Wes is 10 months!

Wes is 10 months old and NON-STOP.  

It seems like Wes has really burst onto the scene in the last month.  His mobility is expanding is leaps and bounds.  Not only is he a FAST crawler, but he pulls to stand easily and cruises around the house on anything he can hold onto.  He also has learned to crawl up stairs all by himself now and the challenge / adventure of it is just too much to resist.  If you aren't paying attention - you will find him halfway up the staircase on an independent adventure.  You can see his mischievous eyes light up before he takes off to try to go off the bed, down the stairs or pretty much anything dangerous for a baby.

The kid can EAT!  He loves protein right now - chicken, eggs, beans, cheese yogurt, as well as the old standbys of sweet potatoes and purple carrots.  Its not uncommon right now for Wes to eat as much as Elliot at some meals. Often dinner is him shoveling food into his mouth with both hands while an adult spoons in bites between shovels and a second adult cuts food frantically to keep up with him.  He certainly has the Cook metabolism.  

Peek-a-boo remains a favorite game as does scream-tickle (the name of the game tells you how to play it). 

Where as 1 month ago he always wanted to be held, its opposite now.  After a quick hug, he is crawling out of your arms wanting to explore the world on his own. 

Sleeping continues to get better - when he is feeling well he will usually only wake up 1-2 times a night and he is consolidating into 2 naps.  When bed time rolls around - he goes from super happy to REALLY TIRED in about 15 minutes, so you need to be on your bath/pajama game as a parent - otherwise you have a screamy baby on your hands.  

He continues to have googly eyes for Jessica but has begun to develop stranger anxiety and somewhat reliably will say Mama, Dada and Elliot - particularly when he is sad and wants someone to pick him up.  It seems like he starting to understand more and more of what we say - although we are talking to him in Spanish and English and so apparently takes them a little bit to sort that out.  

He is in the middle of getting his third tooth and happily uses it to bite you if you are too slowly in getting him food.  While Mac empathizes with the hanger, we all hope Wes gets better at controlling it over time (ha!). 

New development

 - FAST crawling (watch out for him near steps)

 - crawling up steps

 - cruising like a champ

 - reliably saying mama, dada and Elli

Wes Likes

 - EATING!

 - Splashing in the tub

 - Tickle fights and peek-a-boo

 - His sister

 - The freedom to independently explore the worlds

 - working at the play kitchen and banging pots / pans to make noise

Wes dislikes

 - getting his diaper changed (poopy infant wrestling match!!)

 - sleeping places other than home (Wisconsin and the coast got us off our sleep game)

 - strangers

 - when mom / dad (mostly mom) go away