ten months

This last month feels like it has brought so many changes.  Oliver is crawling now (it's an army sort of crawling, and it's not his favorite way of getting around, but he is surprisingly quick when he wants to be).  He's much better at cruising, and can stand at a couch or chair and play with toys or grab at things accidentally left within his reach.  He still loves walking with us, but doesn't walk on his own, and has learned that there are certain places he always wants to go see - like the front garden, where Sam introduced him to the hose and the joys of being sprayed by cool water on a 90 degree day.

He got his first two teeth this month and his hair is getting to the point of needing to be cut.  He visited the ocean for the first time and went swimming in a lake one afternoon.  He likes to play with anything we have.  He babbles a lot, and went through a phase of saying "da da da" that has now changed into saying "ma ma ma" and lots of other nonsense words.  He learned how to clap, and looks adorable when he does.  He is always sticking his tongue out, maybe because he likes the feeling of his brand new teeth.  His sleep schedule was thrown off when we went to Philadelphia last week, but now he's doing great and I love the chance to have time to do my own things while he naps. He laughs at just about everything, including funny voices or noises, or when we give him kisses.  Oliver also loves grabbing faces, and sometimes grabs my face so that I can give him more kisses.

It's been really hot this past month, so he has spent lots of time slathered in sunscreen and playing out in the shade, or inside next to a fan.  He definitely has the baby death wish thing going on, and he does his best to fling himself off of our bed, the porch, or any high steps he is sitting on.  He also makes desperate grabs for the fan whenever we pass it; presumably because I never let him touch it, he's convinced it must be something wonderful.  His eating habits are all over the place, and just as I was getting worried that he had stopped showing any interest in real food, he sat down with us and ate some of everything we ate (meat, cauliflower, fruit).  He loves almost every fruit, so those are usually my go-to option, along with toast and hummus and peas.  (And Cheerios).  He is very ticklish and his laugh is my favorite thing in the world.  I love how excited he is to wake up in the morning.  I love how he kicks his legs whenever people talk to him while he's in the highchair, and how he's so interested in everything around him.  I can tell he won't be a baby for much longer, so I'm doing my best to enjoy every second of it now.