY.  doesn’t stop at all. and when he’s out, he’s out.

typical sleep routine

wake: 5-6am (bottle) and then back to sleep until 8am

nap: 11-11:30am-3pm

bedtime: 7:30-8pm

he takes one really amazing nap during the day and if we happen to be out running errands in the morning, which happens often, he will cat nap in the car between stops but then will always go down for a 2 hour nap when we get home.  my girls would have NEVER done that. I despised cap naps in the car! they ruined my life! thankful he’s able to rest some more when we get home from a busy morning.

BRADY JORDAN

to my sweet baby boy.  I never thought my heart could swell so much. it blows my mind that you are in the double digits of babyhood! where has the time gone?! we’ve had a lot of fun this last month!

you got your first official haircut in the big boy chair at the barber shop! before now you’ve had your hair cut by miss angela, and this month, due to lack of time, we hit up the barber shop for a fresh fade and hard part.

BOY.  you are a rock star! it was a perk to be holding your mama’s hand while I fed you yogurt melts the entire time. but you sat still and she was able to get you in and out in no time with the best looking cut! looking FLY, small fry! also looking more like a two year old than the 10 months you actually are.. that head of hair right there is pretty impressive compared to the bald babies your sisters were! I swear its because we shaved those last baby wispy hairs off around 3 months- it grew back SO fast and very thick. you also found yourself as a model for Brittany’s flyer for her mini session coming up- milk baths! I was a tiny bit nervous about how well you would do sitting for the pictures, but you really LOVED it.  ..and when we added the fruit loops.. you helped yourself to a GIANT mouthful. look at this kid! your sisters have become your little besties. you love to spend time with them, and most of that time is spent giggling and fawning over your precious self! they love you so much, Brady. I’ve never seen anything like it!  you are one lucky boy.you are such a ham and totally crave the spotlight. if your sister seems to be getting the attention at that moment you will never cease in attempts to get the attention back to you.  copy cat is the name of the game with you these days- anything from laughing, to shaking your head, to slicking your tongue, blowing raspberries- you’ve got the talent of repeat and will play that game for hours, smiling at yourself with pride the entire way through. you are more of the visual learner and we can show you something one time and you pick it up in a snap.  after pulling out some of the old toys and watching you stack blocks and put balls into boxes, I was floored because I don’t recall ever actually showing you how to do that- you just observed every bit of it from your older siblings and picked it up like a sponge. stacking rings, stacking cups, and blocks are your favorite toys this month- you can get enough of them!

thank you for filling our days with laughter and joy and your sweet little face. you are going to be a whole year old before we know it and I am soaking in these last months of babyhood with you in this season.  I cannot fully express how richly you have blessed us, little boy!

T E N MONTH PHOTO D U M P