You are ten months old, lovebug. Where has the time gone?
It took me almost 15 minutes to take ONE picture of you lying (sort of) on your back this month. That's a pretty typical expression you've got on your face. "Mom. Just stop."
Daddy and I decided that you said your first official word this month. You've been babbling "momma" and "dada" for a while now, but you defintely don't know what you're saying. They're just fun sounds that we smile and clap for when you say them. When you say this first word, you absolutely know what you're saying, and you use it in the correct situations and context. I am just really nervous that this word might be providing us with a little bit of foreshadowing of what we can expect from you. Your first word, my darling, is "uh-oh". Your favorite use of the word is when your are sitting in your high chair while Daddy and I eat dinner. You raise your sippy cup way over your head, make total eye contact with one of us, drop the sippy cup to the floor, and whisper "uh-oh".....all without breaking eye contact. You. Little. Stinker. Uh-oh, indeed.
During this month, you graduated from army crawling down on both or sometimes just one of your elbows, to crawling up on both hands, to crawling to the middle of the floor and attempting to stand up by yourself. Sometimes you make it and stay errect for a while, balancing with a Little People in your hand or a mum-mum wrapper, and sometimes you end up in a small heap of little arms and legs on the floor. The latter has led to an awesome collection of bruises in varying shades of color all over your body. To say you inherited my clumsiness is an enormous understatement. There's usually some delayed crying after you fall, and Gracie, you look absolutely pitiful when you cry. You push out that bottom lip and hold your breathe for what seems like forever with your face growing extremely red until the wails finally start coming. I have to admit that the whole thing makes me giggle sometimes. The best part is that you make sure someone is watching before you launch into 100% beast mode. It makes me ponder - If Gracie falls in a room without anyone to see her, does she make a sound?
While we're on the subject of crying, I must tell the story of your eye appointment earlier this month. Due to your (now ex) pediatrician thinking she may have possibly saw something not completely totally cool in one or possibly both of your eyes (can you tell how happy I was about this yet?), we made an appointment for you to see a pediatric optamalogist for a full eye exam. This was an awful experience from start to finish that I'm glad you will have no recollection of, but you won an award that day! You were the MVP of not opening your eyes for eye drops! We were forced to hold down your little arms so that the nurse could pry open your eyes and get the drops in there. She said, "I have NEVER had this much trouble with a baby before. She has strong eyelids!." I think it's more that you have a strong will to not doing anything you don't want to, and that you were hungry, but we'll go with strong eyelids. The award for the strongest baby eyelids goes to, Grace Fleming!! The crowd goes wild! My poor baby. I wanted to swat that nurse's arm away and rock you in my arms, but you made it through.
Oh my, how could I forget? This month was your first Christmas. We love Christmas, and we put you through a lot of travel and four seperate family functions, but you made the rounds like a champ. You ripped wrapping paper, played in boxes for hours, smiled for pictures, and made 150 laps around Grandma and Grandpa H's island in their kitchen with your hippo walking toy. You got a wagon, your first set of pearls, a bike, and more toys than you know what to do with. You ate ham, beef, kielbasa, noodles, and a bite of cookie that I totally regretted later that night. My favorite moment was when you put Little People Jesus from your Nativity Scene on the toilet in your Little People Dollhouse and flushed. Everybody has to go, right?
You spent New Years Eve with Grandma and Grandpa F because we were at the hospital visiting YOUR NEW BABY COUSIN! Yes, Gracie, you are officially the older and wiser cousin on The Fleming side. You love baby Carolyn, even though you cried the first time you met her and kind of punched her in the face (on accident...I think). You love to touch her little hands and pet her head. After spending most of your days with Daisy, you pet everything. I can't wait to watch you two grow up together and get into all kinds of trouble (that doesn't involve the police). I think if you had one piece of advice for baby Carolyn right now, it would be, "let Mommy and Daddy sleep so that they are nice - no sleep = mean Mommy and Daddy."
Eleven months will be here before you know it. You've officially been outside in the big bright world longer than you were taking up residencny in my stomach. I'd like to say you've already moved mountains in that time. I love you, little lady!
xoxo
Momma
p.s. After months of loving hats, bows, headbands, and anything else we stuck on your head, you've jumped ship. Nothing is allowed to touch your head for longer than 60 seconds anymore....even if it is adorable. Believe me, Momma would never make you wear something ugly!
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