This is the best 10 month "birthday" picture of these boys I could get. They are busy and mobile and have no intention of sitting still for mom! Oh joy oh boy, these guys are moving! Luckily, I was able to steal some pure moment while they were exploring their world!
This was one huge month! It seems like every day there was a milestone achieved. Thank goodness for cell phones and texting records. Because of texts to Chris, I was able to reconstruct what happened this month and remember just how far these guys have come in 30 short days.
Brody.
Brody is crawling! This boy can move and he is so happy! He sprints down the hallways, crawls over anything in his path (including his brother) and in general, is super ecstatic that he can explore his space! Brody has earned the nickname "bull dog" due to the way he looks when he is roaming around. His little arms turn in ever so slightly, his wide chest puffs out and his little behind waggles as he plows around the house. He struts around with so much purpose and confidence that it is hard not to laugh when he is barreling down the hall toward your feet. Before crawling though, he learned to pull himself up into standing position. I watched as he did this for the first time, looking on with awe and amazement that he was going to use the overturned laundry basket I left not he floor as his first prop. He crawled over to it, placed his hands on top of the basket and pushed himself to standing. He looked at me, smiled ear to ear, and sat down so he could promptly do it again. Attempt number two was the same, instant success, and then on the third attempt, he looked right into my eyes, and removed one hand from the basket. It was as if he immediately knew that standing was just one small task he needed to master in a linear path of skills that lead to walking.
look mom, no hands
Brody also has learned to wave. His wave is adorable. He tucks he thumb in, leaving this four fingers standing and moves his hard back and forth. He waved whenever you look at him, he waves at strangers, and he waves after he has crawled away and when he is taking a rest. I joked one day that his wave is like his version of small talk. He pulls it out when he is not quite sure what to do or what we are thinking. It always make us smile and cheer so it is really a fool proof plan on his part! He has also started shaking his head back and forth as part of a game. He shakes, we copy, and so on until someone changes the movement. Smart baby!
Gunsy (Gunderson, B B the Guns -all still nicknames we use) is obbsessed with the animals. He tries to crawl over to them and pet them (or pull their hair) every chance he gets. Adriane and he have a special relationship. Whenever she comes over to sniff his face, Brody opens his mouth and she proceeds to [french] kiss him. It's gross and cute all at the same time. Oliver also is very tolerant of Brody's love pats. He will lay within range of the babies and let them "pet" him just because he wants attention and he stays until he absolutely can't stand being fondled anymore.
Last, I can feel Brody's two bottom teeth poking through. This makes me a little sad because 1. he likes to bite and getting him to stop biting is going to be hard! and 2. I am not sure I am ready to lose that gummy smile. For some reason teeth say to me "big boy" Oh well, I know time marches on and I can't stop this freight train from getting older.
you can just barely see them in there!
Brady.
Brady too has accomplished some major milestones this month! He has learned to stand, doing this first in his crib and then using either Chris or I as his rails. When he stood for the first time, he immediately started to try and jump up and down almost like he was cheering for himself! His movements are so much more calculated than Brody's. Brady looks at the furniture and decides how he is going to stand instead of just going over and muscling his way up. He has also learned to sit up on his own, affording him the freedom to change positions. He still mainly scoots or rolls to get from point a to point b, but now that he can sit and stand, he is that much closer to crawling and less frustrated. He is still a bundle of potential energy though. Often times he will be sitting in one spot and when I look back at him, he has managed to move himself feet away just by flapping his arms in excitement. He giggles relentlessly when he sees one of the animals and I suspect he is plotting ways to chase them around as soon as he learns to crawl. Brady has become a much better eater this month. He does not gag every time he takes a spoonful of food and he even seems excited when he gets to eat. This change is a good reminder to me that parenting is largely about diligence and sticking with things. Kids change so fast and they often do not like things the first few, or 10, times they try something. But, if you keep exposing them to new things, they will eventually learn to like them. 
Chris has enjoyed helping the boys learn these new tasks. The weekends seem to include some sort of "clinic" where we work standing, crawling or walking. Really, it's just a chance for boys to play like boys do while mom looks on adoringly.
Brady has also learned how to say duck and ball. Teaching him these world was a matter of me looking at him, holding out a duck and saying "DUCK". He repeated immediately after me and now every time I ask him what the object is, he says duck. Same with ball. This boy is meant to talk. It is a good reminder to me that I need to expect that he will be able to communicate with me instead of filling in his worlds for him.
Brady is super good natured. Since Brody has learned to crawl, Brady has been crawled over, pushed out of the way, used as a handle to stand up or sit down, been gnawed on and drummed like a bongo. He takes all of these brotherly affections in stride and you can pretty much count on him giggling when he see Brody approaching as if he knows some kind of mayhem is going to ensue.
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