Where'd my baby go?

Colter just a couple of days old.  Maybe not the best picture of Colter?  It is getting late...I am tired and cannot see the thumbnails of my photos very well.  I think he is adorable.  

Oy!  The baby is 10 months old!  I am going to try and write this post without a lot of moaning and crying.  I really think it is a good thing that babies grow up.  There are so many cool and cute things they can do as they get older.  But newborn baby is my favorite age and stage.  It will always be so...I do not have a newborn baby any more...and that makes me a little bit sad.  (Not sad enough to have another one though!)


Colter is all kinds of mobile.  He can crawl like a champ and pulls himself up to standing on everything.  He loves to push laundry baskets, kitchen chairs, doll strollers, the recycling bin, pretty much anything that will support his weight while walking.  He is not a big fan of holding my fingers and walking.  I am endlessly thankful for that!  Having a child who can walk but refuses to do so without holding your fingers is my least favorite baby stage.  It is a back breaker!

We have tiled floors in most of the living areas in our house.  These tiles are freezing cold--year round.  Colter has learned how to do a perfect bear-crawl if he doesn't have any pants on and wants to cross the tiled floor.  I'd put a picture up but he really only bear-crawls when has no clothes on and I am trying not to put neked pictures up here.

With his crawling he can get into every thing!  He finds the most wonderful--er--gross things on the floor and puts them right into his mouth: dirt, hairballs, toys, dropped food...yuck.  He has also discovered the toilet as a plaything.  Just last week I was helping Adell finish up her potty routine all of a sudden I looked down and Colter was just about to dive into the toilet bowl.  He is some kind of toilet ninja!  He wasn't even in the bathroom with us, he just appeared out of nowhere?!

He loves to be outside (eating whatever he can find).  He loves family hikes and walks in the stroller.  I wish we got out more for his sake.



He knows how to blow bubbles with his drool, give zerberts, and make loads of spitty mouth noises.  He is also a fantastic mimic.  He likes to "sing" when he hears music, "yell" when he hears cheering and "laugh" when he hears a joke.  He recently learned how to "dance" by watching all the girls dance around the family room one day.  He stomps his feet and wiggles his bum with the biggest grin on his face.


He is a great sleeper!  Inconsistent night time sleep is one of the few things I do not like about newborn babies.  Colter is probably the best sleeper we've ever had.  He goes right down for his naps and sleeps through the night.  The above picture was taken at church in a rare moment.  He never falls asleep outside of his crib, even in his car seat he will fight sleep until we get him in bed.

He has figured out the "Daddy's home" routine at our house.  I should really do a separate post about this family tradition.  Will has done it with the kids forever.  As soon as he walks in the door he hollers out "Estoy-ah-kee!" (I am spelling phonetically there, it is a spanish phrase and I have no idea how to spell it.) meaning: I am here.  From all corners of the house our kids come running for "jump-hugs".  They line up and race across the entry way, flinging themselves into Daddy's arms.  Colter gets all excited as soon as he hears Daddy call out.  Colter crawls into the entry way and watches the other kids.  Once it is his turn, I help him walk over to Daddy and jump into his arms.  Colter loves it.

He just learned how to sign "finished" when he is all done eating.  I've been working on this with him for a couple of weeks.  He just got it a couple of days ago.  (My kid is a genius...)

Happy 10 months Colter William.  You are so much fun!

**post edit** Colter also has four teeth poking through his gums!  The first two (on the bottom) showed up just before he turned 10 months old.  The second two (on top) showed up less than a week later.  It is sweet to see those little baby teeth smiling out when he gives us a grin.