10 months old!!

Lainey Cathryn is 10 months old!! I think she is doing a lot of fun things these days and every day she seems to get bigger and more aware of her surroundings. I'm going to note some of the sweet things she does at this age and stage.

L - loves to "play toys" as her Yiyia says. She will play alone or with kids or adults - as long as she can play.

A - always crosses her little feet when she sits on the ground. Sometimes she'll uncross them to clap her feet together but then they'll go right back to being crossed.

I - interested in books, but she's quite particular about which ones. Current favorites are There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly and Ten Little Ladybugs (thanks Pam!) and Elmo's Book of Love.

N - never, ever quiet, unless she's sleeping. She constantly makes noise and it's so funny. When I was on the phone once with her Aunt Allyson, she likened Lainey to a canary in the background. So true!

E - everyone is her friend. She'll sometimes cry in the nursery at church and one of the ladies in there says that she "doesn't like short hair". She would go to the long-haired women, but not the ones with short hair. And apparently she can tell the women from the men because she has no problem around men for some reason.

Y - yells, screams, and cries when we take her out of the bathtub. That is her all-time favorite place to be. She loves it. The yelling and screaming isn't sweet, but the fact that she is so blissfully happy in the tub is. :)

In a lot of my pictures, Lainey gives this exact, gummy smile. Her mouth opens really big, and her eyes get crinkly, and she laughs and smiles for the camera. A total ham.

in the cute hat that her Emmy gave her...


Usually Lainey likes the swing, but on this day she seemed a little unsure.

Other fun things to note about our 10-month-old:

1. She pulls up on things, cruises along furniture, and can stand for short periods of time. I still don't think walking is in the near future, but maybe before her first birthday.

2. She tries to climb upon things and crawl between spaces that really aren't meant (or wide enough) for babies.

3. Strawberries are a wonderful food - she looooovveeesss them. But when she gets full she'll just squish them all over the place and make a giant mess.

4. I think she would happily climb up the stairs if we would let her. She's made it to the first landing before we intervene - she's fast. And Reagan's food and water are on the first landing and we've had to clean up several dumped waterbowls and scattered food pieces.

5. She has a lot of teeth! Two for sure on the bottom, and two for sure on the top, with one more on the bottom breaking through and the other two on the top almost-breaking-through.

We love you, Lainey! Thanks for making our hearts smile every single day. :)