Dixième moisniversaire (only 3 weeks late...)

Mon petit Benjamin,

This blog post is late -- and yet I've been writing it for three weeks! Just another reminder of how busy you keep me!

The fact that I never got around to writing about your ninth month doesn't mean that it wasn't amazing: before your ninth moisniversaire you had three signs in your ASL vocabulary and were crawling! Fortunately your papa blogged your progress as things happened, though I'm not sure we mentioned that you started sleeping through the night. Well, you were sleeping through the night and then you started teething and now you are waking once most nights.

This last month has been no less amazing. The day after your ninth moisniversaire you started to pull up to standing in your crib -- adding a new challenge (briefly) to our routine because who wants to nap when you can be standing? Now when you wake up in the middle of the night I usually find you standing in your bed -- and, more often then not, signing for milk. I have to admit, I melt when I see you standing there, hair all messed up from rolling around your bed, eyes big, but sleepy.

You spend a lot of time playing, standing, and cruising in your Playzone. Playing includes hitting and spinning dials on the Playzone wall, destroying the block towers your mother carefully constructs for you, pulling shapes out of your shape sorter, then putting them back in (the putting back in is very recent), swinging around Dragobert (who, according to this official website, is actually called Capucin) or chewing on his feet. You also love it when we unlatch the Playzone door. You open and close it and swing it -- sometimes when you are standing so that you are almost swinging with it. You are also fascinated by your bedroom door (you've used the wooden frame to pull up to standing) and any closed doors you run into when exploring.

But your absolutely favorite game is hiding. You often hide behind your hands (even during meals, which leads to a rather messy face as these pictures reveal), but in the Playzone you hold on to the sides and bend your knees so that we can barely see your head over the edge. I look forward to playing real games of hide-and-seek with you.

You are have 3 or 4 signs, though lately you have been adding meaning to signs, and I'm afraid I don't always know what you're trying to tell me. The milk sign made with both hands and sometimes one hand has become a sign for "I want" (your papa figured this out), but want what?? I have a terrible feeling that it's Veggie Booty or Pirate Booty that you so ardently want -- not that they're bad for you, but yogurt or fruit or veggies would be better. You can also sign for "drink," though unfortunately it's the same sign you do for "eat" and for blowing kisses. [Note from posting date: your "drink" sign is actually a "water" sign and is a tiny bit different from "eat": you open your fingers and hit your mouth instead of making a "w" on the side of your mouth for the more accurate "water" sign). Currently we are working on "papa," "mama," and "peas," as well as "dance" and "jump," both of which you would rather do than sign.

The Veggie Booty reminds me that you love finger food and that it's getting harder and harder to feed you with a spoon. You eat steamed veggies (you love asparagus!), fruit, avocado (which, I guess, is actually a fruit), cheerios, frozen peas and bagels (excellent for sore gums), and cheese (Vache qui rit/Laughing Cow is a particular favorite). You've also mastered the art of drinking from a sippy cup by yourself, as well as the joy of throwing said sippy cup on the floor so your mother can pick it up for you. Ah yes, you've discovered gravity. Cups, peas, cheerios, and spoons magically fly out of your hands to hit the floor and make a lovely mess that you admire from your high chair. You have started to point at things you want -- often at the freezer so that I'll get you more frozen peas.

You have an interesting crawling style: your left foot is almost always flexed, as if it were a rudder. You love to explore, but what you absolutely adore is pulling yourself up on a cabinet that has rungs on the side like a ladder. These rungs spin when you hit them and make a neat sound. You also like to "play" the air vent in the hall -- perhaps we should call it the vent harp? Sometimes when you are crawling you stop and straighten your legs, putting your behind in the air (looks like the yoga pose Downward Facing Dog) and we wonder if this is preparation to standing up unassisted.

Some people may be wondering why we haven't been posting many pictures lately. Well, now that you are mobile, it's hard to have a free hand to snap a shot of your adventures because we are always in "catching" mode in case you fall.

Your Mamie visited last month at a wonderful time: you had just become a generous kiss giver. You still are most of the time. Usually it's an open-mouthed kiss, sometimes a doggy kiss, but you also blow kisses. And once-in-a-while you even make the kissy sound.

It's interesting to see how strangers react to you when we are out. You often wave or smile when someone says hello or compliments you. People often tell you that you have a lot of hair ("I/My kids/My nephews didn't have a full head of hair until age five!"), or that you have attractive blue eyes. If you wave at someone and that person ignores you, you are very confused because you're getting used to people paying attention to you. (Picture note: this was your last ride in the SnugRide in March. You were too long for it so now you have a "big boy" car seat -- stilling facing backward, though.)

During the last week of your tenth month you were not always a happy boy because your four center top teeth came in at the same time (though they didn't all cut through the same day). I have to admit that I'm going to miss your two-tooth grin, but I think you'll enjoy the eating opportunities top teeth will give you.

Teething made you a grumpy swimmer, but you still seem to be enjoying your "lessons." You really like playing Humpty Dumpty: I stand in the pool and sit you on the edge and say "Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall" and you "fall" into the water. Some days you are a great kicker, others you would rather watch your fellow bubble babies while I swish you around in the water.

I am sure I am forgetting many things, but I've been working on this post long enough. One thing I hear often when I'm out with you, is that you are a happy baby. In fact, you briefly met your uncle the pilot -- Captain Eric -- at the Charlottesville airport, and he later told your grandma that you were the happiest baby he has ever seen.

I must say that your joie de vivre is infectious. Merci mon petit bonhomme

-maman