APPOINTMENTS AND MILESTONES:

• Joni was seen standing on her own on July 17th.
• Joni cut her first tooth on July 10th and she has another one coming!
• Joni had her 10 month appt and weighed in at 19lbs 15oz, measuring 28.5 inches long. She is a little about 50 percentile for weight and in the 90th for height. Daddy is pushing for a basketball star while mom is thinking ballet.
• New under Pictures: Joni crawling and cruising pictures!
• Joni is clapping, cruising, waving bye-bye and saying bye bye.
• Crawled and sat up by herself May 12th.
• Said MaMa with witnesses other than Mama...on May 8th (Mother's Day, how appropriate)
• First word was DaDa....awe!!
• Slept on her tummy of her own doing on March 2nd.
• Ate solid food first on February 17th, Carrots and Green Beans.

Do you want to know more about Joni?
Do you want to more of Joni's milestones and accomplishments by month? Go to her calendar link and catch up on what Baby Joni has been up to!

BABY DEVELOPMENT (10 month old):
How your baby's growing: Your baby continues to improve her communication skills this month. She's experimenting with new sounds and stringing syllables together. You can encourage her interest in language by avidly listening and responding to her words and babbling. This give-and-take is crucial: It teaches her about two-way communication and that what she says affects others. Even if your baby doesn't talk much, she can probably communicate her wishes by pointing and grunting. Does your baby find small objects completely engrossing? She may spend fairly long stretches of time picking up and scrutinizing each and every toy she lays her hands on. She can probably also stand alone, stoop, and squat, and may walk while holding your hand but it's more for emotional than physical support. Your baby may begin to assert herself among siblings and engage in parallel play. She may also have chosen a favorite blanket or stuffed animal as a security object.

BABY DEVELOPMENT (11 month old):
How your baby's growing: Ask for a kiss and your little one should understand what you're saying. Babies at this age can follow simple instructions, passing a cup or giving a hug. And in addition to "Mama" and "Dada," your baby is able to babble short, fully inflected sentences that sound like a foreign language. Keep talking to your child, naming and labeling objects and people the more you do, the faster your child's vocabulary will grow. By now, your baby should respond to simple questions for example, "Where is your mouth?" by pointing to the named object.

Get your camera ready! Many babies take their first steps at this age usually on tiptoe with their feet turned outward. You might want to snap a picture of your baby during meals too. Eleven-month-olds can use a spoon all by themselves even if more food gets on the floor than in their mouth at this point.

About now, your baby's play will probably change from working fine motor skills to exercising larger muscles. Your little rascal is likely to think it's fun to push, throw, and knock down everything in sight. Giving toys to others or taking them away is also new in your child's repertoire of talents.

Joni on the move!