To Calvin, who is ten months old (today)

Ten months old and moving fast!  This time last year we were washing newborn clothing, organizing the nursery, and going for daily walks.  Of course we are still doing those things, but the clothing is much bigger, the nursery much messier, and the walks a lot more fun!  When we had a sneak preview of spring at the beginning of March you really enjoyed spending time outside playing in the driveway, or going for walks and watching the ducks in the nearby pond.  It has been such a joy to watch you discover all these new things!  Everything that is worth talking about you refer to as dadada, except for food, which is more often not called banana.  But for all of this verbal expression you have resisted our attempts to teach you sign language and have only signed dog on rare occasions.  The books all say that you will be more likely to learn the signs for things you like, so it's not surprising that you've tried signing dog first, as you just love all of our pets, but the cat is really your favorite - when you see her you squeal with delight and take off after her as fast as your crawling legs will carry you, and luckily she is a willing participant because you are a quick mover!  It's likely that you won't be crawling that much longer, either.  Over the past month you have shown an eagerness to learn to walk, and we have encouraged you to take some steps while close to us, but in the past week you have started taking a few steps at a time without our presence and encouragement.  Your balance is still a little off, but it won't be long now.

The past month you have been very fun in so many different ways.  You are starting to play with your toys differently:  you know how to put the shapes in the shape sorter, the rings on the pole, and the blocks in a stack;  you will play "catch" by throwing the ball back and forth with mom or dad;  and you really like dropping things.  You have also started mimicking more often and will now do your own version of "sooo big" along wiht us.  You now enjoy being read to, and seem very excited to watch the words and pictures in the book while sitting in our laps.  You laugh and smile more than ever now, though the outside world might never know it—you are always so serious when taking in a new situation!  You are absolutely amazing to us, and we are thankful for you every day.