Little Michael kept us on our toes as he crawled, cruised, rolled, and strolled through months 9 and 10.

All smiles and ready to explore on September 14, ten months old:

Moving:  Little Michael is now crawling around our house like a pro.  He can go really fast when he wants to, and he loves it when we crawl on the floor to chase him.  He also spends a lot of time cruising along supporting himself on our furniture.  In the 10th month, he started doing a lot of what Michael calls “sledding.”  He crawls around, pushing himself with his hands on an object or toy.  He loves going sledding!

His keyboard, one of his favorite toys, is the perfect thing to push around.

In the pictures below, he’s using a folder to get around.

He spends a lot of time pulling himself up on furniture to find his toys and explore.

Talking:  We’re still eagerly anticipating his first “mama” or “dada,” but little Michael’s repertoire of sounds is growing.  Right now, when he looks at objects in our house like ceiling fans and balloons, each item is a “ba.” He has also started to say “pu” for “puff” when he eats the little star-shaped Gerber finger food puffs.  Occasionally, he says what sounds like a “dee” when he looks at Duchess.  He was screaming and screeching pretty loudly during meal times for about a week, but that mode of expression kind of wore itself out.

Hands:  Our little one still loves to clap his hands.  He’s also getting better at using his pincher grip to grab cheerios and puffs and put them in his mouth.  Michael is constantly reaching for things: cell phones, Mommy and Daddy’s big drink cups, power cords, Duchess, Kaiser, towels hanging in the kitchen, and anything else that catches his curious eye.

Sleep:

Little Michael still takes a morning nap that lasts anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour and a half.  He only takes a nap in the afternoon if he’s in the car or we’re on a walk.  After months of sleeping through the night on most nights, he has started waking up once a night!  At first we thought it was the cooler weather we had up here, but when summer temperatures returned, the wake-ups continued.  Hopefully our night owl will return to his old habit of sleeping through the night soon!

Growth:  When he reached 9 months, Michael started taking his baths in our bath tub instead of in his infant tub in the sink.  He had more than outgrown the infant tub. He has lots of fun splashing around and playing with his bath toys.  However, his favorite bath “toy” is the metal drain plug!  He has learned to unscrew it and let all the water out.  He does not enjoy getting water anywhere on or near his face, and lets us know about it when we wash his hair.

Now that little Michael is cruising around with the support of furniture, we decided it was time for him to get his first pair of shoes!  At the end of August, we took him shoe shopping.  He got his feet measured, and he is currently wearing a size 4.

He was very curious about his new footwear.

Michael wears 18-24 month clothing.  He gets to go clothes shopping with his dad, and they pick out cute outfits.

Eating:  Little Michael loves to go out to eat at restaurants.  We always try to place his high chair in a position from which he can see the whole room and all the people.  He is easily amused by the decor, light fixtures, fans, and fellow diners.  Since he’s turned 9 months old, he’s been able to sit in regular high chairs, and we no longer have to lug his Bumbo seat out to eat with us.

Here he is at Jason’s Deli, posing for a picture during his first time in a real high chair.

At home, he still sits in the Bumbo.  We tried letting him use the wooden high chair I used as a child, but it did not go very well.  Our dining room table is almost bar height, so using a standard-sized high chair places the sad occupant’s head at table level.

Little Michael was not amused.

He’s back at the right height now, all smiles in his Bumbo.

In the picture below, little Michael is using his pincher grip to eat a puff.

He’s now able to drink water from his sippy cup all by himself!

And he can do the same with a bottle of milk.  I’ve started putting a little bit of milk in a bottle for him to have when we go on our walks.  It’s great because it settles him down when he gets fussy and keeps him from falling asleep if it’s later in the afternoon and too close to bedtime for a nap.

He is slowly getting used to eating some of the same foods we enjoy, including scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, meatballs, pork tenderloin, pork chops, baked chicken, steamed squash and broccoli, and spaghetti noodles.  When we give him meat, he loves it and doesn’t make a funny face about the texture like he does with the eggs.  He is already shaping up to be a meat lover like his dad.

Activities:  He is fascinated with anything he can put his index finger through.

Currently, this soft little puppy from when I was little is his favorite stuffed animal to cuddle and play with.  He always picks it out from his animal basket.

Shopping with Mommy still keeps him amused!

And he also loves going to the store with Daddy.  In this picture, he’s wearing some jeans and a t-shirt they bought on a shopping trip to the mall.

Here he is on their most recent shopping trip, his first visit to Toys R Us.  He loved it!

Little Michael went on his first trip to the zoo with his Oma and Großpapa.  It was easiest for him to see the animals that were in cages behind glass.  The lemurs and monkeys definitely amused him.

Another exciting activity for our “moon baby” during his 10th month was experiencing the solar eclipse of 2017.  We shared this amazing event in St. Louis with both sets of Michael’s grandparents, family, and some friends.

Happy 10 months to little Michael!  We love him so much and can’t wait to see how much he grows during the last 2 months of his first year.