10.

10. Do you know what comes after that? 11. And after that 12. And twelve means one year. How can my itty bitty baby already be two months away from a whole year old?! Oh my little man slow down! I'm loving every new thing with this kid and it feels like every day there's something new. Let's see...

Family beach trip the weekend following Labor Day + fun with Toops crew, Aunt Titi, Caylub and Daniel.

At ten months Behr:
- Eats anything and everything. His favorites are raw onion slices and spaghetti squash. He won't say no to hummus (particularly a thai red curry one I got at Roots, go figure) on a chip or anything he sees Mama or Dada eating. He still hasn't had any dairy yet (because of my allergy we've delayed it) but hasn't had any reaction to any allergen food thus far (wheat, eggs, etc.). He loves meat (primarily because he sees what Mama and Dada are having I think) particularly ground beef and chicken; I'm always surprised that he actually eats it since he only has two teeth. Eating is definitely a favorite activity. If I ask if he wants to eat breakfast/lunch/dinner he'll crawl over and pull up on his highchair and whine to sit at the table.
- Has a few very babbley "words" that mean a number of things but tend to actually mean what they sound like. He says "dada" all day long and while it means anything and everything (except mama; he never says it about/to me) it certainly means Dre. When we get up in the morning and come out of his room he lunges for the hallway to go to our room squawking "dada!! dada!!" It's really a bummer when Dre's already gone to work. "Ba" seems to refer to bath tubs of all shapes and sizes anywhere from our house to Great Grandma's to hotels. I know it's too early but he sure seems to already say "nonono" when he doesn't want to do something (particularly lie down for a diaper change) and has asked for "nighnigh" on more than one occasion. He babbles and growls and sings and "hoots" all day long. I can't put into words how much I love hearing his little voice from the car seat in the backseat singing along to the radio when we're out driving or chattering at the trees.

- He loves to climb stairs. He crawls and cruises anywhere and everywhere but only walks holding onto peoples' hands (which is actually a recent development) and of course only dares to free stand on safe surfaces like the sidewalk and in the bath tub. He loves hangers and clothes on hangers. He loves fish and dogs especially big dogs. He loves to be outside. He is the most social little dude and loves people big and small. He will literally go to the door-to-door salesman if I don't have a good grip on him or strangers at Nats games. Dada, Grandpa Price and Audrey are his very favorite people and if he can be with them he's content and happy.

Favorite place to climb: into and onto the dishwasher.

- He hates socks and thinks shoes are absolute torture. He reminds me of my family's old dog that used to think he was paralyzed if you put a doggie jacket on him. Though unfortunately Behr is not a dog and some day it will actually be important that he wears shoes. For now we just test them out every now and then and let him chew on them. He likes to take his pants off and considering he has ridiculously small hips and is in size 3-6 month pants finds it rather easy to do. So far no attempts at removing his diaper thankfully.

Note the pants not on little man's legs.

- He still enjoys books though is on the move far more. His favorite books are touch-and-feel ones he borrowed from Audrey particularly one with lots of puppies and kitties in it. We still have half a chapter of Stuart Little left to read but thankfully haven't had a day where he felt so miserable he wanted to sit on my lap and be read a chapter book since the beginning of August. Just the other day he took a book off the bookshelf, crawled over to me with it and dropped it in my lap and then sat back and waited for me to read it to him. That made my day. I love reading to him and love that enjoys it even if he also likes to eat his books or do other destructive things to them.

- He a great napper and an ok sleeper. He loves his crew of animals in his little bed and I watch him find one to snuggle on the monitor while falling asleep. There was a huge thunderstorm the other night and it woke him up just enough to sit up, grab his Ewok, and hug it back to sleep. Precious boy...and he wakes up with a lot of noise. I know he's up because I start hearing him jumping in his bed before he even calls for me. He likes to jump and throw everything out of his crib while he waits for Mama to come get him out of bed.

Encountering his first crab at Crabgate(c)

Fall family time at Great Falls

I still am not used to having a little boy in my house. Even his messes bring me near tears sometimes with gratefulness for this little life and the sweetness he brings to our family and home. I love his silliness, his playfulness, his friendliness and the way he loves. He is far more than I imagined and while there are plenty of hard and exhausting moments, and thousands more to come nothing, has been a sweeter tangible reminder of God's promises than him. We love you Behrly.