As our Moon Baby enters her tenth month on Planet Earth, she makes another visit to the Youth Health Bureau, where she weighs in at 7995 grams (17.6 US pounds), which is just a little below average, and measures 70.5 centimeters (27.75 inches), which is also a little below average. She is praised for her strength and agility.

Luna has definitely become too big for her pram and gets a much better view of her surroundings in her stroller (below middle). And as her face is turning into that of a little girl, Luna continues to be very adorable (left and right), according to her biased mom, at least. When Luna chats or yawns, her newly acquired teeth can be admired (below left and below right).

Luna and Esther-Mirjam continue to have fun at the pool, playing with a wash cloth and a watering can (top left and top right).Yet, it remains to be seen whether Luna enjoys it as much as her mom (bottom left and bottom right).

Luna loves to sit in her high chair and look at all the people passing by the window, giving her mom an opportunity to catch the sunlight shining on Luna's face through the blinds (left and right). When Esther-Mirjam takes lots of time trying to get a good picture, Luna decides to eat her high chair (middle).

When Esther-Mirjam has another reunion with the women from her birthing class, their babies are too active to pose in a row as before (below): Charlotte is on her way out of the picture, Sara has lost a sock, Iris grabs Wessel's hair, Luna and Mila argue over a toy, Wessel pulls Luna's shirt, and Susan is off in her own world. To get the event properly pictured, the proud moms pose with their babies instead (left).

At the birthing class reunion, Luna loves hanging out with Charlotte, who's the daughter of Annegeer (left and right). In the picture above, Charlotte and Annegeer are on the far right.

The rapid progress just continues, with Luna making her first crawling moves forward using the "combat crawl" technique. That is, she uses her legs and elbows to push herself forward, but usually does not get on all fours. For now, it seems such a major development already for Luna to be able to move by herself so quickly. Her horizons are suddenly expanding quickly.

Other developmental progress involves Luna being able to sit without support. That is, Luna does not try to sit by herself, but when she is placed in this position, she usually stays like this for a while. The trouble is that Luna loves to fall, though. She gets a big smile on her face whenever she takes a tumble.

Opa Ben and Oma Alie love to take Luna for long walks, especially along the river Waal in Nijmegen (top left and top right). It sure looks like the walk has tired Luna as well! Opa Ben and Oma Alie also love to sing "Kabouter Plop" with Luna (bottom left and bottom right). Or are they thinking that Christmas is around the corner? Time sure flies, but not quite that fast, fortunately.

As mentioned above, Luna is learning to crawl. As the video clip shows, she will only do so when she feels like it. And she shares adorable smiles in the process. How can one not be completely in love with such a darling?
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Luna's immensely increased activity level is accompanied by a significant shift in her food intake. The best part of eating bread is the mess this leaves on the table as well as Luna's face (top row). After eating, there is plenty of time for fun "bib games." The combination of these activities leaves Luna quite tired and ready for a nap of two or three hours (bottom row).

Luna's hair is almost long enough to put hair thingies in it. And the stress here is on almost. Her mom is stubborn, as you may expect, and gives it a try already. Little Luna is more than happy to oblige.

When Luna goes to her mom's home town, Doesburg, she visits Esther-Mirjam's elementary school (left) and the house in which her mom was born (right). Opa Ben and Oma Alie also help Luna get used to eating solid solids and work on her fine motor skills at the same time (row below).

When Luna's grandparents come over to take care of their granddaughter and put pins in her hair, our moon baby's hair stands up straight the next day (below left and right). At least nobody will mistake her for a boy this way! Oma Erna loves to cuddle with Luna while enjoying the sunshine that pours into the living room (below middle). However, she seems to be spending more and more time chasing after her granddaughter than cuddling with her!

When Luna goes for a baby train ride with Opa Ben, it is not quite clear who likes it more!

A little tickling goes a long way with our Moon Child. In the process, she gives us a good look at her two teeth.

Luna is now big enough to go for rides on her mom's shoulders. In this case, it is obvious they both like it equally well.

When Esther-Mirjam decides she wants to take a few pictures of Luna, her daughter is a little surprised at first (above left), but then starts clapping her hands (above middle) and sharing some smiles (above right). However, after a while, she gets tired of the whole thing (left) and lets her mom know loud and clear (right). Poor baby!

It is time for Luna and Iris to meet again. As you may have read before, Iris's mom and Esther-Mirjam took birthing and pregnancy fitness classes together and now meet up regularly to share insights. Iris now weighs about 2 kilos more than Luna and can sit by herself as well as pull herself up to a standing position. In fact, she prefers to pull herself up using other babies' hair, which explains the apprehensive look on Luna's face.

Hip, Hip, Hurray! Ten months old!

Luna wears her new party hat to celebrate her tenth Month Day. Fortunately, she has not yet figured out how to pull the hat off her head before her mom can take a picture. On her tenth Month Day, Luna goes through her usual Thursday routine: formula with cereal at 8 AM, swimming at 9 AM, fruit at 10 AM followed by a short nap and a warm bath, bread with cream scheese and a bottle with formula at 12 NOON, a long nap until 3 PM, at which time she gets fruit again, a walk into town, dinner at 6 PM followed by another walk, formula with cereal at 7.30 PM, and then brushing her two teeth, reading about the cow jumping over the moon, and singing "Old MacDonald had a farm" before falling asleep in a few seconds.