Ahhhhh...as peaceful as this may seem,
THIS is what ten months looks like!
Climbing, crawling, cruising. Movement any way she can make it happen. Many days Laine has no interest in toys--she just wants to climb the stairs, pull up on anything around her (favorites include the coffee tables, ottoman, play tables, and Mommy's legs) and "walk". She can now walk an unsteady step towards you while holding on to one hand, and can easily lean over while standing and pick up a toy from the floor.
Laine is interested in sounds --making them, listening to them, finding out how they happen. She can clap with a little audible noise now, bops around when any music starts (doesn't matter if it's an actual song or just a commercial jingle) and lets out a very angry shriek when she wants you to know she's unhappy (usually when she is getting her face wiped after a meal). She breathes heavily and talks into her green cup, hearing the way her voice sounds different. She gasps in excitement when she sees something she wants to touch or play with.
She wants to touch--the wall, the banister, and anything that is not a toy (clean diapers, the thermometer cover, and water bottles are currently favorite "toys"). She is beginning to realize cause and effect--you can see her gears turning when we turn the light switches "ON" and "OFF," and she knows that when she pushes on her top she's making it spin.
Laine loves to play "chase"--I say to her, "Mama's gonna get you!" and she takes off crawling with a panting giggle. She is getting better at using her sippy cup on her own. We're working on learning to tilt the cup to get the water out, as right now we have to fill it to the brim to get any out (or I have to tilt it for her).
Hmmm...these books have no pictures!
Song of Solomon...I've heard Toni Morrison's a good read.
Mom, I'm only pulling the ones I'm interested in reading.
Suddenly, Laine HATES to have her diaper changed. She doesn't want to lie down--she immediately tries to turn to her tummy and pull up on me. It can be quite a headache but there are some rewards to this job...kisses. Laine has recently been very generous with her sloppy, drool-filled, open-mouth formula kisses. When Jayson and I have cuddle time with Laine in the morning, it's more than likely she will lean in and give one of us, then the other, her lovely kisses. Sometimes these are prompted: with smooching noises from us, or our fake crying. Other times, the kisses come out of nowhere and are very genuine. These are the sweetest.
Very lady-like.
All in all, ten months is even more fun than nine!
Laine and a few of her PEPS buddies at our house.
Climbing, crawling, cruising. Movement any way she can make it happen. Many days Laine has no interest in toys--she just wants to climb the stairs, pull up on anything around her (favorites include the coffee tables, ottoman, play tables, and Mommy's legs) and "walk". She can now walk an unsteady step towards you while holding on to one hand, and can easily lean over while standing and pick up a toy from the floor. 
She wants to touch--the wall, the banister, and anything that is not a toy (clean diapers, the thermometer cover, and water bottles are currently favorite "toys"). She is beginning to realize cause and effect--you can see her gears turning when we turn the light switches "ON" and "OFF," and she knows that when she pushes on her top she's making it spin.
Hmmm...these books have no pictures!
Song of Solomon...I've heard Toni Morrison's 
Very lady-like.
Happy Birthday Daddy! I love you bunches!
Laine and Olivia get reacquainted.
Laine and the birthday boy!
Grandpa gets a birthday kiss.
Coconut cream pie--Grandpa's favorite! I haven't made it for him in a few years...and I even remembered to bake the crust (I didn't know to do that the very first time I made it!)
The birthday queen and her niece the princess.
Spending some cuddle time with Granny.
Meeting Shirley for the first time. She was a lot of fun!
Laine pretty much froze and didn't even blink when we sang "Happy Birthday" to Keri-Ann. It'll be interesting to see what she does at her own party someday soon!
Laine's latest face--it appears with a sniff, sniff, sniff sound. You can get her to do it on demand by making the face and sniffing yourself.
We had a playdate the other day with my sorority sisters Jen and Shawna, and their babies--Kyan, going on 4 months, and Riley, born 10 days after Laine. We had a great time catching up, and it was fun to see the two girls together, as they are so close in size. Both are crawling, (Riley for months now!) and they were all over the place and into everything. Kyan is of course still stationary, and I don't think Jen knew what to think of the whirlwind that came through her house! The girls showed quite a bit of interest in Kyan, showering him with kisses.
"You go that way, I'll go this way, and we'll wreak havoc throughout the place, okay?"
Checking out the "baby."
She's still facing backwards of course, but that will soon change! One year old and 22 pounds, and she can turn around. We've moved her from the middle of the car to behind the passenger seat. For safety's sake, I still wanted her in the middle but this spares my back a bit--and she loves it, as she can now see out the window.
Don't worry, we were parked when I took this picture!
On Daddy's Monday off, we went on a little excursion to Marymoor Park. We walked the dog park trails, explored the community garden, and Laine took a little nap in her stroller.
On Tuesday, Daddy couldn't meet us for lunch, but we headed over to the Bellevue Park and Laine ate her lunch, watched the ducks (and the kids playing), and we took a nice walk in the shade. I discovered that I love the Downtown Bellevue Park!
