Brooke: 10 months

This post is already a day (or 12) late and will be a dollar short.  We have been up to a lot of fun and have had quite a few adventures that all deserve their own posts (so stay tuned for those).  Since we were out of town for the official 10 month photo shoot I improvised and took a few comparable ones that will have to do.

Honestly, I can't really remember what Brooke was doing two weeks ago.  If I were to write the post about what she is doing today it would be so different.  It continues to amaze me how fast babies learn new things! In general at 10 months Brooke was:

-Waving... she would wave but only on her own terms and didn't understand the "wave goodbye" or "wave hello" idea and would often wave a few minutes after the person left.

Loves looking out the window at the cars that drive by

-Clapping... such a cute new skill and so fun to watch her slowly fine tune her ability to successfully get her hands together repeatedly.

-Pulling up to stand on anything she could find... the wall, her car seat, the back door, my legs while I'm standing, etc

So proud!

- No longer willing to sit for short periods of time and play with toys. This photo was taken at the beginning the month and shows her playing with her friend while I helped my friend decorate cupcakes in the kitchen.  By the end of the month her desire to stand/move/walk outweighs almost any toy after a few short minutes and she is off to explore.

- Experiencing separation anxiety.  This started before our trip when Brooke would have minor break downs if I ever had to leave the room.  Being in a new time zone at a new house and with new people only exasperated the issue but it also gave her lots of good practice and she is doing much better now.

- Eating... Brooke is really good at finishing what is in her mouth before taking another bite.  She will turn her head  if I try to offer her another bite while she is still chewing and she will politely hold onto her finger foods waiting until she is ready.Although is is also very good at getting the food all over her face.

- I had to take the picture above because Brooke actually slowed down enough to lay her head down. She was sick and it only lasted for a few moments but was so cute and something we rarely see (although she is becoming increasingly cuddly every month).

- As you can see Brooke's hair is getting longer (and more unmanageable).  It is probably long enough to do a mini pony tail but I haven't tried yet because I'm lucky if I can get Brooke to sit still long enough to stick a clip in her hair.

- The worst part of this month was Brooke getting sick.  She woke up with a fever after a nap.  We knew something was up because she took a 2 hour nap and then laid quietly in her bed after waking up for another 30 minutes.  We were enjoying the down time and just let her be but I felt so sad when I went to get her and she was burning up.  The fever lasted for 24 hours and she was understandably clingy and couldn't sleep. Unfortunately the fever was only the beginning.  After it broke she got a rash on her hands and feet that spread all the way up her legs and arms.   We took her to the doctor and they ruled out Hand, Foot and Mouth disease, which I was grateful for because the idea of painful blisters in her mouth made me sad.  It was still a rough week as she was getting over the random virus. She was more subdued and gave a few extra cuddles.  The rash turned into blisters in some spots that rubbed often on her hands and feet and then they popped and pealed.  It wasn't a pretty sight and my poor heart broke every time I saw them but they didn't seem to bother her too much.   I sure was glad to get over that little virus though!  Unfortunately about a week later she got a cold complete with endlessly running nose.  Poor girl.  Hopefully she'll be healthy for a while!

I took this photo while she was sick with the fever and beginning of the rash.  Luckily for me this girl never stops smiling! 

Google made me this little string of images from our 10 month photo shoot.  I love how it shows that Brooke is ALWAYS looking around to see what there is to see.  We sure love this little girl and our loves grows more and more each day!