Yesterday, Isabella turned 10 months old. She's morphed into quite the mover-and-shaker in the last month, as she's commando-crawling all over the place with a speed that's giving her mother aching joints from trying to corral her all day long. It's also making my life a whole lot more complicated, as the days of parking her rear end in the living room and escaping into the next room to paint my toenails or down a shot of Jagermeister...I mean, write a quick email or do the dishes... are over. If I tried that now, chances are I'd find her hanging upside down from the curtain rods when I returned.
Another complication of her new-found mobility is the fact that my house is not baby-proofed. We have gates. They are not installed. We have books on shelves at floor level. They have not been removed. We have exposed outlets and electrical wires everywhere. They are not tucked out of sight. We have dirty floors. Their contents, along with copious amounts of cat hair, are on our daughter's belly.
We have a lot of work to do.
Isabella's current likes include: Macaroni and cheese (organic whole wheat pasta mixed with parmesan cheese), splashing in her baby pool, and purposefully tossing food off her highchair tray onto the floor, chucking toys from her stroller onto the ground, and lobbing binks from her crib halfway across the room (someone please tell me this "throwing shit" stage will pass soon).
Isabella's current dislikes include: Sitting in laps, sitting still, sitting pretty, and being told "no."
The little girl is giving her pointer finger quite the workout these days. She's pointing at everything she sees, and especially at things she wants. And when she doesn't get what she's after, she cries. Good times.
She is under the mistaken impression that she can walk, and as a result she wants to be upright and "walking" while holding our hands all the time. She's perfected quite the conniving fake-out move to ensure we help her out. While seated, she turns to us and holds out her arms, as if she wants a hug. Of course, we gather her close, at which time she arches her back, and pulls herself to a standing position. Psych!
She has no teeth. Not a single one in her gummy little mouth. When (if?) she does sprout one, it's going to look quite odd, I think, since I've been staring at a toothless grin for 10 months now.
And she now babbles non-stop, all day long. To herself. To the cats. To random people in the store (psst...please don't tell my grandma I'm taking her out of the house).
In two short months, she'll turn a year. One year old. And I will have survived my first year of motherhood, largely intact. Cracked around the edges, and certainly minus a few (hundred-thousand) brain cells, but intact. Go me.
Another complication of her new-found mobility is the fact that my house is not baby-proofed. We have gates. They are not installed. We have books on shelves at floor level. They have not been removed. We have exposed outlets and electrical wires everywhere. They are not tucked out of sight. We have dirty floors. Their contents, along with copious amounts of cat hair, are on our daughter's belly.
We have a lot of work to do.
Isabella's current likes include: Macaroni and cheese (organic whole wheat pasta mixed with parmesan cheese), splashing in her baby pool, and purposefully tossing food off her highchair tray onto the floor, chucking toys from her stroller onto the ground, and lobbing binks from her crib halfway across the room (someone please tell me this "throwing shit" stage will pass soon).
Isabella's current dislikes include: Sitting in laps, sitting still, sitting pretty, and being told "no."
The little girl is giving her pointer finger quite the workout these days. She's pointing at everything she sees, and especially at things she wants. And when she doesn't get what she's after, she cries. Good times.
She is under the mistaken impression that she can walk, and as a result she wants to be upright and "walking" while holding our hands all the time. She's perfected quite the conniving fake-out move to ensure we help her out. While seated, she turns to us and holds out her arms, as if she wants a hug. Of course, we gather her close, at which time she arches her back, and pulls herself to a standing position. Psych!
She has no teeth. Not a single one in her gummy little mouth. When (if?) she does sprout one, it's going to look quite odd, I think, since I've been staring at a toothless grin for 10 months now.
Feeding time has become a riotous adventure lately. In addition to the spitting, she often tries to feed me her finger food while she's sitting in her highchair, and then acts quite offended when I refuse. Kid, I love you, but I'll pass on the piece of toast you've been gumming into a thick paste for the past 10 minutes, thank you very much.
In addition to looking at objects she can identify when asked to (ball, block, book, cup, light, brandy snifter, archipelago, and of course, kitty), she'll now sometimes point to them, and even pick them up if they're within her reach.
She's begun imitating me now. If I bang her blocks together, she'll do the same. If I shake a rattle, so will she. If I sit down to read the Travel section of the NYT, so does she.
And she now babbles non-stop, all day long. To herself. To the cats. To random people in the store (psst...please don't tell my grandma I'm taking her out of the house).
In two short months, she'll turn a year. One year old. And I will have survived my first year of motherhood, largely intact. Cracked around the edges, and certainly minus a few (hundred-thousand) brain cells, but intact. Go me.
Is that second picture of Isabella in a laundry basket? If so, that's strange as I have one of P in a laundry basket as well at more or less the same angle. Kids belong in laundry baskets, clearly.
How is it possible that she gets more and more impossibly beautiful! And when will that stop? Never, I bet. :):) Happy 10 months Isabella! You are loved.
ooooh, Isabella, what big eyes you have!!
LOVE the pictures. I am glad to hear that she isn't full on crawling yet. Madelyn is turning 9 months and not crawling. She rolls everywhere she wants to go. :)
10 months! WOW! She'll be walking in no time... can't wait to see her waddling around!
That last picture is so adorable.
Oh yes, this new stage of independence, I remember well. It's just amazing to see their little personalities emerge!
She's a beauty your little Isabella!!
Go you indeed!
How did Isabella end up in our laundry hamper? I could have sworn all I ever saw in there was dirty baby clothes....
What a smart and beautiful little baby she is!
"She is under the mistaken impression that she can walk, and as a result she wants to be upright and "walking" while holding our hands all the time"
When my daughter was that age she enjoyed walking while pushing around an extra large pack of paper towels. They helped her learn to walk and as a bonus they padded her inevitable fall.
Wow. She is so big and beautiful. I remember that age with fondness (you wouldn't believe it was possible at the time, but I do miss it). Especially now that mine will be eight years old at the end of the year. You know that feeling that you have when you think that your the mother of an almost-12-month-old? That feeling that all of sudden things are going too fast gets worse and worse. So take LOTS of pictures. Way more than you ever thought you'd need. And get those little kits where you make her handprint/footprint in plaster. And in the long run, the "throwing shit" phase is no big deal. Remember, you are the mother of a girl who will one day be a teenager! Glad you stopped by, and to see how lovely your daughter is becoming!
Awww! Just found you through 'Growing a Life' and cannot (cannot!) stop saying "awwww!". I remember my little girl at ten months -- hanging from the curtain rods. Ha!
Pru-She is, indeed. My husband popped her in there, and I took several pictures.
Sher-I think she's a cutie too. Of course, I'm slightly biased. ;)
Kenju-She definitely does. :)
M-Isabella is definitely still a roller. She's just now started crawling.
Marie-Me too!
Thinker-Thanks! And thanks for stopping by.
Princess-Oh yes, she definitely is developing quite the personality.
Damselfly-My husband put her in there, and she loved it. :)
John-What a great idea. We don't really have anything at eye level for her to pull herself up on, so the paper towel idea is awesome. And thanks for stopping by!
Dawn-I am definitely taking lots of pictures. I know time is flying, because she's just changing so much every day. I want to hit the brakes and just stop time on so many days.
Mama's Moon-It's such a fun age, isn't it? Thanks for visiting!
That is such a funny post. I remember those days. We never completely "baby proofed". We put those things in the plugs and put all the sharp things up high, but his favorite activity for a while was taking all the books off of the lower book shelves. Since he has started walking he doesn't stop long enough to do that anymore. Yes, the throwing stage does go away. Hang in there you are doing a great job, just look at how happy Isabella is.
ummm that throwing stage doesn't end at 13 months btw... lol...