We're Walking, We're Walking

She has actually been walking quite a bit for the past week, I just now had time to upload the video. She still has several falls, but stands back up and goes again.

10 Months Old

Mikaela turned 10 months yesterday. (Sorry I was too tired to post!) Here are some things she is doing:

- She is truly a "toddler" now. If she has something in her hands, she will stand from a squat position without using furniture to pull up. If she doesn't have anything in her hands, she tends to pull up or crawl to an object first. She has taken several steps at any given time, but isn't a "walker" yet. The most we've counted is 8. She still uses crawling as her primary mode of transportation.
- She isn't the best eater. Some days she eats really well. She'll eat baby food as well as bite size pieces of food. Other days, we are lucky if she takes two bites of baby food and a handful of cheerios. She does like those Gerber puffs most days as well as rice cereal, but I really want her eating her fruits and veggies. Today she turned up her nose at bananas and that has been a sure-thing-food for months. Oh well. She's still growing.
- I haven't weighed her recently but I think she's about 18 lbs, maybe a little more.
- She is quite the talker and even sings a little, but she isn't signing much. We are starting to get frustration so I am hoping the signing kicks in soon.
- Popular toys right now are Dolly, counting/shape foam books, and keys (hers, though she'd like Mommy and Daddy's if we'd give them to her). She also likes rubber coasters. On her walking toy as well as her jumper, there are spinning toys that make a lot of noise when you spin them. She likes those.
- She can open drawers now. The only ones she can reach are the ones in her room (which have clothes in them) and the two on our shelf by the fridge (which contain bibs and burp clothes). This isn't such a big deal except that after opening the drawers, she proceeds to take out each item, one at a time.
- Night time sleep is glorious! Down around 7:30-7:45pm and wakes around 7:00am. This past week she did wake up twice in the night. One night at midnight and another night at 3:30, but she started with a new sitter this week so I think she is just adjusting.
- Notice above I said night time sleep is glorious because naps all of a sudden are not. I knew she was beginning to drop her morning nap because it was getting shorter and shorter, but she has only taken one nap a day at the new sitter's, and they are usually only 45 minutes long. Yesterday she napped on the way home, but that isn't typical. We'll see how she does napping at home this weekend. She seems happy though so I guess I shouldn't worry too much about it.
- She has 2 bottom teeth and one top tooth. The second top tooth has broken through because you can feel it even though you can't really see it yet.
- She has discovered Cocoa's crate. She hasn't gone in it yet, but plays with the gate and has stuck her head inside the crate a couple times.
- She can climb the stairs. The gate is up so she doesn't try, but we usually let her climb a few on the way to bath (which takes place upstairs, as our guest shower is still broken).
- She still doesn't laugh much, but when she does it's the best sound! If she is going to laugh, it is usually at the dog. Before taking a walk today, Cocoa Bean was super excited and jumping around. That got Mikaela going. She also laughed at Cocoa Bean when she trotted along side Mikaela's stroller. She's also laughed at Aunt Amy's little dog.

Here are outtakes, bloopers, and runner-ups (or is it runners-up?):