Holden turned 10 months old earlier this week and I have neglected to dedicate a post especially for my little guy.  I am going to brag about him without restraint because I feel so crappy that someone referred to him as a nuisance.

In short, Holden is into EVERYTHING.  NOTHING IS SAFE!  He can remove child safety latches….with ease.  He goes through our bookcases and casually chucks paperbacks over his shoulder.  I leave the room for 5 minutes and return to find a heap of books on the floor.  He crawls everywhere, stands up, and is starting to stand unsupported for very brief periods.  He can identify pictures of kitties and puppies in his animal book by pointing at them.  He can identify my nose, mouth, and chin by pointing as well, and I have no clue where he learned that stuff.  He must have learned it from me somehow since he spends almost all of his time with me; makes me realize I have to be careful about what I say around him!  He understands words for basic kitchen implements, like spoons.  He loves to be outside and loves animals more and more every day.  

I think we’re finally getting through a rough patch (hopefully) where he would wake every 30-60 minutes all night long.  The frequent waking was related to teething pain and there was nothing much we could do to make him feel better.   Rob and I have been utterly shattered from lack of sleep.  In fact, last week I was participating in a study at the hospital on preeclampsia, and part of my duty as a volunteer was to get an IV so they could do multiple blood draws.  I actually fell asleep when they were placing the IV because I was so tired and it was the only break I was able to get in a really long time!  So yes, the lack of sleep has been extremely difficult, to put it mildly.  Holden gets clingy when he goes through phases of teething, so my sleepless nights were followed up by days where Holden insisted that he be held for a large portion of the day.  I should have very muscular upper arms by now.

In just 2 short weeks, I return to work part-time.  It is an ideal arrangement in many ways, because it allows me to return to work gradually so that Holden (and Rob and I) can acclimate to our new schedule with greater ease.  I am looking forward to building professional connections again, yet I don’t feel like I am sacrificing too much time away from my favorite little guy.  I still have 5 days a week that I get to spend with him!  I am pretty stoked.  

Today is a beautiful day—we spent the morning cleaning in anticipation of our Open House tomorrow.  Then Holden got a bath and we put him in his first pair of short overalls so that we could get some fresh 85 degree air.  We went for a drive to identify neighborhoods into which we would consider moving.  We’ve narrowed it down pretty well—places that are close to the bus, have small yards for gardening since we no longer do the Community Garden, places that are quiet.  This list of requirements makes me feel like some old lady.  But at least I am an old lady who loves her 10-month old nuisance very much.