Dear Madison,
You are 10 months old! I think over the last month we've seen the greatest change in you yet. You are doing so many new things!
You have four teeth - your 2 bottom front teeth and your canines on the top. We call you our "vampire baby". You won't be our vampire baby much longer! You have 3 teeth coming in - your 2 top front teeth and another tooth on the bottom.
You are starting to actually "play" with your toys. You interact so well now. You also show preference to certain toys. Instead of just going after the toy that is the closest and easiest to get to, you now do whatever it takes to get to the toy you want. Your favorite toys this month are your "My Pretty Learning Purse" and your Bright Starts teething ring. You absolutely love that teething ring. I get so tickled because you just throw all the other toys to the side when you're going after it!
Your language skills seem to really be taking off. It actually sounds like you are trying to repeat a lot of the things we say. You also seem to understand words now, even if you aren't saying them. You are, however, trying so hard to say "kitty". It doesn't surprise us at all. We figured all along that "kitty" would be your first word. You love June and Adele (and Potter) so much. You get so excited when you see them and immediately we hear "kkkiii". Sometimes it even sounds like you're meowing. haha!
You are trying to pull up on things now, though you aren't quite strong enough. I can tell that you get frustrated because it's so hard for you. I want to just help you every single time - I hate to see you struggling...and it's much easier on my nerves (I'm so afraid you'll fall and hurt yourself). But I know that letting you try on your own is the only way you'll learn. So I just watch you, with my hands stretched out - just close enough to catch you if you fall. It's amazing to me how you are constantly teaching me what it means to be a mother. I realize that I'll always be doing this...nervously watching you with my hands stretched out, so that I can catch you when you fall.
One of your new favorite things to do is walking (running, jumping) while we hold on to your hands. You've enjoyed standing with our support for some time now, but you hadn't really made an effort to take steps. You've really taken off in the last week though! We're surprised by how quickly you're catching on!
Of all your new accomplishments, I have two favorites - you've starting playing pat-a-cake and participating when we sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider". It amazes me that you do this, and I think it's the cutest thing ever! You don't always do the motions in the right order and sometimes you're motions are a little delayed, but you do them! I love when you put your hands together up over your head when I sing "Up Came the Sun". Sometimes I catch you doing the motions on your own, and when I start singing them to you, you get the biggest grin on your face. I love that we are starting to communicate, and I think that you love it just as much!
