A Little Moore: Happy 10 Months Photo Shoot Friday

Again, the stars have aligned. My baby girl is 10 months today, on this Photo Shoot of Fridays.
I can't believe how fast this whole babyhood thing is going. I only have a mere 2 months left before you are a toddler. I know I say this every month, but 10 months is not only my favorite month so far with you, my baby girl, but it's my favorite age for ALL babies. You are learning so much, and you are turning from baby to a little person before my eyes. Everyday you learn a new skill or a new way of communicating with me. It is incredible for me to experience.

I will say, these past few days have been hard for me. I am beginning to mourn your babyhood. I hope I can get it out of my system so that when you turn 1, I can let you be a toddler with a happy heart. But, to be completely honest, I'm not ready for you to be 10 months, let alone a year. I keep looking at old pictures of you and realizing how quickly you grew. I love you so much, and no matter what I do, I feel like I can't soak it in enough! Your babyhood is going so quickly, and so I am cuddling you more lately than ever. I love just sitting with you in your room rocking you when you don't want to sleep, soaking in all of you - your smell, your soft skin and hair, your little cheeks, your sweet hands, all of it. In no time at all, you will be too big for these cuddles. You will forever be my baby, but you will not forever BE a baby. You are amazing, baby girl. I love you.

10 Month top 10
(love the symmetry there...)

10. Two new teeth on the bottom. Just two days ago they broke through. This makes 8.
9. You are pulling up! Not often, but you have done it.
8. You had your first picture taken with Santa! You LOVED him. I don't know if it was the bells or the beard...but probably both.

7. You started following me around. I love it, but it also breaks my heart. Mommies sometimes have things they need to do, and teaching independent play is important. But what makes it even more difficult? #6.
6. You started reaching! (Thus, simultaneously have melted my heart and controlled me a bit more.) The first person you reached for...mommy? Nope. Daddy? Nope. Dr. Francis, your dermatologist. But, you must have known something because she was having a hard clinic day and really needed the hug. Daddy taught you how to read doctors' emotions.
5. Your first Thanksgiving!

4. You give kisses. They are slobbery and all together lovely!
3. Peek a boo! You play with lovies and blankets. You put the blanket over your head when I say "Peek" and pull it down giggling when I say "a boo!" This is something your daddy didn't believe until he saw it.
2. You started signing. You know "more." It looks more like a haphazard clap, but you use it specifically. You wave bye bye when you actually mean a lot of things like all done, and ni night time. We'll get to the specifics later.
1. You are saying words (which might make #2 null and void.) It started a few days after you were 8 months. We were at a park, and you saw a labradoodle. I walked over so you could see the cute lil' furry thing, and you said...."Doggie" while waving at the dog. I let it slide, thinking "well that was a coincidence," and again...."Doggie." I thought I was hearing things, but the owners of the dog said to me, "well, she is awfully young to be talking." Again, I only told a few select people because I didn't want to become that lady who swears her child knows math when she says "2+2=4, doesn't it little Susie," while nodding, and they, too, nod. But, since then, you chase Punkers around saying "Dog, Dog, Doggie." Only it sounds more like "Daw, daw, dawgie." Since then, you have added: Mama and Dadda (specifically,) Ba-bye, no no no no no, duck (and I learned last night in the tub that if I asked you "where's duck?" you point at the duck. If I ask anything else, you wave your arms in the air as if - I dunno,) and Dat (this is when you point at something and say "Dat," I usually answer you, and then you stop. If I don't answer, "Dat" is constantly said until I do.) I must admit, I might sound crazy, but Mimi and Papa heard it, so did the girls that I babysit, and your daddy (though he hasn't seen your "point at duck" trick...therefore, doesn't believe me just yet.)