Dear Rachel,
Today you turn 10 months old. Just two more months and you'll have been with us for a year!
Things are moving very quickly now. Actually, you're moving very quickly now. Once you started crawling, you picked up speed fast. NOw, we turn around and you're in another room, or in the dog's food bowl, or playing with the garbage can. You get into all kinds of stuff you aren't supposed to, and most of the time you listen when we tell you "not for Rachel," but sometimes, you try our last nerve.
Your new thing now is standing up. You stand up in your bed. You crawl to the window sill and stand up, you grab the open dishwasher door and stand up, you pull yourself up on the footstool, which promptly slides out from under you. I'm sure you're going to have lots of bumps and bruises in the coming months as you learn to stand and walk better. It has been so cool, though, to see you go from pulling yourself up on wobbly legs in your bed to standing with confidence (while holding onto something) in the past few weeks.
One of the other things you've started doing this month is "Sooo Big!" You love doing it and seeing if we'll respond appropriately. But I can't get you to sign "more" for more food. You are quite the independent one, I tell you.
There has been an awful lot of The Crying Game this past month, except with you, it's more like the Screaming Like Someone Is PUlling My Fingernails Out Game. We used to be able to tell your different cries, like when you were hungry, when you were hurt, when you were mad. They're all blending into the same cry now, which is an ear-piercing scream. I now know why parents lose their hearing.
The crying started in earnest when we got back from Illinois. You did an amazing job on the trip, considering how long you were in your car seat, but when we got home, you decided that you didn't like going to bed anymore. Your mother and I fussed and worried for a week, then decided that we were just going to let you cry. Over the course of a week, you gradually got back into your old pattern of going to bed when we put you down and not fussing. It was a hard week, but I'm glad we did it.
When we went to Illinois, Grandma and Grandpa introduced you to swings. You love it, and unfortunately, we haven't had a chance to take you to swing since we've been back. We need to go to the park soon!
You got to see your Great Grandma Jean for just the second time in your life, and you gave her to love she deserved for being such a wonderful Great Grandma. I wish you could Grandma Connie, Grandpa Rick, and Grandma Jean more often. I know they love you, and miss you so much.
You are becoming more gentle with the dog, petting instead of pulling his ears, and he appreciates it. What he doesn't appreciate is when you play with his food or water. He has growled at you a couple of times, and I'm worried that one day he will snap and you (rightfully so). We've disciplined him when he growls, but he is certainly trying to tell you what is off limits. We also try to make sure you know that you're not to play with his dishes, but you know how that goes. In one ear and out the other.
You are eating more and more solids, and we've enjoyed watching you try new foods. Especially when we were in Illinois and Grandpa Rick let you eat part of his cheeseburger. You dove right into it! There isn't really anything you don't like (yet), but chicken certainly seems to be a favorite. Since you've gotten two new teeth just in the past couple of days, I'm sure we'll be trying even more new things with you this month!
As always, you are growing up entirely too fast for us...but we're enjoying every second!
Love,
Daddy
