Hellobee

Panda somehow turned ten months already! We are enjoying our first holiday season as a family of four and feel so blessed to have our happy little guy.

All smiles exploring the farm.

Teeth: We are now up to eight teeth! Now we’re just waiting for the molars to appear. We can’t believe he’s gotten all of his teeth so quickly.

Eating: Panda has continued to eat pretty much anything we put in front of him. He loved Thanksgiving dinner and is clearly a fan of turkey. He has also learned how to use a straw cup and is super interested in water, often trying to steal Lion’s water bottles. His favorites this month included raspberries, green beans, lima beans, turkey, and sushi.

He loves scrunching up his whole face to smile now.

Sleeping: So, sleep has been interesting. He’s been having a harder time falling asleep at night, which meant that there were a few nights that he did not fall asleep before we put Lion down for the night. Lion and Panda ended up playing together and shrieking for over an hour before we gave up, pulled Lion out of the room, then waited for Panda to fall asleep before putting Lion back in their room. He also caught a couple of colds, which has made sleep more difficult. On the other hand, he has basically rid himself of pacifiers as a sleep crutch. We put them in his crib after he falls asleep, just in case he wants it in the middle of the night, but he seems to prefer his lovey.

These two are best buddies.

Favorite activities: Playing with Lion, of course, is one of Panda’s favorite activities. He loves to follow his big brother around, hold his hand, and knock down Lion’s magnatiles tower. For his part, Lion is very generous and adores Panda.

Panda’s favorite toy is the play kitchen. He loves to open up the doors and drawers, use it to pull to a standing position, and bang pots and pans around. I think he gets more use out of it than Lion does, though they both play with it on a daily basis.

Panda also loves balls. He can play for thirty minutes by himself, just throwing a ball, crawling after it, picking it up, trying to eat, then throwing it again. It’s crazy how interested he is in balls of any kind. Other favorite toys include cars or things with wheels, paper towels (which he tries to eat) and blankets (which he also loves to gnaw on).

We went to a fall festival at the beginning of November, which both kids really enjoyed. Panda spent most of the time climbing pumpkins or trying to put hay, corn, or grass in his mouth. He is starting to enjoy the park a bit more, too, as he practices climbing.

He still enjoys cruising and independently explores. We don’t have a baby gate up at the bottom of the stairs, so we have to keep a close eye on him or he’ll be halfway up the stairs in a blink of an eye.

Milestones: Panda has managed to stand independently for a few seconds several times, but never for very long. Even though he’s still young, I’m surprised that he hasn’t taken his first independent steps yet because he was an early crawler and has been cruising for some time now.

Love him to pieces! This one from a set of family photos taken by our very talented photographer friend, Eric Elofson.