Ten Months

Holy moly, Miss Mallory is ten months old today. I know I say it every month when her monthly birthday rolls around, but I just can't believe how quickly time goes by. Mallory has had some BIG milestones within this last month so it makes it even more apparent that she's growing up right before our eyes. She has totally blossomed in many areas of development and it has been a lot of fun to see; some difficult sleepless nights sprinkled in, but still fun.

The proudest achievement is that Mallory is now walking on her own. I knew she would be walking before her first birthday, but I didn't expect her to do so before ten months. Jody and I had a bet going, he chose August and I chose September; he won by a landslide considering it was the beginning of August that she started walking. She still likes you to assist her with one of your fingers more than walking on her own, but she's definitely able to get to where she wants without you. It's really cute to see this boost of confidence that she now has after figuring out how to walk on her own. She's starting to become more adventurous; climbing on things, attempting to go up the stairs (gotta get that baby gate out of storage), even bouncing up and down without hanging on to something.

Due to some of this new found confidence, Mallory's personality is starting to become stronger. She is very smart and watches us like a hawk now. She's even starting to copy cat on certain things: waving, kisses, dancing, throwing. She already throws tantrums when she doesn't get her way. It's just a small glimpse of what we have to look forward to during her "terrible twos" I'm sure. Most times when she's throwing her pity party I'm laughing, which I think makes her get more frustrated sometimes. She gave me a scowl face this evening during bath time because I kept pinching her butt and she wanted me to stop. SO CUTE! She is for sure going to be a little firecracker with her attitude as she gets older.

The sleepless nights have been pretty brutal this past month. Her four top teeth have just recently made a slight appearance but they sure are taking their time coming in all the way. I keep telling myself that I only have to put up with the lack of sleep until those suckers are out, but I also thought they'd be out by now. Her hair is filling in more. It still isn't long enough for barrettes or pony tails, but there are some curls starting to show up which makes me happy. We had to lower her crib mattress last weekend. I came in one morning to her leaning her head over looking at a way to get out, so down went the mattress. I remember my mom telling me that she didn't catch me in time, and came in after I had already fallen out. Didn't want that scenario to play out with Mallory.

While she's been saying "momma" for quite some time now, I definitely count it as her first word because she totally knows that I'm momma. I love when she says it and then buries her face into my lap or neck. She is a total cuddle bug. LOVE it! She knows other words but doesn't associate them with anything in particular. Sometimes instead of talking she'll grunt which is pure comical. Especially when I ask her a question and her reply to me is a grunt.

Next up on big girl Mallory's plate is her first road trip to Mamaw's house this weekend. Though it's only a two-hour drive, I'm doing it alone and I'd rather not have to stop a million times because she gets fussy in the backseat all by herself. I'm going to time it to be in the car during nap time so we'll see how that goes. It will also be her first time sleeping somewhere other than home. A test run to see how she does for when we are in Hawaii next month.

Our little girl is getting so big....we are thoroughly enjoying her at this stage in her life and it only continues to be more fun as we go. This ten month birthday also reminds me of something else that I need to start preparing for - her first birthday!