Mattox's 10th Month

{Taken Sunday, January 3, 2016}

{Taken Wednesday, December 9, 2015}

{Taken Wednesday, December 16, 2015}

{Taken Wednesday, December 23, 2015}

{Taken Thursday, December 31, 2015}

10 Months!  Yikes!!!  (and since this post is several weeks late, you are almost 11 months!)  I have really got to get on the ball and start planning your first birthday party.  Less than two months and counting.  This last month was such a big one for you with your first Christmas and all the festivities and you becoming a much more mobile almost toddler.  You have really been keeping mommy on her toes!

Size:  We haven't been back to the doctor again since your nine month well-check on your actual nine month birthday when you weighed exactly 18 lbs. and were 28.25 inches long.  I suspect you are getting close to that 20 lb. mark now, but we may not get another weight check until you are a year old.  You are definitely filling out mostly 12 month clothes now, and Mommy had to buy you some new shirts and jeans.  We were very limited on 12 month winter clothes because I had gotten rid of Evan's old ones, and Brody was mostly wearing spring and summer clothes in that size.  You have still been wearing size 3 diapers.  

Developmental Accomplishments:  You started full crawling when you were just over 9 months old, but you went straight to pulling up on your own and cruising.  You stay on your feet now walking from one end of the living room to the other about 90% of the time now.  You want to grab everything you see and are always figuring out how to get to something you want.  You open drawers, can reach so many things I don't think you can, and are really keeping me busy now.  You are babbling more although I haven't deciphered any actual words yet.  You do act more like your big brother Evan at this stage, and he was saying several words before he was a year old so we will see if you do the same.   You still only have four teeth at the moment, but that does not stop you from eating what you want. I would actually say the separation anxiety and stranger anxiety has decreased since Christmas.  You went to the library with your big brother for story time and were just crawling all around the other kids and parents and would just look back at me and smile and keep on going.  You don't mind playing alone in a room as much now and don't cry as much when I need to leave the room.  Brody is really loving you more now.  He encouraged you to follow him crawling through the house from our room to his room to play.  Then, you got in there and into his closet to play with his toys, and he left you.  Ha!  But he really does love you.  He plays with you more in the living room because he likes your new Christmas toys.  He makes you laugh so hard.  He helps me take your weekly pictures and makes you laugh and smile.   He lets you borrow his silky blankie too.  That is real love for sure!  Right now, you are trying to grab the cord for my computer.  You are just a sweet little mess!

Sleeping:  You still sleep very well through the night and only occasionally wake up once to get more milk.  You now sleep in your crib in your own room, and I am very thankful for your angelcare monitor. 

Eating:  You will eat ANYTHING!  We are still chugging away at breast feeding which I am thankful for.  You get 4 to 5 feedings a day getting between 5 and 7 oz. each with only one 7 oz. bottle of formula a day.  You still really love eating solids and have really been doing well with every food you have tried.  You enjoyed your first "real" meals this month eating some of our pasta with meat sauce, turkey with mashed potatoes and peas for Christmas, and a few foods at restaurants from our plates.  You actually enjoyed your very first Chick-fil-a kids meal today for lunch with grilled chicken nuggets and applesauce.  I just cut the nuggets up very small and mixed them with your applesauce, and you ate it all.  Most of the time, you still eat homemade pureed baby food with a fruit and oatmeal or fruit and yogurt combination for breakfast and a vegetable and meat combination for lunch and dinner.  You have now tried avocados, peas, squash, apples, pears, bananas, sweet potatoes, peaches, zucchini, green beans, broccoli, white potatoes, mangoes, kale, turkey, chicken, and ground beef.   You like white potatoes mixed with a green vegetable like peas, green beans, broccoli, or kale.  You eat a chicken or turkey puree mixed with an orange vegetable like sweet potatoes, butternut squash, or carrots.  We pureed the rest of our Christmas turkey and froze it so you have been enjoying eating a lot of turkey lately.  

Favorites:  Cocoa (your dog); food; when Daddy gets home from work; playing with your big brothers; taking the track apart to your new car race track; blocks; cars; cups or bowls that have food or drink in them that you try to grab; spoons; bath time and splashing in the water; music and turning on the stereo (just like big brother Brody)

And of course, more cute pictures from the month:

We enjoyed this little blessing so much for Christmas this year.  However, taking his pictures was definitely a lot more difficult because he is such a mover now and doesn't want to sit still.  He keeps trying to crawl away.  I had to give him an ornament to play with to get him to be still.  He is wearing the reindeer pajamas Evan wore his first Christmas. 

I do think Mattox looks a lot like Evan did although maybe not so much in these pictures.  They both have the biggest, brightest blue eyes and big happy smiles.  They also both have Daddy's cute little ears. 

Evan came along to help me get pictures of Mattox's little reindeer booty, and he wanted to get in the pictures too. 

Trying to crawl away. Silly baby. 

I still love that sweet face. 

Mattox's favorite part of the Christmas tree was the tassels on the tree skirt.  Most of those didn't survive.  Ha!

I just love when I caught him inside his little toy box.  He was perfectly content in there.  He had gone after a little vinyl book he wanted.  I added that picture of one of his funny faces from his weekly photo session just as additional proof of his silliness. 

But he was just the cutest little Santa Claus wearing big brother Brody's old Christmas jammies. 

But these two do look a like in these pictures.  Mattox does have longer and darker eyelashes more like big brother Brody's, and they both have my larger head size and shape.

He still kept trying to crawl away. 

The cutest faces. 

He stole his elf's hat.  Where did the elf go? 

He's been working on the railroad.  Our living room has been transformed since Christmas into a baby/toddler play area.  It is the best and safest spot in the house for him to play for now.  

He was the cutest little New Year's baby.  I love how he plays with his ears.  He doesn't do it like it hurts or because he has an ear infection.  It has just become his little soothing thing.  Evan had his thumb, Brody had his silky, and Mattox has his ears.  He plays with them while he is nursing too. 

For Brody's first New Year's pictures, I had a party noise blower for him to play with.  I forgot to get some of those again so Mattox got to play with a champagne flute.  Ha!  He says, "No champagne for me.  Milk milk please!"

His emotions quickly went from happy and playing to "I am done!"  Haha!

I just love watching him play now.  I can't really determine yet what his favorite thing will be, but he does seem to like little blocks he can hold in his hands or bang together. 

He loves his new Lego Duplo train and blocks. 

But what he really LOVES is getting himself into tight spots.  He got stuck here under his bouncer seat and the entertainment center cabinet.  I try to use his seat to block him from getting to the stereo that he likes to play with, but he is stubborn.  That poor stereo.  I have had it since before we got married, and it has seen some rough use from Brody and now Mattox.  It still works well though although some CD's have bit the dust.  These babies just love music!

Oh, I love this handsome little GQ baby in his new tie and jeans. 

So so so pretty!

Who needs Christian Grey when I have Mattox Christian?  Way way better. 

I love that little hand waving and finger pointing.  

But when he's done, he's done.  He can go from smiling and happy to mad as a hornet in the blink of an eye.