10 Whole Months....

I am slightly late on Tucker's 10 month update, but only by 9 days so that's better than my usual! (Okay, well forget that! 9 days post 10 months was when I initially started this post, but as usual, life interrupts and I don't get to finish until days later! So, I'm now 14 days post 10 months, pretty much, 10 1/2 months. O-well!)

I know I say this every month, but I just can't believe how big my baby has gotten! I'll catch a quick glance and have to literally do a double take and think, "THAT can NOT be my BABY boy!" But, that IS my baby boy, my big baby boy.... I am trying so hard to cherish every single moment because, as all parents say, they go by SO FAST! When I go into stores and see Halloween paraphernalia, I want to run up and down the isles, grabbing it all off the shelves and scream, "Put it away! Halloween is so far away yet!" But, in reality, Halloween isn't that far away and my baby will be 1 year old 2 weeks BEFORE Halloween....

Okay, before this turns into a tear-fest, here are a few (well, SEVERAL! Sorry, they're all so cute I couldn't limit it to a few.) of the photos from Tucker's 10 month photo shoot :)

He was SO NOT into having his picture taken. Yes, my baby boy has developed quite the opinion and he makes it known!

"Sorry Mom, no smiles. I'm just not in the mood right now."

Tell me, does that look like a boy who is in the 30th percentile? To me he looks SO BIG!

The addition of Teddy makes things slightly more fun.

But only momentarily...Then, in walks Daddy and out comes the toothy smile we know so well!
Tucker may be a Mama's Boy, but Daddy ALWAYS gets the best smiles!
Then the photo session is old news and Tucker needs something better to do.

Tackle Teddy perhaps....

or maybe check out what's going on in the neighborhood.
Of course that lasts all of 2 seconds before he decides he has been on that chair WAY too long!
We're in full cruise-mode now!
Tucker continues to LOVE his books!

Wow, where to begin.... Every month I feel like Tucker has changed so much from the previous month. I go on and on with his "updates" and I think "next month I won't have anything to add" but then next month comes and I could literally write chapters! I'll try to keep it a little shorter than that, but that's gonna be hard! Tucker is doing so much now!

To begin, I am impressed daily with his receptive language skills! He understands so much of what is said! We'll say, "Tucker, come here," and he'll come. I'll say, "Tucker, where's Daddy?" and he'll look at Wes. We'll say, "Tucker, where's the dog?" or "Tucker, where's the ball?" and he'll point to the dog or ball. "Tucker, do you want a bite-bite?" and he'll come zooming into the kitchen. "Tucker, come find Mommy!" and he'll crawl around the corner or into the next room laughing so hard he's snorting (he LOVES playing hide'n'seek!), "Tucker, turn out the light" and he'll reach for the light switch....I could go on and on. He seems to understand everything! I love it!

While we're on the topic of language, Tucker's expressive language is developing as well. His vocabulary now consists of Dada, Mom-Mom, hi, hey, baaw (ball), and daaw (dog). He waves "hi" and "bye bye" differently. Hi is an extended hand and he may move his arm back and forth a little. Bye is an open and closed fist that is actually backwards (as though he's waving to himself). He also signs "milk," "more," and "food". He has signed "milk" for a while now. He does it when he wants to nurse or even while nursing. He'll be nursing and he will stop and look at me and sign "milk" and smile then return to nursing! (Yes, he still LOVES to nurse! I know Tucker can start to drink cow's milk at a year old, but I just don't see this boy weaning anytime soon!) He hasn't really starting signing "food" when he wants to eat, but does so once he's placed in his high chair and we say, "You want to eat eat?" He has occasionally signed "water" but usually just signs "food" again when he wants a drink. (We're working on differentiating the two.) We don't see 'more' too often because, well Tucker rarely wants more food than we give him! He may do it when he's eating a snack, but usually he just wants out of his high chair! Speaking of which, while he hasn't really started officially signing "all done" he definitely has his own way of letting you know he is ALL DONE! I have had more than a few spoonfuls of food splat on my kitchen floor because he's letting me know he is ALL DONE! The arm pushes the spoon away and he pierces his lips together with the bottom on sticking out!

Tucker is definitely ALL BOY! He can be so rough! He'll bang a toy and realize he can make a noise by doing so, so he'll bang it harder and harder making the noise louder and louder. When it comes to toys, they have to be durable for this boy! He loves to be flipped and tossed and tickled and wrestled. However, he is also SO sweet. He LOVES stuffed animals. Anytime you put one in front of him or he comes across one he immediately smiles and kisses it. His sweet, open-mouth kisses are THE. BEST. I love them, even when they're covered in his lunch. Mommy will take them anytime!

Like I said above, Tucker is in full cruise mode. He'll pull to his feet with ease and can cruise along furniture, from one piece of furniture to the next, from one toy to the next, along the dishwasher.... He'd rather be standing up these days. This makes him look even bigger :( When we go to get him out of his crib and he's standing up, he just looks impossibly big.

Tucker loves his "daaws"! He even yells at them (probably from Mommy and Daddy always yelling at them....). Lacy is so tolerant of him. Tucker crawls all over her, pulls at her lips and ears, hits her (we're trying to teach him "gentle"), lays on her, he loves her! Baby, on the other hand, moves before Tucker can get close enough to her. He loves her anyway.

Music. Tucker LOVES music! And I am not exaggerating when I tell you this boy has rhythm! I won't even pretend he gets it from me. He doesn't. That's all Daddy. We'll have music playing, most of the time it's the Sesame Street songs he loves like "Elmo's Song", "C is for Cookie", "Everybody's Song", and he will bob his head, bounce, put his arms in the air, or do all three and he is right on beat! We've tried so hard to get this on camera but as soon as the camera's pulled out, he stops and wants the camera.

Daddy and Tucker spend Saturday mornings together while Mommy sleeps in. This time is very special to both Tucker and Daddy. Sometimes the sound of my boys singing and dancing wakes me up, sometimes it's the sound of Daddy's funny noises as he feeds Tucker breakfast, or sometimes it's Tucker laughing at his silly Daddy or because Daddy is tickling him. I love to lay in bed and listen to my boys. Tucker loves his Daddy and Daddy loves his Tucker Bug! They have a very special bond. Mommy loves it!

Some more things Tucker loves - peas, cheese, chicken, bread, cups, laundry, and dirty socks. To start, Tucker is starting to eat more food. He's tried just about everything. We're well past the hold-off-till-one-year for things like strawberries (loves them) and egg whites (he'll eat them occasionally). (Knock on wood....no food allergies run in our family and he hasn't shown any signs of any.) Tucker eats like he's more of a toddler, basically smaller portions of whatever we're having for dinner. He can pretty much chew up anything with his 4 pearly whites (with 2 more ready to come through any second now). The only issue is that he doesn't want very much of anything. Even the things he loves, he's satisfied after a few bites. I will say, it must be enough because I feel like he has gained 10 pounds in the last month!

Next, the cups, laundry and dirty socks! Tucker loves cups. He'd much rather have a big cup versus a sippy. If he sees one, he'll point and want it. He has one in the bath tub that he is always filling with water and drinking. He does pretty good too! (I know, it's probably not a good idea to let him drink the bath water....). He loves to dig through the laundry in his room. And when he comes across a dirty sock, he will get all excited (why, I have no idea!) and will shake it and carry it around with him from activity to activity for the next hour! He also LOVES to pull all the clothes out of his dresser drawers. Putting clothes away with him around is a losing battle.

Wow, that's my big boy! Again, I can't believe we're almost to the year mark. I'm just looking forward to tomorrow and enjoying every minute with my Tucker Bug!

Tucker,

You make Daddy and I so happy! To say you are the apple of our eye is an understatement! We can't even imagine what our life was like before you, but whatever it was like, it was incomplete. Your smile makes everything perfect. I can eat up your smiles and your cheeks over and over again (and I do!). Sometimes I literally cannot stop kissing you! I just can't get enough of my Tucker Bug! I love watching you discover life. Everything is so new and interesting to you. I love to just watch the world through your eyes. I love to watch you figure things out. You're SO smart! I tell you all the time that "You're the smartest baby ever!" (You might not get your rhythm from me, but your brains, those are from Mommy!) Tucker, I thank God over and over again every day for blessing me and Daddy with you! You are absolutely perfect. I love you more than I could ever put into words! I pray that you always know my love for you!

Love ALWAYS and FOREVER,

Mommy

xoxoxo