Corey Development Update (Part I of II)

Corey at 10 months old

Alright, well, here we are again.... a month and a half behind on some updates of our little man.  This post I will write about what he was doing last month.  Corey turned 10 months old on February 1st.  We couldn't believe how much growing he did from January to February.  Within the first two weeks of February Corey really started becoming more and more independent.  Towards the end of January, he started pulling himself up onto things. 

This brought on a whole new world!  He pretty much started getting into everything...especially the dog toys. Those seem to be THE most interesting "toys" on the floor.  We have one too many times turned our heads for a second, and there he is with a dog toy in his mouth....yuck!  For some reason, I don't remember Ashley really being into the dog toys, but then again, she really didn't start crawling until she was about a year old and by then, she was better at listening to the word "no".  Corey.....well, not so much.

After being told he can't have the dog toy.

Our little boy....into EVERYTHING!

 At the beginning of the month, we started giving Corey a sippy cup at meal times to see how he would do.  Most of the time, he would just gnaw on the top of the cup, but by the time my Mom came out to visit (mid Feb), he started getting the hang of it.  I used to just give it to him with a little water in it, but my Mom suggested to mix it with a little apple juice, and Voila! that made all the difference.

Happy Camper with his cup!

During my Mom's visit, Corey's development soared!  On Feb. 13th, Corey learned to clap his hands and put his hands up when asked, "How big is Corey?".  He was so cute because he wasn't sure for awhile if he needed to do both things (clap and put his hands in the air) every time we asked him "how big is Corey?". My Mom gave him his first haircut too! He did so well!  Couldn't believe how much hair this kid had.  After the trim he really looked like a little man. Here is a picture of the back.

Back of Corey's head with his new haircut.

Corey began to get very vocal.  He squeals a lot (especially at his sister) and giggles all the time. He says "Dad -deee" all the time, but we aren't sure if he is saying it specifically to Paul or if it just jibber jabber.  He loves for you to sing to him when you're changing his diaper.  It is the only thing calms him down because he HATES to have his diaper changed. He doesn't want to sit still. It's like he is Frankenstein waking up for the first time.  He sits up so straight, not even using his arms, and only his abs.  He is sooo strong! 

His favorite nighttime ritual is to hang out with Ashley in her room on her bed and try to bounce up and down holding the headboard.  After we play in her room, and we say goodnight and tuck her in, we go out to the couch and I nurse him until either he falls asleep in my arms, or he just arches his back and can't get comfortable and wants to lie down.  I put him in his crib either dreamy or already asleep, hand him his little bunny to sleep with and he rolls over.  Most nights he is down for the night, but sometimes he will wake up around 1am for a little "snack" and then back out he goes. He wakes up the next morning standing up up in his crib, holding the railing and is jumping and smiling ready for the day!  He is by far the happiest kid - even through his chronic congestion.  During the middle of the month, he started getting congested again and having drainage out of his ears...but at least we know that his tubes were doing it's job.  Poor kid (to this day) he is still congested.  I don't think he knows what it's like NOT to feel sick. 

runny nose and boogers... (isn't Daddy's hat fashionable?)

taking it all in...

He loves to play in his room.  His favorite thing is to throw things out of the dog gate into the hallway.  I will put the toy back in his room between the rungs of the gate, and he will just throw them right back out.  It's hilarious.

Playing his "throw it out he gate" game....nudie cutie!

Corey at the park

Corey learned to wave "bye bye" by the end of the month.  One day when I was walking out the door after dropping him off at daycare, I started waving goodbye to him and he just waved back. Now if you ask him to wave bye bye, he will do it on his own. It's so amazing...only a few short weeks and now he's got it down!

Don't you just want to squeeze him? :)

More updates to come for his 11 month development post....