The main reason I find it so difficult to sit down and write what's new is because something new happens every single day. Back when it was just Hartley, I could usually keep track of what's going on but nowadays that's just not the case!
Patrick at 10 months continues to be a happy, easy baby. I'm not sure of his size because I have such a hate-hate relationship with my bathroom scale ;) But at 9 months, he weighed 28 pounds, 1 ounce. He was 99th percentile for weight and 98th percentile for height. And now that we are beginning to see Patrick upright much more I'm starting to notice that he really is a tall guy. Inevitably the Godfrey genes will kick in and Brian's NBA dreams for his son dashed - but for now, he's still a gigantic baby.
Being that big, all of his gross motor skills have come in more slowly. As a first time mom I probably would've been worrying away but being the 2nd time around and having a 2 little ones to watch, it's been a godsend. I've actually told Brian my goal is for Patrick not to walk before our beach trip in September!
With all of that said, he's still getting around a ton these days. "Where's Patrick?" is now a phrase used on a daily basis in our house. He army crawls all around the house. Since our family room is sunken in, he can go up and down that one step easily now. Hence, the "where's Patrick?" He can easily start in the family room and end up anywhere on the first floor. Which has made sweeping and vacuuming a much more frequent occurrence.
He had been trying so hard to pull up for weeks. He was able to pull to kneel but struggled with getting up past that, and he always had the most defeated look. He's also had a hell of a time finding what to pull up on that could support his weight. Sadly, Hartley's chairs have just been flipping on him before he was able to get all the way up. Injuries have been on the rise in our house :( But today he managed to pull himself up on his crib railing, and he was so proud! Luckily my dad had just lowered the crib down to it's lowest setting a week ago - whew!
His favorite things right now are knocking down block towers, trying new foods (he loves Popsicles like his sister!), chasing Winnie, pulling Winnie's fur, and playing with Hartley. He also loves baths in the regular bath tub. Adios, pink whale tub! He and Hartley have been bathing together, and Patrick loves it! He loves to splash in the tub. He loves his inflatable baby pool. He loves wagon rides. He loves putting anything and everything in his mouth. He loves to bounce. I don't know what it is but both of my kids as babies love/d to bounce themselves.
He babbles quite a bit. I've been working on "dada" with him because I'm well aware getting him to say mama first is a lost cause. Plus, I already hear "mama" a minimum of a hundred times a day ;) He's been also testing out sounds he can make so I often hear that creepy gasping Hartley used to do at this age. He has 5 teeth. Probably more actually but he definitely bites you if you try to look for them. Again, a 2nd mom thing - not worth it to know how many teeth if I stand to lose a finger!
Things Patrick doesn't like. Let's see. If you take food away from him, he'll get upset. He can't do the swing for a notable period of time. I remember Hartley was the same after becoming good with mobility. He also doesn't like sitting to read a book. Hartley had the same thing at this age. They just want to eat the pages or wriggle themselves out of your lap!
But for the most part, he just continues to be a happy guy. Generally always smiling, laughing and exploring. It really continues to be a golden age for him.
On to Hartley. Or should I say, my little kid! She grows up so much each and every day. It's truly amazing. It's wonderful and scary all at the same time! Her vocabulary continues to grow at the speed of light. Literally every day she learns at least one new word; she truly is a sponge.
Her language is still pretty broken; however, every day that improves, too. She is beginning to piece together phrases or very simple sentences more and more. She has started to say simple things like, "Patick napping?" if she can't figure out where Patrick is. And yes, she calls him "Pah-tick".
She has also started talking more about who things belong to. Examples: Mama shoes. Hart-wee shirt. Patick car seat. Patick baby food.
She says the most hilarious things. One day I plan on writing a blog with all of the funny things she says because there truly are so many.
She has extremely strong expressive language and can ask for what she wants. It's often something like this:
"Mama! Mama! Mama!"
Yes, baby?
"Mo spinkles, peas. Spinkles on yogurt."
(This is Hartley speak for "I want yogurt with sprinkles, aka one of like 3 things she'll eat)
Hartley's speech therapist has told us though that she is echolailic, so sometimes when she asks for me, and I say "yes, baby?" She'll repeat back to me, "yes, baby?"
And while we shouldn't encourage her, sometimes her repeating just makes me smile and laugh. One day she went up to Patrick and kept saying, "hi, handsome!" Which is something I always say to him. I loved it, even if it was just parroting.
She does talk about herself in third person. We don't reinforce it but I do still find it to be very cute. While most kids this age can say, "I want to go outside", Hartley says it more broken. "Outside? Hart-wee shoes?" Because you do have to wear shoes outside!
She most recent "skill" has been spelling her name. She also likes to spell out words and I've noticed her trying to sound them out. It seems very early for reading but I could swear she's trying to.
Things she loves right now. Oh lord, a lot of things! I'm just going list style: coloring with markers or crayons, painting, drawing with sidewalk chalk, playing outside with her gigantic ball, going for wagon rides, eating Popsicles outside, playing on her swing set, putting toys down the slide, her inflatable baby pool, swimming in the real pool, strawberry picking (she went twice this spring), the beach, the sandbox at my parents house which she calls "the beach", dogs (especially our neighbor's dogs). She loves dressing up in hats, sunglasses and necklaces. She loves to sing and dance. She loves to do pretend play. She enjoys being read to and sung to. She loves hugs, high fives and cuddles. She blows kisses. Her favorite shoes are Sesame Street, bubble guppies, and paw patrol. She likes the Little Mermaid. Her favorite songs to listen to are Under the Sea and Hakuna Matata. She loves stuffed animals and sleeps with about 10 every night. She knows if one is missing and won't sleep without a missing friend!
She's very sensitive and very kind-hearted. Any time she accidentally hurts someone or does something wrong, she is so quick to say "i'm sorry, mama/patick". She has a sweet little girl voice and I'll never tire of hearing her say "good night, mama" every evening and every nap time.
This spring she took swimming lessons, music lessons, regularly attended story time and she took ballet. A huge thank you to my mom for her help with those; she's been invaluable to getting Hartley out there to try all these great things. All classes are over though so we'll be hunting for fun summer activities soon, I'm sure.
I'm sure I'm missing lots of things but that's the best my fried mom brain can do. I actually went to the doctor and asked about my lack of memory and all tests proved its just "mom brain".
I guess a quick update on myself, I am the most exhausted I have ever been. I never fully realized how busy and tiring life with a 2 year old and 10 month old could be! I'm surviving on coffee, wine, occasional girls night out, bubble baths and Monday Bachelor nights. Oh, and prayers. I'm fairly certain I pray for physical strength, energy and patience daily.
But everyone is healthy and happy and chugging along so I couldn't ask for more! Cheers to a fun summer ahead!
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