Ten Months.

It's all a blur. I know I say it all the time but this past month has literally swept passed me. Where did your nine month of life go? I feel like I was writing about your eighth month of life five minutes ago. I guess this is a testament of how fun you have become. One day you will learn and understand the meaning behind the saying "time flies when you are having fun." I have laughed with you and been in overwhelming awe of your budding personality. You are such a character and love to make us laugh with your viejita and Popeye faces. You love to dance, bouncy, clap, and eat. In short, you love to be in motion.

I've seen comprehension develop and interaction expand. I can talk to you and actually have you respond. I love how you call Perla "go", say "da" when you want more food, and say "mama" when you are frustrated with me. If I clap and laugh you clap and laugh as well. If I start dancing you will either bounce up and down or sway your head from side to side. If I tell you no, you stop, hesitate, give me a devilish smile, and then continue on with what you were doing. You test your boundaries, limitations, and my discipline. You especially love to test the power of my no when it comes to the stairs. You will crawl toward them, stop when I say no, and then actually speed up when I walk toward you to move you away from the stairs. It's as if you are trying to run away from me! You are too little for that!

You are still a fantastic eater, even though you took a strike on food when you started teething. You tried lots of new things including egg whites, broccoli, chicken, jell-o, mozzarella cheese, american cheese, millet (huge fail!), vanilla ice cream, vanilla cake, crackers, butter, strawberry jelly, and split pea soup. Your favorites, however, are the different chicken soups (chicken with carrots, sweet potatoes, and nutmeg or chicken with carrots, green beans, and garlic) I make you. This is definitely win-win because I get to eat these soups too and they are delicious.

As I said earlier, you started teething this month. You had gone through a few nights of restless sleeping but it wasn't until the last week of the month that you started acting funny by rejecting your solids. A week of weird behavior and a visible tooth below the gumline signaled possible teething. Sure enough, at the end of the month you could actually feel the tooth. So your first tooth is going to be your bottom middle right tooth. It's going to be hard saying good bye to that gummy smile but at least I've had the pleasure of knowing and loving it these past 10 months.

You love to stand and your stance has gotten firmer and stronger. At the beginning of the month you could only stand with your feet planted far apart and it could only be done if you were either put into place or if you stood up holding onto something and then let go. Your sense of balance obviously improved throughout the month because now you can stand with your feet planted close together and you don't need anything or anyone to help you stand. I love to see you go from a knees-bent position or a butt-in-air position to standing. Even more proof of your increased strength and sense of balance is that you are starting to take tiny steps. You became an efficient cruiser this month so it's no surprise that you are further testing your body by trying to take steps unassisted. While I have patiently awaited the appearance of your first tooth, your daddy is patiently awaiting the days where he can hold your hand and walk with you.

This is the month where I stopped pumping. I met my goal and couldn't be happier. For all the complaints, fears, tears, and pain along the way, it was a bittersweet moment. I was beyond thrilled to be done but sad to say farewell to something that defined my mothering for so long. I feel more free now and more comfortable in my body and this has ultimately helped me to be a better mother to you. This is probably part of why the past month has flown by; there is no pump to tie me down and take time away from you. I can sleep in and go to sleep when I want and I can prepare all your bottles for the day in the morning. It's so liberating.

Thank you little one for giving me the gift of motherhood and unconditional love. As much as I will miss the months that have passed I am greatly anticipating the months yet to come. All I hope for is that you know how much you are loved and that one day you will still love me as much as you do now despite being able to recognize my faults.