Daniel at 10 Months

Our little boy is growing up in so many ways these days! He was 10-months-old on August 16th, and will be a year old before we know it. Daniel is pulling up and cruising all around. Occasionally he will stand on his own for a second or two, and he loves "walking" if someone holds his hands. He seems to really want to walk on his own, but doesn't quite have the balance for it yet.
He's gotten pretty good at balancing on the little train at Grandma's house though!

He has mastered the art of climbing up stairs in the last couple of weeks, but he hasn't figured out how to get back down yet, so we have to keep a close eye on him. He is a very fast crawler now, so he can disappear quickly! Just yesterday I had him in the bedroom with me when Nathan came in. Nathan and I talked for a minute before I realized that Daniel had escaped and vanished. Nathan went out and found him at the top of the stairs! As I type this, Daniel climbed up onto a box beside the couch and is trying to climb up onto the couch. Good thing for me, his legs aren't quite long enough yet. =) He climbs everything he can though. Just previous to this post is a video of Daniel climbing all over the deck at my parents' house. Daniel has six teeth now (4 on top and 2 on the bottom), so he's really enjoying his solid foods. Until just recently, he would eat almost anything I gave him. Lately he's become a bit more picky, but he still eats a LOT. His latest "trick" when I offer him something he doesn't want is to give me his most pitiful "poochie lip" and put his head down on the tray of his booster seat as though I have just offended him in the worst possible way!
Daniel had his first visit to an American pediatrician today, and he weighs 19lb 7oz (8.8kg), and is 28.3 inches (72 cm) long. He's a solid boy!

Holding court with all the big girls

Daniel is a little charmer. We are constantly with different people; nearly all of them new to him. He plays coy and shy at first, but quickly warms up to people. He is in a different church nursery every week, but we are very thankful that he has done fine with that. It is truly a huge blessing, especially considering that he is at the age where many babies have trouble with separation anxiety.
Daniel has really started trying to talk over the past month or so. He watches our mouths very closely and tries to imitate many of the sounds we make. We're pretty sure that he at least says dada, mama, ball, hot, car, and done. We think he says quite a few other words too, but that is debatable. =) Below is a video where he says "ball."

He has also caught on to several sign language words. That is nice because he can more easily let us know what he is wanting. He says please, milk, more, and done in sign language, and he understands those plus eat, no, and thank you.

Daniel is a sweet, affectionate little boy. If you ask him for a kiss, he will bury his face against yours and grin. He has even started giving an occasional hug recently. A kiss for cousin Ethan

People often ask us if we have cut Daniel's hair yet. He wasn't born with as much hair as his sister, but he has still had three haircuts already! A couple of weeks ago we were visiting some friends, and my friend Amy gave him a buzz cut. As you can see in the photo below, she had three little supervisors. =)Daniel is our little music man. He loves music, and loves trying to make music. My parents have a little kiddie piano, and one of Daniel's favorite places to be is at that little piano pounding away. =)

We love our little man. He is such a joy to us!