ten months.

Oh dear. My boy is 10 months old, and is getting into everything there is to be gotten into. But I freaking love it. He's so much fun, and as my late Grandpa Earl would say, is such a character. He's started growling recently. Half of the time it's because he's mad, and the other half of the time is because he likes to growl. He can pull himself up onto just about anything (but his favorites are the coffee table and the dining chairs--side note: he got a black eye/cheek today because the chair he was pulling himself up onto fell on top of him. He screamed harder and louder than I've ever heard him scream, and I was shaking, and my mama heart broke into pieces), and reaches for your hand if he wants help up, or if he wants to walk to somewhere else, or if he wants to sit down (still working on going from standing to sitting by ourselves over here).

Oh this boy of mine... he's the sweetest boy I've ever known. If you ask for a kiss, he'll stop what he's doing, lean forward with his mouth open, and plant a big wet one right on your lips. He occasionally gives loves, where he rests his head on you and simultaneously melts your heart. He's starting to snuggle more, especially in bed (sometimes, after a middle-of-the-night feeding, he'll go from position to position trying to get comfy, and about half of those positions will involve snuggling me or Zac), and he sleeps with his little bum up in the air. Oh, and he's learned to crawl! Actual crawling going on over here! Until he realizes that he's much faster when he army crawls, and then plops down on his tummy and army crawls the rest of the way.

At ten months, Franz...

• looooves food. It's really his favorite thing. There is no food that we've given him that he hates, including lemons (no sour face whatsoever).
• is somewhere around 25 pounds, and 31-32 inches tall.
• is starting to fit into some 24 month clothes, and still wears size 4 diapers.
• has started patting things with his hands, and will pat/hit stuff if you do first.
• grabs his penis at every. single. diaper change.
• loves baths, and hates getting out.
• has 4 teeth now! His top front teeth came in and are the cutest.
• eats every 2 1/2 hours on average, including at night.
• co-sleeps with his mama and papa, and loves it (we do too).
• naps in his crib.
• loves being scared and frowned at.
• has started doing this thing where he gasps a long, high-pitched gasp whenever he's excited. 
• pulls up to standing on anything he can.
• crawls with his belly off the floor.
• loves books, cars (loves to push them around on the floor), and recently, his monkey toy that Zac does voices for. 
• is starting to try and say words we say. For example, when we say "monkey," "moo," "mama," "milk," and "more," he'll say, "ma!" Today I caught him saying "duh!" when he picked up his toy duck. 
• when asked where something is ("where's your car/book/etc?"), will look at it, crawl over to it, and pick it up.
• recognizes the signs for milk, more, eat, and book, but hasn't signed them yet.
• has started to curl his legs like newborns do, and it makes me want to snuggle him all day long.
• is the raspberry-blowing king.
• freaks out with excitement when Zac gets home from work.
• loves to jump on the mattress in his crib.
• gets excited when he sees people, but especially babies and kids. Still loves to flirt and smile at anyone who will give him attention.
• eats more regular foods than purees. We're starting to feed him stuff from our plate. Tonight was mushroom stroganoff!
• loves to be held. This boy needs physical touch, and cannot get enough of it. I absolutely love it.
• still has poofy hair that stands straight up.
• is a mama's boy through and through.
• doesn't mind car rides, and goes into his carseat easily (knock on wood).

I keep thinking about how he'll be a year old in less than two months, and have to pinch myself, because there's no way it's been almost a year already! I remember when he was brand new, thinking that waiting until he was two months old (to get him on a schedule) was forever away. I miss those newborn days (I've admittedly been baby hungry since Franz was 4 months old), but I am eating these 10-month-old days right up! He becomes more and more like a kid and less and less like a baby each day, and while it makes me sad, it's crazy fun to watch him grow up and teach himself new things. This boy is getting to be pretty funny, and makes me genuinely laugh every day. I love that he's mine.

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Outtakes, because this little boy is getting to be a wild thang:

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