10 Months

10 months...

My sweet baby girl is 10 months old...10 months. We're rounding the corner to one and all I can think is I am so not ready for this. I don't want a toddler. Let me clarify, I'm not ready for a toddler. Can't my baby be a baby for just awhile longer? I am so blessed and saddened all at once...so blessed to have Marlee and saddened to think that this is probably it for Dave and I.

Where do I even begin. So much has changed this past month.

This past month has been the funnest and the most trying thus far. Marlee now crawls..and crawls...and crawls. She never slows down. No longer is she satisfied being confined to the family room, oh no. She wants to explore..her bedroom, the entry with the fish tank, the dining room, outside, anywhere and everywhere. She will not sit still. The only time throughout the entire day that she will be still in my arms is before and after bed..that's it! Although she exhausts me with her business and constant motion, Marlee is extremely careful. There is a step down into my living room and family room. Once Marlee fell while crawling. Now, she knows where the steps are and is very cautious and reaches out for the step. So smart. How can she already remember this?

Marlee is also pulling herself up with the aid of furniture. Again, she is very careful and hesitant when she wants to sit back down. Gone are the days of me putting M down to do something and finding her in the same place that I left her. Let me just say she is a busy little thing! She keeps me going all. day. long.

I could sit all day and watch Marlee's little brain hard at work. She is so full of curiosity and is learning new things daily. Her favorite is looking at herself in the mirror. She will talk and giggle to herself. At what point does she realize the baby looking back at her is actually her, I wonder. She has also started waving, although sometimes I think she is signing milk.

Marlee's favorite word would have to be dada, or adadada, as she says it. She also says Mama and bubba.

As far as food goes. She pretty much eats anything we give her as long as there isn't too much texture. Yes, she's still eating mush. I can't wait until the day that I no longer have to puree her foods to mush.

Marlee is such a happy, fun baby. However, this all changes when people are around. She gets so serious and just looks around. The other day Auntie Kristy tried taking her from Dada and she gripped onto her Dada's shirt and would not let go. At times like this she always looks to Dave or myself for reassurance.

Marlee took her first real bath this month and she loved it. Bath time is another favorite around here. Anything to do with water, she loves. She also loves books, story time, seeing Dada walk through the door after being at work, the Bubba's (aka my dogs), Dada or I singing to her, playing peek a boo, exploring, being outside, crawling, playing with her tongue, pulling Mama's hair, kicking and splashing in the water..I could go on and on. My brain is going a hundred miles a minute as so much has changed in the past month. It's like Marlee has become this little person, this little life so curious and full of spunk and liveliness. Oh how I adore her.