Happy 4th of July! Declan is 10 months old!
Our Kentucky trip last month did wonders for Declan's development and growth. I believe it's because he was able to see his cousins at work and wanted to keep up himself.
Declan now crawls on hands and knees, and boy is he fast! He also pulls himself up into standing position, cruises along furniture and has experimented with letting go. So far he has only been able to stand unassisted for about 5 seconds before falling on his bottom. He tries very hard to pull himself up, but doesn't get past kneeling, although he has this funny plank that he does where it looks like he is trying to propel himself with his hands. That doesn't quite work for him either! The other day he attempted to climb stairs. The gates are going up for sure!
Declan is becoming more interested in table foods. He likes yogurt, puffs, poofs, bread, baked goods, soft fruits and veggies in tiny bits, and most recently, pork and ice cream. He puts everything in his mouth. I feel like he does this more often than Silas ever did. I've had to do the reach and sweep several times because he tries to eat foods off his brother's plate! The majority of his diet is still breast milk and formula, but it's great that he is trying new things!
He had three words now. Declan says, Dada, Mama and now Papa. He has a variety of sounds but Dada, Mama, and Papa seem to be intentional. We are trying to teach him the signs for Milk, more, eat, and all done. Silas is being a great helper and models the signs for him constantly. Declan gets very excited and will clap when we say "yay!" and lifts up his arms when we say "up".
Much to Silas' dismay, Declan is also gaining more interest in playing, or rather destroying, his brother's creations. He's baby Godzilla most days and will knock over Silas' trains and city, but Silas has learned to give Declan one or two toys to keep him from "messing up" his trains.
Our boys couldn't be more different, yet so similar. Declan is much smaller than his brother was at this age. Silas was well into 18 month clothing, while Declan is just outgrowing some of his 9 month stuff. They have very similar features, but they are their own persons. This is true in personality as well. Silas was so serious and quiet. Declan is happy, but mischievous already! He gets into everything and makes his presence known!
I know the next two months are going to fly by! He is already so much more like a toddler and less like a baby. Goodness knows that the binki and the bottle will be tough for him to give up. Declan is attached to that binki and sometimes it's hard to catch a picture of him without it in his mouth or near by!
