John David Turns 10 Months!!!

Today John David is 10 Months old and I can hardly believe it!  He has changed so much this month I really feel like he is turning into a little boy, which is really exciting but also a little scary at the same time because he is growing up so fast!   

So let’s see….This month John David said his first words, “DaDa” or DaDe” and “Hi.” He has yet to say “MaMa” but I am coming to grips with it and know that it is only a matter of time.  As many of you saw on an earlier post, John David is walking behind a toy now all by himself.  He is so proud when he does it and he gets the biggest smile on his face.  He is cruising around the furniture faster than ever and has gotten up the nerve to let go and stand on his own a couple of times.  He has really been working on standing up from a sitting position without pulling up on a piece of furniture or Mom or Dad.  At first we didn’t know what he was doing because he kept bouncing up and down on his bottom but David figured it out when he saw him doing it and then eventually giving up and just pulling up by David’s pant leg.     

One of the biggest changes has been his memory.  He remembers things now and his memory lasts for so much longer.  When we take a toy away he remembers that is it gone and is not as easily distracted by something else.  It is really fun to see this development but at the same time it has also caused him to develop a little bit of a temper.  He does not care of having things taken from him.  Oh the joys of parenting! 

“DaDa” is his buddy and when he hears David’s keys in the front door is crawls as fast as he can from wherever he is in the house to greet him.  David of course loves this and it is so darn adorable.  

We started our Music Together class last week and he seems to be enjoying it.  I think he just likes playing with all of the musical instruments and then crawling around the floor with the other babies more than anything.  His mother looks like a fool dancing around and singing but at least I am not the only one.  

John David is getting better at feeding himself and has tried many new food this past month including, zucchini, apricots, blueberries, egg yokes and asparagus and seem to like them all.  He will tolerate the green veggies but prefers them mixed in with his fruit.  He eats toast with cream cheese, cooked carrots, bananas and black beans as finger foods along cheerios and rice puffs.  

Here are a few pictures we have taken over the past month…..

This is what refusing to take a nap all day looks like at dinnertime

Very busy

We still love playing in the curtains

Bedhead

One of our favorite activities, licking himself in the glass

Playing with his buddy Julia

Cute Baby Feet

Up to no good!

Little Red Wagon

John David received a genuine Radio Flyer from his Aunt Meredith and Uncle Marshall for Christmas this year.  Unfortunately, the weather has been so crappy here since Christmas we have not gotten a chance to put any miles on it, until today.  We took it down to the pond to feed the ducks, which we haven't done since before Thanksgiving.  The pond just recently melted and the ducks are slowly returning.  John David seemed to love it and below are a few pictures from our first outing.  Enjoy!

Taking it all in

Watching Dad feed the ducks

We really love the ducks!

Doesn't he look like such a big boy here? 

Rocking the puppy dog hat!

Newest Milestone

John David did this entirely on his own without any help from Mom and Dad (the first time).  I was literally laying on the couch and then all of a sudden he is walking towards me with the biggest smile on his face!  He knew that it was a big deal!  Here are a couple more videos.  I especially love his reaction at the end of the last video.  Enjoy!!!

Look what I can do Mom!

Every morning John David hangs out with his Dad in the bathroom while he is getting ready.  This is wonderful because John David loves it and I get a little chance to collect myself before David heads out for the day.  Before you judge....over here the toilet is located in a separate room from the shower and vanity so the bathroom stays much cleaner and it is actually pretty sanitary for John David to be playing around in there.  Anyway we have latches on all of the drawers and cabinets but the bottom one is disabled because John likes to play with it and put his toys in and take them out and this is what I saw when I came it to check on him the other morning!

I have never seen him climb into anything so I don't know how he manged to get himself in there so successfully but he was quite content I have to say!

9 Months Old (Well 9.5 at this point)

Sorry I am a little behind on my blogging recently.  I know there has not been a post for Christmas and the truth of the matter is we didn't take that many pictures (oh the horror...I know) we took a ton of video and I have been trying to figure out how to cut it all down into a complete package that I can post for all of you.  But despite all of that John David turned 9 months old on Christmas day and I wanted to make sure I posted because I want to be able to look back and see his progress from month to month throughout his first year.

So this past month John David has really taken to crawling and is all over the place.  He started "cruising" from the coffee table to the couch and so forth but as yet to get the courage up to try to stand on his own.  He is getting more adventurous with his diet and as started eating yogurt with homemade blueberry and cherry purees mixed in that his mom lovingly makes for him.  I have started making more and more of his baby food just so he gets a little more variety because the commissary's selection is kind of limited (though we are certainly grateful to have it).  John is as happy as ever and loves all of his toys. The only present he received from us was a ball popper which we gave to him before Christmas and it has been a huge hit.  He figured out pretty quickly how to turn it on and put the balls back in when they pop a little too high and out of the machine.  This was a big step I think because it is the first time he was really figured something out on his own just by watching us a few times and that is such a rewarding milestone for both John David and mom and dad.

Below are a few pictures from the past month.

        

Christmas Trip to Barcelona, Spain

The day after Christmas we took off for some much needed time in the sun in beautiful Barcelona, Spain.  What a great city.  The food and wine were amazing and the weather was very tolerable in the high 50s/low 60s with lots of sun.  Barcelona reminded us a lot of Greece in both good and bad ways but overall it was a really great trip. 

In the airport waiting to board our flight to Barcelona

Beautiful Barcelona

Barcelona has some wild architecture

This church is massive and has been under construction since 1881 and it wont be finished until 2026

Barcelona was decked out for Christmas and New Years with tons of beautiful lights

I loved this chandeliers made from lights

Barcelona at night

Blowing bubbles which his Dad taught him

Visit to the Aquarium

Lots of fish!

Beautiful Church we stumbled upon on our last night