ten months!

caleb turned the big 1-0 last friday, and i will get right down to business - here is the 10 month picture:

as you can see, it is pretty hard to keep this little guy still long enough to snap a posed picture, but i tried my best. it also doesn't help that turtle is now one of his favorite toys, and he requests that i take him down from amongst all the other stuffed animals on his shelf quite often.

so i will expound upon some of the following at a later date, but since i have been a bad blog mommy and have not been ardently preserving every precious memory on the world wide web, here is a basic rundown of what caleb has accomplished in the past month:

-he has popped out 3 new teeth and is on the verge of presenting at least 2 more
-he has had his first bagel and cream cheese and his first sip on a straw (thank you, starbucks, and don't panic, it was just water)
-he pulls up to his knees all of the time, has pulled up to standing at least 5 times, and stands readily and easily when helped (though no cruising yet)
-he has nearly drowned himself in the tub trying to drink the water almost every other day (more on that one later)
-he has tried to put mommy's glasses on her face, her hairclip in her hair, and has successfully fed her his peas and puffs. 10 points for sharing!
-he has learned to play peekaboo
-he has learned to roll the ball back to mommy or daddy
-he is now (finally) allowed to roam around downstairs, and loves to play chef with mommy's fun cooking gadgets (nothing beats a good turkey baster)
-he gets so excited when mommy goes to get him from naps or in the morning that he looks at mommy, smiles, throws himself down onto the mattress, and then does it all over again until she picks him up
-he has had his first boat ride, and, on the same day, his first time in the ocean that he truly enjoyed
-he has learned the proper order for a particular kind of book: scratch, then sniff (or in his case, lick)
(and yes, that's CHOCOLATE he's sniffing there - he has some of my genes after all!)

-but my favorite, my number one development over the past month, is just how affectionate he is, the times he'll just lean his head against mine, or climb up to give me a big squeeze, when he's not tired, and not hurt, and not scared, but just being loving.

i love you caleb! you are such a blessing!