Nola's 10 (and a half) months

Nola was 10 1/2 months on the 10th - her "golden" month birthday...haha.  The past month and a half have been amazing with Nola.  She's a full-time cruiser now and loves going back and forth while holding onto the couch.  I love this age - especially this time around because I can really appreciate its fleeting nature.

Size/clothes: She's over 19 lbs now.  Poor baby has been to the doctor a few times in the last couple weeks due to ear infections and a lingering upper respiratory infection.  Still in 18-24 months clothes.

Eating:  She still loves to nurse and will spend most of the night nursing as she sleeps along with enjoying 6-8 nursing sessions during the day.  I have finally begun to consistently offer meals along with the older kids.  She really loves to eat.  Some new favorite things are beans and rice, toast with jelly, and bagel chips.  She still loves her fruits and vegetables, and I went ahead and made some avocado/banana and raspberry/banana/baby oatmeal purees to freeze and give along with fingerfoods. I've offered cheese and yogurt, but so far she's not a huge fan.  We'll keep trying.  She has started to hold her own cup and drink instead of requiring help from me.  My girl LOVES to eat, and whether she's hungry or not, she's always willing to give food a try.

Teeth:  Two new teeth this month!  So she got the proverbial two front teeth for Christmas.

Sleeping:  Getting better.  But that's probably mostly due to the fact that I'm just waiting for her to be tired instead of putting her to bed at a predetermined time.  Just in the last week or so, she's begun taking a consistent 2-3 hour nap starting around 11am.  She still starts the night in her bed, but usually she only lasts until about 11:30 or midnight at the latest before joining us in bed where she will contentedly alternate sleeping and eating until about 7:30 or 8.

New skills:  Besides cruising, Nola is clapping, dancing, singing, talking, and showing signs of attitude.  She learned to clap right on the 10th, and that morning she was laying next to me in bed clapping as she nursed.  It was adorable.  She loves to dance and sing, so anything that makes music in this house is Nola's favorite.  She's talking - words include ba-ba (my boobs), nuh-nuh (no no), ah-duh (all done), buh (book), and of course dada and mama.  She cracks me up saying nuh-nuh since she usually tells herself that when she bites me.  We've started having serious issues with biting, both during nursing as well as any other time.  It's sort of become her way of getting my attention.  Fortunately, I think she's starting to get the idea that it's not appreciated but we're still working on it.  She's also showing signs of girly attitude by throwing a fit when I take away her washcloth so I can wash her during her bath - she growls at me too.  Frightening.  She knows what she wants and when she wants it.

Loves:  Baths, eating and nursing, her brother and sister, her daddy, sleeping in our bed, the Christmas tree, getting into things she's not supposed to have, books, sleeping in her carseat, and the humidifier.

Loathes: Homemade peach puree with baby cereal -- just found this out today.  Funny story.  She literally spit it out over the side of her high chair.  Hilarious.  She also is not a fan of diaper changes, having the washcloth taken away in the bathtub, being too cold or too hot, and having to sit still.

Girl loves to eat, I'm telling you.

Nola and Mama at the Nutcracker

Pretty little toofers

Lookin' at the new love of her life -- Daddy

 *admittedly, I was horrible about taking pictures this month.  These shots resulted from only two separate attempts at photographically documenting my baby's life.  I promise to do better this month (especially since it's already half over).