Paxton is 10 months old!

Holy crap where has the time gone?!?  I am having serious issues believing that it's already been 10 months since Paxton joined our family.  But since that's what the calendar says I guess it's true.  Without further ado, here's an update on my little Monkey Man.

At 10 months, Paxton:

- is still crawling, but is getting closer to walking every day.  He almost took his first step yesterday!  He can stand on his own for about 5 seconds now, but then he figures out what's going on and sits down.  Paxton cruises around all the furniture that he can hold on to and has also figured out how to use Mom's leg to hold him up so we get to shuffle around the kitchen a lot.  Paxton will also walk while holding onto someone's fingers now but he always seems to "run" while doing it so I'm not sure if he likes it or not.

- can crawl upstairs.  I got a "baby email" one day in August which said "your baby can probably crawl upstairs now," and I thought, " well we've never let him try so I don't know."  So we left the baby gate down that evening and Paxton went straight for the stairs and climbed up by himself!  However, he hasn't figured out how to go down stairs (other than letting gravity just take over), so we still get to play "musical baby gates" all day.

- loves being out on the deck.  Whenever Jay goes out Paxton crawls over to the kitchen door and wants to look out at him.  We have to put a baby gate in front of the screen door if the kitchen door is open because Paxton can push the screen door open now and will then crawl out on the deck and head straight for the stairs!  I'm beginning to think there's something wrong with his self-preservation instinct ...
- loves to crawl into the bathroom (if we forget to shut the door) and then pull himself up to stand by the tub.  I guess he just can't get enough of bathtime.

- likes to have his neck "zerberted".  When you finish on one side he'll turn his head so that you can do the other side.  So funny!

- is done with baby food.  We still have a few jars of fruit left, but we've finished all the "meat" ones.  It seemed to take forever, but that's probably because I've been giving him more "table" foods like pasta and poatoes at mealtimes (he's a giant mooch and wants whatever I'm eating).  I'm paranoid about giving him new foods because I'm not sure if he'll chew them!  We introduced Cheerios a few weeks ago which he loves, but occasionally he forgets to chew them and chokes a little which gives Mom a mini heart attack.  I guess we'll just have to try very small pieces of new things and see how that goes.

- can feed himself ... sort of.  He's mastered Cheerios and Arrowroot cookies but I still don't trust him with stuff that requires a spoon.  I let him eat noodles and cheese by himself for the first time a few days ago and he fed most of it to Maggie.  Not the best way to get nutrients into the boy.

- talks a lot.  He's experimenting with volume lately so he'll all of a sudden yell at you.  He's saying "ma ma ma" and "da da da" a lot lately as well, but he seems to mix them up with Jay and I.

- has 4 1/2 teeth now.  His top front teeth finally came in about a week ago so he's gone back to sleeping through the night (yay!).  He snuck in tooth # 5 (the top right canine) without a fuss!  I went to brush his teeth one evening (don't worry Auntie Kizzy, we do this regularly) and it was half way in already!  The top left canine is probably going to make an apperance soon as well since there's a good bump in his gum there.

- can get his toys out of the toy chest by himself now.  He's figured out how to balance so he doesn't fall in when he's trying to grab something on the bottom.

- has turned our house into a mine field of toys!  Now that he's so good at crawling, Paxton likes to take his toys with him so our kitchen and upstairs hallway are always littered with various stuffed animals, toys and bottles.  The living room is a disaster as well when we're down there but usually gets cleaned up before bed time since the dogs seem to like the toys down there better.  I don't try to understand their logic.

- figured out that if he uses the shoe horn he can grab things that are out of reach.  He's far too smart for his own good!

- can reach the keyboard for the computer now and is always willing to be "super helpful" when Mom is typing something.
- sings along to the music with me sometimes.  It's just too cute!

- is looking more like a toddler and less like a baby every day.  It makes me kind of sad that he's getting so big and independent, but it's also really exciting that he's far more interactive now!  I guess it's a good thing that my friends are having babies so I can get my newborn fix from them!

- is moving into the one or two naps a day stage.  Most days he'll have a morning nap and an afternoon nap, but some days he'll only take one of them.  It's a little frustrating at times (like when I want a shower) but I guess it's inevitable!

- reaches for people now when he wants them to hold him.  If I'm holding Paxton when Jay gets home from work he'll dive for Jay so I have to make sure I have a good hold on him!

- is still a super happy little guy!  He loves to "flirt" when we go grocery shopping and doesn't often play strange with anyone (usually only if he's extremely tired).

Showing off his bottom chompers 

Sitting in the big boy chair but not too sure about it 

All ready to go to a wedding

The mashed potato moustache

Playing with the vacuum 

In the toy chest after falling in and not being able to get out (I'm such a good Mom that I ran for the camera before getting him out!) 

Posing with Mo 

Playing with Mom and Dad's shoes (he carries his bottle around in his mouth even after it's empty) 

Crawling around on Grandma Daryl's new floor 

Such a big boy! 

We went through about a week where Paxton's pants were a bit too long and a bit too loose in the waist, so he'd crawl right out of them! 

Paxton's first time eating Cheerios 

This must be where Mom keeps all the really good toys! 

No Mom, I'm not grabbing anything out of here, really! 

Second time eating Cheerios. (Mom and Dad might have helped with the placement this time) 

I'm gonna get you Mom! 

Second time crawling up the stairs (we didn't have the camera the first time so we had to redo it) 

Ta da! 

Watching the water fill up in the tub (He stands here even if there's no water.  It's like he's waiting for me to come fill up the tub for him) 

So excited! 

Maggie likes to keep us company 

All the stuff on the bottom shelf had to be relocated 

Bubble hat 

Maggie's new favorite place to lay 

Grabbing a toy from the bottom of the toy chest (and not falling in) 

 

Not sure about the grass 

"Helping" Dad get the dried mud out of the wheels on the Jeep 

More pictures in the grass 

Laundry baskets are also a great toy apparently 

Crawling down into the entryway (not sure how he did it this night 'cuz he hasn't been able to do it since!)

Moving all the shoes (I guess they wanted to watch tv with us?) 

First time feeding himself (other than Cheerios and Arrowroot cookies) 

Also the first time feeding Maggie from his tray 

Jackie and Paxton at the softball game 

Kaity and Alexander 

Kaity and Lainey 

Bottle in mouth: Check

All tuckered out 

Lainey doing her creepy sleep

 Havin' another bottle 

Peekin' over the deck to watch the UDF (Ultimate Dog Fights) 

Sittin' on Dad's shoulders 

Using the shoe horn to try to reach more stuff

 We got Paxton on a laughing roll a few nights ago.  So cute!

Paxton crawled into the bathroom while Jay was shaving and was going "crazy"