10 Months

The difference between this month and the last nine months has been astounding. Milo has gained so many new skills in the last couple of weeks that his little brain must be working overtime.

One of my favorite things Milo does these days is to clap. It's so cute! He claps when he is excited, he claps when he starts to cry, he claps to say bye, he claps to ask for more and he claps when he hears music. He also claps when he hears anything that sounds like the word clap...so snapping up a coat results in clapping. I may come to regret it, but I totally encourage all the clapping because I love it!

In the movement department, Milo can now stand with support (having his hands lean on something). He can sometimes pull himself to standing, but most usually just pulls up to knees and stays kneeling. For these reasons (and that I routinely would find him standing his crib) we have lowered his crib mattress to the bottom position. The army crawl is still his go to method for getting to something quickly, but he now also crawls on all fours for a few steps at a time.

Milo now eats whatever we eat and he sure does like this development. I've been yelled at several times for not getting bits of food onto his tray quickly enough. Although I push the fruit and veggies and he does eat them, our little guy is a carnivore and will find and eat all the meat on his tray before sampling the other items. We joke to him that everything tastes like pork, as he's a big fan of pork tenderloin.

Along with the eating, we've seen a rapid improvement in fine motor skills. Milo loves to operate light switches around the house. He'll flip the switch up or down and then look to the ceiling to make sure the light cooperated. Sometimes he looks up a little prematurely and wonders why there is no change. He also points up to the ceiling (and at everything else he can see when we are out and about).

Although this stage has us absolutely exhausted by the end of the day (keeping our little adventurer away from power cords, plants, cats, cat food bowls, and the front door, is a full-time job), it is so much to fun to watch. We can clearly see Milo's persistent and delightful personality come through. He is one determined and yet light-hearted little guy. He is so interested in the people, cats and everyday objects around him. Each day is a learning experience to discover new skills, new tastes and new joys.