Cantaloupe and (almost) 10 months.

West is 10 months old in 11 days.

I just packed away most of his 3-6 month clothing, and it made me a little bit sad. His baby clothes. Everything going forward is like little person clothes, so it sort of feels like we've moved on to another phase (I've learned that phases are both good and bad, but that the transitions always hurt just a little bit). Speaking of clothes, he doesn't wear them very often. I blame being a second child, and also Texas (even though we've had an incredibly mild summer thus far). The poor boy is rarely wearing pants, let alone full outfits (like Quinn, who I basically treated like a doll). It's just too warm. I don't want to be wearing pants, so why should I make him. And shoes?! Maybe on Sundays.

He's hovering below 10th percentile for weight, is a solid 99th for head (no surprise) and has a full, fuzzy head of hair that desperately needs to be trimmed in the back (we're waiting until we're at Priest Lake - it's a tradition, after all). 

He's clapping! On command. It's such a fun, happy trick. 

We have a sitter, finally. He's still a little tippy, but he's getting better every day. He's nowhere near crawling or walking (nor was Quinn at this age), but that's fine with me. The bumbo has been really great this time around (Quinn always hated it), and the tray attachment has been revolutionary for us (why didn I not know they existed when I lived in 700 square feet?!). He's still too small for his high chair, so he eats all of his meals in the Bumbo. It's perfect. 

He almost has four teeth. This obviously makes my heart turn cold, being a nursing mother and all (we've had two incidents thus far, where I've had to make it very clear that he's a lucky boy to still be receiving the good stuff and that he'd better be nice). All things considered though, he has handled teething incredibly well, with just a sad night or two.

West has been such a champion sleeper. He goes to bed around 7pm and is up around the same time the next morning (although we seem to have been getting later and later as the summer goes on). He's finally down to two solid naps a day - anywhere between and hour and a half (standard) to three hours (we've had some mega naps this week - growth spurt?). He's nursing four times a day, just starting sipping from a sippy cup, and eats breakfast, lunch and dinner with us. He knows his routine well and appreciates it - but is also pretty flexible if we switch things up a little bit.

He insists on holding his very own book during story time, and his favorite toys are Quinn's. Of course.

He eats anything. I don't start my babies on solids until a bit later, and as we were approaching the 8 month mark I knew that I'd probably need to start giving him something to chew on. I was so anxious though, knowing how time consuming feeding Quinn was (spoon by spoon, pouch by pouch). A few friends (Carly and Jill, in particular) recommended Baby Led Weaning - the simple idea that you give babies the opportunity to play with, explore and then eat real food. Whole food! All by themselves, on their own timeline. I read  skimmed a book to feel more comfortable, and off we went. It's been nothing short of miraculous how well he's done, and it has taken all of the stress out of starting solids. I took the video below probably 5 weeks ago, and now - West basically eats better than Quinn. No, he definitely eats better than Quinn (we'll call it nature and nuture).  He has never turned down a food, eats fruits, vegetables, meals and grains mostly the same way I do, and besides the mess, there has been absolutely no downside. He doesn't choke or gag, he's gone at his own pace, and I've been free from the worry that came with being a first time mom with Quinn. It has totally revolutionized the entire experience for us. There's nothing like watching your nine month old eat lamb meatballs with couscous and feta (he loved it), all on his own.  

Quinn and West have turned a really nice corner the past few weeks of actually liking each other. West has obviously had an affection and admiration for his older brother for quite a while now, but Quinn has taken his own sweet time. But now - they make each other laugh, and they almost, just almost play together. It's really fun.

I can see happy things in our future.