A perfect 10.

Calvin is 10 months old today. This is giving me panic attacks. I am so not ready for the toddler years. I want him to stay small and cuddly and easy to entertain. But what I want doesn't matter, because he's growing by leaps and bounds. He has four teeth, he's inching closer to walking, and he's completely done with baby food. And oh my stars is he heavy. He's becoming more of a kid and less of a baby every day. And while I mourn the loss of my baby, I really do love watching him grow and change. He's turning into a little person — a silly, expressive, rambunctious, opinionated, adventurous little boy. He loves to explore, to climb, to race around on his hands and knees after Mattie. He's fast. He's LOUD. He falls down and bangs his head (a lot). He eats a ton. He smiles all the time. He stands up in the tub. He opens every drawer, closes every door. He climbs the stairs at a rapid pace. He stands on his own, then flings himself into my arms, giggling.

He's adorable. He's perfect. And he's all mine.

(Though you'd never know it, because he is the spitting image of his dad.)

We love you, silly monkey.

Drop the Barbie.

While most people relate just about any situation in life to an episode of Seinfeld, I do the same with Friends. I've seen them all, I know them all by heart.

While I was in IL visiting my parents, my mom pulled out this little Beanie Baby-style teddy bear for Calvin to play with. It's the girliest thing ever — a bright pink swimsuit, a cluster of flowers on her ear, a pink and yellow beach ball, and huge platform sandals. I started laughing and asked if there was maybe a boy bear for him to play with. There was, and we gave him both.

He LOVES the girly bear, and wants nothing to do with the boy bear. He cuddles with her all the time...it's the first stuffed toy he's latched on to, and we've tried a few. I'm beginning to think this little lady might become his security blanket. Or his first girlfriend.

This reminds me of the Friends episode where Ross' ex-wife and her lesbian partner let his son, Ben, pick out a toy from the toy store — and he chooses a Barbie with a "kicky beret." Ross totally freaks out and, during his weekend with Ben, attempts to swap it for a G.I. Joe:



While I'm sure Nate has considered purchasing Calvin a G.I. Joe (or whatever the baby equivalent might be), for now we're just giggling at our cute little boy and his pretty pink friend. Worst case scenario, he'll turn out like my brother, who, when forced to play Barbies with his two sisters, dressed them up like hookers.

For future reference: Canadian Mountie Barbie's tall boots + Barbie and the Rockers' white "leather" miniskirt = hot stuff.