Ten Months Old

"I love being 10 months old!"

Karina is now 10 months old and lately she's been having fun saying "hi" to everyone. It's very cute because she often says it so quietly that the intended receiver of the greeting doesn't hear her, so she'll just say it again...and again and again. Sometimes she'll also wave "hello" but not always in unison.

Additionally she's begun to express her personality as she experiments with new vocalizations and sounds. She's learned to do the "raspberry" sound which is not only hysterical to observe, with spittle flying and the funniest expression on her face, but has given her Daddy and I our first picture to use to embarrass Karina when she's older and giving us a hard time. By the way, if you're wondering why she's in her Christmas outfit, I was trying it on for size and when she started raspberry-ing I just couldn't resist taking the picture regardless of the outfit.

Can you see the drool hanging from her chin?

She's also begun to enjoy "finger walking." Although she's been able to stand up for along time now, her feet have always remained planted firmly on the ground. Even if she was reaching for something she'd still just lean until she fell over. However, just a few days ago she took a few steps while holding onto my hands...I had to encourage her by leaning her over so far that her foot came off of the ground and then I sort of swung her body so her leg moved forward...but she seemed to catch on pretty quickly.Karina walking with a little help from Daddy

Another development has been her fine motor control, especially in regards to her hands and fingers. When I 'm changing her diaper, Karina is able to reach the light switch. She's been interested in it for a long time and always leans forward to play with it. But lately she has been able to flip the switch off and just the other day she learned how to flip it on too. What she doesn't realize is that she has also learned how to pull up to her knees because that's the only way she can reach the switch. So I imagine she'll make the connection that she can "stand" on her knees on the floor, too.Karina after her first Holiday Party