Nestful of love: Alder Jacob {10 Months}

Our baby is growing up so fast. Just like every month, this month was full of new milestones for this guy, but the thing that has become so apparent with him this month is his big personality! He has always been a very laid back and go with the flow kid. He is very content and very happy, but now he actually has opinions about things and openly lets us know when he doesn't like how things are going down. Boy oh boy is this child determined. I should probably start reading all the parenting books now on raising a strong willed child because that is him, but oh how I love him and his budding personality.

He is getting more and more verbal every single day and is always pointing at something and saying "Bah!" His favorite words right now are: Mama, bye-bye, uh-oh, BOOK, Pup Pup (his toy puppy he sleeps with) and Boo (as in Peekaboo).

He is into everything he shouldn't be and his crawling speed has reached an all time high. I literally can't take my eyes off of him. I was refilling a humidifier using the faucet in the bathtub and then heard a thud and turned my head to find Alder in the tub. He was no where in sight when I sat down on the edge of the tub to fill that thing up and then poof he was not only in the bathroom, but managed to get himself in the tub. He has also mastered the stairs. Dun dun duh. I swear this kid loves any household contraption that he shouldn't, outlets being his all time favorite thing followed closely by the cat dish.

Alder is also as sweet as they come. My favorite thing he does right now is lean in and hug me and then pat my back while saying "pat, pat, pat." It just melts me. He is also very easy to please and very easy to distract if he is upset about something. All I have to do is make a goofy sound or hand him a toy and he is all smiles. He is a very joyful boy and the things that make him smile the most are most definitely his family.

The way he watches his brother and the way he smiles when he first sees Aiden in the morning make me so happy. This month they are interacting so much more and I can see their brotherly bond growing. This month they have started to really play together and it is fun to watch (and sometimes stressful as they are ALREADY rough housing.) Their favorite place to play together is on Aiden's bed (which is just a full size mattress on the floor). Hearing them laugh at each other is the best sound ever!

Month ten was full of some fun firsts as Alder met Santa, celebrated his first Christmas, rode on the Polar Express and ended up becoming somewhat of a little celebrity after his debut on stage at our church.

A few stats about Alder at ten months:

Weight: ?

Height: ?

Size clothes: He is officially in 12 month clothes and size 4 diapers

Sleeping: This month was probably his best sleeping month so far, meaning it was my best sleeping month in 10 months too! We have a sweet little bedtime routine him and I. I put him in his jammies and sleep sack, I read him two books and he helps me turn all the pages, Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You and Sweet Dreams, Peter, I nurse him, rock him for a few minutes and put him in his crib with his puppy who he then cuddles up with and falls asleep.

Random stuff only parents want to know:

Nicknames: Alder J, Baby J, Big Baby, Sweet Baby J.

Likes: Dumping water out of his sippy cup, getting told he is getting a banana (he gets the biggest grin on his little face!) yelling MAMA whenever I am not in close proximity to him, playing with door stoppers, reading books, sitting in the tub like a big kid with his brother, pointing a finger in the air and shouting, "Bah, bah, bahhhhh!"

Dislikes: Not being able to walk by himself yet, being pushed over by his brother, when Aiden takes away a toy he actually cares about, waiting any length of time to be fed.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Alder from this month...