The Torrey Family Blog: 10 months old

so as i went to type the title "10 months old" the saved text popped up and said "10 days old". that seems like so long ago, yet just yesterday. i was telling my friend that when people used to ask me how old avery was i would always say 4.5 months or almost 5 months. i couldn't tell you why but i always would respond to make sure they knew she was on the "older" end. and now, i find myself, when asked how old she is answering 9 months, because technically she was 9 months, until today. because, while i want her to grow up, the selfish part of me wants her to stay just the way she is. but, when people say "it gets better as they get older", it's not a lie. so that alone, makes it okay that avery gets older. just this week she clapped for the first time. i clap for her all the time and praise her, even when she's not doing anything special. now, when i clap she claps with me. it doesn't matter what i'm feeling at that moment because it brings instant happiness and i'm so proud of her. i know it's a milestone and thats what babies do, but i feel like in some way i taught her to do that, because i did right? she also waves "hi" and "bye". again, another milestone but when people see her waving they always make a comment like "aw, she waves. she's so advanced". the truth is she's probably not advanced but it makes me feel good. it makes me feel like i'm doing something right. last night mark and i were lying in bed and semi-jokingly i said, "avery loves me so much, she's my best friend". mark is always quick to respond that i'm not her best friend, i'm her mother. but, i am still going to hold on to that hope that we will be friends some day. we probably won't be friends when she's 13, 14, or even 15. heck, we probably won't be friends when she's 18, but someday i hope she will consider me her friend. to me you have to earn the title of a friend. you don't just call someone your friend and you certainly don't throw around the word "good" or "best" with the word. but, i'd also like to think you earn being called a mother as well. i gave birth to avery and i'm her "mother" by definition. and in case you were wondering, is defined as "a female parent". with that, i guess i've earned my title. so, i'm going to work on becoming her friend. despite all the odds that are against me that's going to be my goal. although, i might take a break during the teenage years and start again when she's in college! :) i think the only way to achieve my goal is to keep loving on my our beautiful little girl and my wonderful husband.

if you are still reading this, bless you! for this months documentation of turning 10 months i decided to get some action photos of the things she is doing! this is pretty hard since she is into everything. at the library this week she was already out the door in the hallway before i could even get up. then she was crawling around waving at people. when they would say something to her like "oh she's waving" she would then sit up and clap. i can't wait to see how her personality grows! :) she also thinks all electrical outlets are for touching, she thinks because she can stand that she can stand anywhere, including but not limited to her highchair, carseat, the grocery cart, etc. and last but certainly not least she's just cuter than ever!

here's to avery being 10 months old!