The Tolbert Family: 10 months old today!

Wow, Anna Kate! You are 10 months old today...double digits! We feel like you are growing up right before our very eyes. Every time I go get you out of your crib in the morning or after naps, I feel like you've grown just a little taller and look a little more like a toddler and less like my tiny little baby. As you grow physically, know that the love that your daddy and I have for you grows every day too! Here are some things you have been doing this month:

~ You are doing a great job pulling up and walking around the living room while holding on to the coffee table or the couches. You still are wanting to hold on pretty tight, although I did see you let go for a few seconds a couple days ago...you promptly sat right down once you realized you weren't holding on to anything!
~ You are starting to really understand some of the things that we say to you and can even follow a few simple instructions like, "Put the block in the box," or, "Go open your drawer" (your special drawer in the kitchen).
~Speaking of kitchens, you have a new kitchen set given to you by some good friends and you absolutely love it! You love to open and close the refrigerator and the cabinets, and you love to play with the dishes and play food. You're not really quite tall enough to see much of the sink or the stove, but you sure try!
~ You have started to actually participate at baby storytime at the library every week. You wave hello and goodbye at the right time during the "Hello" song and the "Goodbye" song and you clap at all the right times during the rhymes that we do!
~ You LOVE playing "Pat-a-Cake"! Your favorite part is when you get to "roll" it. You roll your arms like the football sign for false start (or is it offsides?), except it's backwards!
~ You still wave hello and goodbye to everything and everyone that we pass by. Lately, every time we walk into the living room, you wave hi to the Christmas tree!
~ You are starting to communicate better with us at the table. You are beginning to learn the sign for "all done" (waving with both hands), although we're not sure if you're really doing it because you're all done, or if you're doing it because you just like to wave, and doing it with BOTH hands is TWICE as fun!
~You still love to go to the park and swing, although lately you have been wanting to do a little more than that. You love watching the big kids run and play on the playground, so I thought I would let you do a little exploring. You are having a great time climbing on the steps and going down the slide (with just a little help from mom and dad).
~You love to talk on the phone with your daddy and you love to play phone with just about any object! It is so cute the way you hold things up to your ear like a phone!
~ You now have 6 teeth! You have all four across the top and two on the bottom. You got them all out of order, but now it looks normal again!
~ We are starting to see a little bit of a strong-willed personality coming out in you! There are two items that for some reason you have grown very attached to and when we take them away, you would think your world had just ended: your purple sippy cup and your toothbrush!
~ You are still a very sweet little girl and love to give us hugs and kisses!

Anna Kate, your daddy and I love you more than words can say and we treasure each day we get to spend with you. You have blessed our lives in more ways that we thought possible!

And here are your pictures!

1 month old