The Ten-Month Mark

Mark Hanley, at Ten Months

The measurements: Let's be honest: I'm a bruiser. But I also don't think I've grown that much since last month, when the doctor told mom and dad that most of me is in the 70th percentile (head=95th due to big brain). They had a hard time believing that 30 percent of kids are bigger than me.

Best friends: Grass (I like to pull it out and scatter it all over me), swimming pools (fun because they are full of water for me to play in and drink), tiny plastic balls (great for rolling and banging together), books of any kind (but especially the ones where you lift a flap and an animal appears! Surprising every time!), and - best of all - doorstops (they make this really loud BBBBWWWWOOONNNGGG noise, and if you pull on them enough times the rubber stopper on the end comes off and I can try to swallow it before mom catches me).

Enemies: Solid foods. At my last checkup, the doctor gave mom and dad permission to feed me this junk. It doesn't matter that I only have those two bottom teeth (and no tops), the doctor said, because I would gum the food and swallow it, no problem. So they gave me cornbread. I crumbled it up and squished it into my hair, which was fun, but when I tried to eat it I choked and gagged. So they tried watermelon, which mom said is the closest you can get to water in a solid food. They cut it up into tiny pieces, but I still looked at them like they were insane when they put it into my mouth. Don't they know food is supposed to be mushy, not made of tiny squares? I tried to swallow, but it wouldn't go down. I gagged. I threw up. Then I cried. Mom said no more solid foods, at least until my top teeth come in. I say good riddance to bad rubbish.

Just found out about: Uncles! I just got my first one on Saturday when my Aunt Megan married Uncle Josh. I even had a front seat for the whole wedding experience because both mom and dad were in the wedding party. It was a fantastic day. My Aunt Megan looked beautiful and was very happy, and I got to meet and hang out with lots of members of my big, boisterous family. If I hadn't cashed out during the dinner, I would have also seen my mom and dad "go big" and dance the night away.

I'm not so sure about: Uncles! Mine is kind-of old, and he's always telling me lies about the Brewers being the best baseball team in the major leagues. I'm only a baby, but even I know that's not true.

Favorite activities: Crawling. Everywhere. For weeks, I had one foot sort of stuck on the other one and couldn't really get going. Then, almost overnight, I figured out the crawling thing, and now I can go wherever I want! It is great! I can roll my ball under the TV, then get under there and try to retrieve it. I can chase the dog. I can get his toys and put them in my mouth. I can find small fuzzies on the floor that my mom missed with the broom, and eat those, too. I can climb into the pantry or under the kitchen table, where I can bang on the chair legs. I can try to climb the stairs and pull up on the furniture. I can hold onto the couch and do a wobbly stand up. I can make my parents very, very tired. It is awesome.

I have a crush on: Adeline Babler. I heard her dad once pitched against Jayson Werth in the state baseball championship. Plus, I don't know any other girls who aren't my cousins. Cousins are great - I know, because I spent the weekend hanging out with LOTS of cousins - but you can't have crushes on them. It's illegal.

Major accomplishments: Crawling, pulling up on the furniture, wearing shoes for the first time, learning to shoot a slam dunk (admittedly, my basketball hoop is eight inches off the floor), saying "BA BA BA BA BA BA BA" really loud and at inconvenient times (like when we're in the library or when Grandpa Mark is trying to make a wedding toast), learning to hang up on people (although I usually use it on my grandparents - oops - instead of annoying telemarketers).