.ten months.

6.25.2017 - 10 months

Axel is almost officially walking. On May 30, he took 4-5 steps, which was more than I had seen yet and he just keeps practicing and getting better and better every day. He still prefers crawling over walking, though and has started to initiate walking on his own, rather than only walking when we balance him and coax him. His sisters love when he walks to them so that they can give him a hug, and they have been asking me if they can hold him, but they want to hold him like they used to when he was tiny - which doesn't seem like that long ago. I have to remind them that he is bigger and doesn't want to sit still or lay down to be held, so they usually settle for a hug.
He loves walking with us, but we are only allowed to hold one of his hands. If I try to hold both, he always yanks one away.

He LOVES the splash pad. He is definitely a water baby! He thinks it's so funny to sit in the puddle near the drain and splash in the water. He also loves the tub, but he doesn't want to sit in the tub. He wants to try walking around which, of course, makes me super nervous. I think that's his goal in life: to see how anxious he can make me.

He is easily startled and it's hilarious - even he thinks it's funny! When his sisters yell, or when it's really echo-y in a room or when something drops and is really loud he always jumps and then almost always laughs.

He rolls his tongue when he is mad. Usually when I don't pick him up as fast as he would like or when he wakes up from a nap and is just sitting in his room by himself. He also likes to walk circles around my legs, rolling his tongue until I pick him up - or until he gets distracted by something.

He's really good about entertaining himself and it's usually pretty easy to get him interested in something when I need him just to play on his own for a minute.

I predict that we have a little musician in our family. He loves music! Even in the womb I had this suspicion as it seemed like he often kept a beat with his little foot. He loves to pull himself up to the piano and plink away at the keys. He doesn't bang on them like his sisters used to (and sometimes still do) and he likes to go pluck the strings on his dad's guitar - again, not bang on the guitar like his sisters, but actually pluck one string at a time, listening to the different sounds that each string makes. We were in sacrament meeting one week and he was feeling pretty restless and just wanted to move, but then the choir started singing and he stopped, turned to look at them and bounced his little foot in rhythm until they were done, then he went back to trying to escape my arms.  

His favorite food is strawberries. He likes applesauce and yogurt and pretty much anything else we are eating, but his very favorite is strawberries.

We have been waiting somewhat impatiently for his next tooth to come in. I can see his top two teeth working their way down and they are driving Axel crazy!! We are anxious for them to stop torturing him!

He is my little buddy and I hope that's how it always is! We love this happy little baby so, so much!