Autumn Ann: January 2019

First New Years

Autumn's first New Years was quite unremarkable (which is just the way we like it). We've never been huge fans of New Years, and are happy to have a quiet night in rather than brave crowds to be out on the town. Since we were in Florida for New Years this year, we just hung out at Nana and Papa's house, ordered takeout, and watched movies. Autumn was in bed long before midnight, and the New Year rang in without much fanfare. I don't even have any pictures to commemorate the occasion! Oh well. We'll save the fun for when the kiddos are older and can appreciate it.

Solid Foods

Autumn has been slow to show interest in eating solid foods. When we have tried to give her small pieces of puffs, bananas or avocados, she generally spits them out or gags on them. Well, recently she has started showing interest, and clearly prefers chewing on larger pieces of food, rather than picking up and eating smaller pieces. While this is great to see, it's also incredibly stressful, as we have to watch her like a hawk to make sure she doesn't bite off a chunk that is too big and choke-able. The best option as of now is carrots, as they are hard enough she hasn't been able to bite off large chunks. Bananas and apples, as much as she loves them, still feel quite dangerous as she has bitten off quite large pieces. Luckily, the wonderful people in charge of creating baby products created the perfect solution, in the form of a mess bag that we can put food in for her to chew on freely. She has started to be more willing to eat small chunks of food like bananas and avocados, but still prefers to be spoon-fed, and so far has shown no interest in picking up food and feeding herself. But, we are on the right track!

Nomming on pizza crust... probably not the best choice, ha!

10 Months

We are officially rounding the corner towards the big 1 year, as Autumn is now 10 months old! How is this even possible??

This past month was a big one, with Autumn's first Christmas, first New Years, and a big family trip to Florida. It was also a huge month developmentally, with Autumn getting better and better at standing without assistance, walking with assistance and communicating to us in various ways. Her personality has started showing more and more, and we are learning that she is a super silly and goofy baby who loves to laugh. She went through (and is still going through) a major Mama phase, where she was basically attached to my hip (literally and figuratively) and was not so keen on anyone else. She loves to be held and is most often happiest to be on someone's lap or in someone's arms rather than be on her own. Seeing as how she's growing up so fast, we are mostly okay with this and are trying to cherish these moments of her wanting to be with us 24/7, knowing these days are numbered! We are falling more and more in love with her everyday, if that's even possible!

Milestones

Waving

Saying "hi"

Shaking head "no"

Signing "all done" and "bottle"

Standing on own for longer periods of time (still only a few seconds though)

Walking very competently with assistance

Started munching on certain solid foods

Favorites

Favorite books: Don't Push the Button, Are You a Cow, Welcome, Baking Day at Grandma's, and any book with flaps or things she can touch!

Favorite foods: Anything fruity (she has a sweet tooth), and carrots and apples

Favorite activities: Walking with assistance, playing with balloons, wrestling with Ember, splashing in Piper's water bowl.

Dislikes

Being away from Mama

Savory foods

Feeding herself

Being in the car/car seat

Playing in the ball pit at Harper's birthday party

Playing with her pal, Riley

Tickling the ivories

Playing in her crib with big brother

**Most pictures from Month 10 are included in Christmas and Florida posts!**

Communication Explosion

Autumn clearly has recently gone through a huge mental leap that has enabled her to communicate in many ways she previously hasn't. She can now sign "all done," and made up her own sign for "bottle" which she uses. She shakes her head "no," and has started saying "hi!" She will liberally wave and say "hi" to anyone she encounters when she is in the mood. She has said "mama" before, but we weren't sure if it was just babble or if she was intentionally using it correctly, but she seems more and more to be using it correctly lately as she sees me or asks for me. She also has started pointing at things. She is also getting better at expressing to us what she is happy about and what she is not so happy about, by either smiling or making happy noises as a means to communicate "yes" or "I want that," and fussing in a way that clearly communicates "no" or that she is not happy or not wanting what she is offering. It's amazing to be able to communicate more with her and to have a better understanding of what she wants and what she is interested in! We are able to see so much more what she's observing and learning.

Here's some photographic evidence of her recent pointing!

First Christmas

Autumn's first Christmas was delightful, as expected. We had a great time going to see Christmas lights at the local "Longmont Lights" event, baking cookies at Grandma's house and opening presents and being with family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Autumn received lots of awesome gifts, toys and clothes, and of course she was most enamored by the packaging. Way to be a cliche, girl! Ember was obsessed with opening gifts, so he was happy to help his sister out and open all of her gifts for her, which worked out because she had about zero interest in trying to do it herself. Regardless, she loved all of the festivities, and happily shared her new toys with big brother, who was far more interested in playing with them than she was. Such is life for a 10 month old!