10 Months!

Dear Benny-Boo,

I think I have a serious problem, because I cannot stop calling you that, and I would cringe if I ever heard a person seriously call you "Benny". Or "Boo Boo"...I mean, come on, that's a dog's name - or that little bear with Yogi. I'm so sorry, Ben. Forgive me? I knew you would. ;)

Well, at 10 months, not a lot has changed from 9 months. You are *this* close to crawling. You will go from sitting to all fours, rock away, then sit back down. Not sure what the deal is, but you'll figure it out when you want, I guess. You have started waving, which is fun. You are getting better with word association, too, because when we say "hi" your hand goes up! You also can also look at certain things when I say "Ben, can where's _____?" Like the dog, your daddy, Kaylynn, your mama, the cat. Your sounds have also progressed from dadada's to "wah, wah", nanana, bababa (which I think you think is your milk), etc. Growling is your preferred method of communication. When we ask you to say "dada", you growl it out - hilarious! Though your "dada" kinda thinks you might not be able to say it normally anymore (you can!)

You are a champ with a straw cup now. To the point where I can probably put the bottles away, but I kinda like our morning snuggles with your bottle. The happiest part of your day, usually. Generally, you are a happy boy, but when you get mad, you get MAD. It usually revolves around food, which comes with the territory of being Brian's son. I think you are beyond the baby food purees now. We tried feeding you some the other night and you refused to eat them, but preferred the soba noodles that we were having. So begins the table food transition - so far spaghetti is a HUGE favorite, something your sister doesn't really care for. You chowed down on avocado and black beans tonight, which was a hit as well. We'll just see what we can give you from our dinner each night and go from there, I guess. Kaylynn and you are night and day different, that's for sure.

Everyone who sees you says the same things, "look at his beautiful blue eyes " and "he's huge!" Both are true statements. I am so jealous of your eyes. They are so crystally blue, it's ridiuclous! And you are such a big boy! It really baffles me, because I can find 1 tiny fat roll on your leg, but you are the size and weight of Kaylynn at 15 months. That is crazy. Not fat by any means, just really, really solid. I am having to buy 18 month sleepers for my 10 month old, because you are too long for the others. You fit into mostly 12 month clothes right now (besides said sleepers.)

New to this next month is your Doc band helmet. At your 9 month appointment, your new pediatrician affirmed (without my prompting) what I had been fearing since at least 6 months - your head is flat. He sent us to Dallas to meet with some orthodists to see about trying to shape your head appropriately. Besides cosmetic reasons, there are health reasons for it - avoiding underbites, TMJ, sleep apnea, and sinus problems. We need to pray that you have a growth spurt during the wearing of this helmet, as that is how it works - with growth. We should have done this earlier, but we kept thinking it would fix itself - Kaylynn's did. You love sleeping flat on your back still, so I guess that's why it didn't. Anywho, I hate that you have to have it, but I am going to make the most of it and decorate it to look like an Aggie football helmet, just in time for the first football game!

Receiving your cousin's 1st birthday invitation this week has kinda made me freak out a bit - yours is just a month after his! Too soon. I hate the idea of you turning 1 already. I just want you to stay my sweet baby boy forever and ever. Ok, not really, I want you to have a great and full-filled life, but I really love your little baby self.

Love you, little Benny-Boo!

Mama