Baby Check: 10 Months

 

It's so funny to look at Effy's monthly pictures as time has marched on.  Her first couple of months before she could roll or go anywhere, I probably had about 50+ pictures each month.  But this month?  5.  She would smile and then start crawling to a toy (or something that to HER is a toy, like a dust bunny or my dirty shoes).  We'd lay her back down and then repeat the process.  At least she was happy about it!

Okay, Miss Effy, let's review this past month!  I'm rewinding in my head about a week because it's slightly past the 10 month mark now - oops.

Playtime: Effy LOVES to play and crawl and explore and we just follow her where ever she goes.  Her current favorite toy is her small, purple maraca.  Oh man, she could play with that maraca all day and be content.  Scott and I have taken to singing mariachi music so we don't feel left out of her party (or fiesta [oooo, multi-cultural blog entry!].  Effy has always enjoyed rattles, but she cannot yet shake a rattle (or maraca) and not shake her other arm too.  She just looks so enthusiastic!  She also really likes to play with her dog house toy where she can take 3 puppies that rattle in and out of their house.  The best part of this house?  The dog bone [see picture].  Effy crawls around the house with this bone in her mouth and it is pretty much adorable.  

Her other favorite toy is her stacking rings, a baby classic.  She has a wooden Melissa & Doug set, but she prefers to just pick up the stick part of the toy and gag herself with it, so we've been borrowing Grandmama's plastic version, and I think we'll be purchasing one for ourselves.  We also bought Effy a set of wooden blocks.  Scott builds things, Effy knocks them down.  It's a beautiful thing.

A dadda masterpiece.

Effy confusing her blocks for a horse.  Scott's face is AWE-SOME.

Mealtime: Effy's current favorite foods include: cereal, yogurt, cheese, & avocado.  She hasn't been eating as much food lately, but I think it's mostly because we've been offering her purees and she's really into feeding herself.  I'm trying to get better about having more finger food options for her because she tends to eat more and is happier.  However, she never seems starved or super hungry, so I don't stress myself about her having small meals.  She also had her first taste of ice cream this month on the 4th of July.  She enjoyed it, indeed.

Helping Daddy finish up a peach.

Sleeping: Effy still sleeps wonderfully at night.  She goes to bed between 7 & 8, nurses around 5am-ish, and then sleeps until about 8am.  Her napping is still inconsistent.  She naps while in the car, on walks, and if she's being held.  We did some sleep training for the night time stuff, and I know we could do the same method for nap time, but honestly, I don't really mind our current set up.  I LOVE holding her while she sleeps.  It might mean that laundry doesn't always get done or dinner is later than we'd like, but frankly, I don't care.  I love being with my sweet baby girl.

Naptime snuggles.

Other exciting things that happened this month --

Effy's first July 4th!  This is a big holiday with the Dicus family.  In fact, it's so big that we don't even recognize America anymore...it's not called the 4th of July for us, it's called Dicus Day.  I'm serious.  There are invitations & everything.  There used to be t-shirts before I was a Dicus, and I hope that sometime in the future, that tradition begins again.  Also, for the past few years, Scott and I have attended our city's 4th of July "fest", if you will.  We were so excited to bring Effy along this year!  This is a picture of Effy & I about to get in line for pancakes.  Delightful!  [Side note because I'm thinking about it right now: I didn't take nearly as many pictures this month as I would have liked.  I'm kicking myself for it.  Goal for her 11th month -- take more pictures!  I know that's not a "SMART" goal for all your corporate gurus out there, but DEAL WITH IT.]

I also baked a pie for Dicus Day.  More importantly, I took a picture of it with a pitcher and some hydrangea to look like a Real Simple photoshoot.  I think it worked, no?

Strawberry Blackberry Pie

Oh!  Effy got a wagon.  Not just a regular old wagon.  Effy got a Range Rover wagon.  Here's how it happened...

Me: How do you feel about getting Effy a wagon?  I think she'd like it.

Scott: Sounds good to me.

Me: Let's just get something simple & classic.

Scott: Agreed.

Me: But instead of metal, I'd want plastic, just so it doesn't get too hot.

Scott: Alright, that's fine.

Me: Oh, this one looks good and simple.  I guess it comes with cupholders?  Whatever, looks good.

Scott: Okay, that looks good.

Me: Oh, but this one has a cup holder for the person pulling too.  That could be convenient, right?

Scott: Yea, probably.

Me: Awesome, I'll order it.  I'm so glad we're not getting one of this wagons with a freakin' CANOPY.  Get over yourselves, right?  Anywho, I'll order the wagon.  Oh!  Look at this one, it has the cupholders & everything but it also has seatbacks.  I mean, just from Effy's perspective, I feel like that would be more comfortable, right?

Scott: Yeah, probably.

Me: And it has seat belts, which I guess is good because she's probably a bit wobbly in it right now.

Scott: Yes, safety is good.

Me:  Oh man!  Look at this one!  It has all the same features but then it has an attached cooler thing on the back.  That could be good for like, walking to the park with a lunch or something.

Scott: Yeah, I guess so.

Me: It gets pretty sunny walking to the park.  Do you think we should get a wagon with a canopy?

Scott: Probably.

And that, consumers, is how we go from a $30 wagon to a ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY FREAKING DOLLAR AUTOMOBILE WAGON.  Boom.

Here's a picture of Effy in her wagon.  She just looks like such a little lady instead of a baby, it melts my heart.  Also, it looks like we didn't buckle her.  I assure you we want to get our money's worth, so we used all of the wagon's accoutrements, including the seat belt. 

Sad panda, Effy was sick for the first time this month.  I guess I should be grateful that it took 9+ months for her to get sick, but it made me sad none the less.  I thought she sounded a bit snotty when we laid her down for the night and when I went to get her out of her crib in the morning...crusty face McGee was waiting for me.

Holy huge crusty baby face, Batman!

I also noticed that Effy wasn't quite as expressive that morning because her face was being held in place with dried snot.  I'm considering, as I age, to use this technique as an alternative to botox.  I will call it boogtox.  Has a nice ring to it, no?  I would charge $19.99 for a boogtox session with Effy and I.  That's only about 8 sessions until her wagon is paid off.  Perfect.

My dear friend Hännah came in town from NYC and we met up for dinner in Top City.  My dad was out of town for work so a girl's night slumber party was in order -- mama + effy + grandmama.  Effy sleeps very well at my parents house which is great.  Here she is in the morning (with her cute "I just woke up" face) playing in the family room.  Also, her sleepsack makes her look like Jabba the Hutt, in a cute baby sort of way.

This last month also brought Effy's first trip to the pool!  Our dear friend Sarah came back to house/puppy sit at her parents and they have a wonderful pool.  I was anxious to put Effy in this swimsuit:

Um...cute.

The suit ended up being a little big but we went with it anyway.  She wasn't sure about the water at first but once both Scott and I were in there floating around with her, she decided it was a-okay.  Many of Sarah's sweet girlfriends were there hanging out and Effy enjoyed getting lots of attention from them.

 

The picture above is one of the best from the day.  I mentioned that I haven't been taking as many pictures this month, especially with my real camera.  The main reason is because when I do, all the pictures turn out like this one:

Gimme gimme gimme!

Needless to say, most pictures turn into a fight over playing with the camera and then an unhappy little baby.  Sad day.  Oh, we're lucky that none of the pool pictures had nipple.  Effy was all about the nip slip that day.  Tramp.

Perhaps the biggest event in Effy's 10th month was her first trip & plane ride!  We went to New York City and Effy did wonderfully while we were there.  I'm going to do a separate post on the trip, so stay tuned!

Miss Effy, we just want to kiss your face all day.  You are so soft and so wonderful.  I love how you light up when I walk in the room.  I love how you'll reach for me when someone is handing you my way.  I love when I pick you up out of your crib in the morning and you start waving at yourself in the mirror.  You have no idea how all of the simple daily things you do are some of the best things your dad and I have ever experienced.  We love you.