Eight Months (and a few weeks....)

What a month! I am about two weeks late in posting this (although I did take the pictures on the actual 8 month day even though he wasn't feeling too well!), but we have had so much going on that it has been hard to get a few minutes to write! At eight months, Luke weighs a bit over 19 pounds and has started waving and chattering. I wouldn't call it babbling, as he isn't repeating the same consonant over and over, but he is making lots of noise! He has TWO TEETH and they are just so cute - they make him look like a little boy instead of a baby - sad for mama ;-(

He is still nursing about 5-7 times a day and is slowly but surely getting the hang of eating solid food. We are trying to get the hang of a sippy cup, but he just isn't interested in it. I have not been very consistent in trying it, so I need to get better about that. He really likes to touch his food before it goes in his mouth, which makes for a very messy mealtime! He is also still a big fan of playing with the spoon. He has tried some different foods this month, including peach rice pudding, oatmeal with apples and cinnamon, and cinnamon peaches. He seems to tolerate spices well and has liked almost everything he has tried.

This has been a tough month because it seems that he has been sick almost all month! We started out with hand, foot and mouth - which has been rampant around here. Next, we got a cold, then an ear infection! Yuck! Two rounds of antibiotics later, I think we are finally on the mend.

He is pushing up on all fours and is doing a little army crawl. Life is about to change, as there is no more leaving him to play by himself! He seems to find the most dangerous thing in the room and go right for it. This morning, he was playing on his mat and I ran to get something to drink and when I returned, he had crossed the room and was chewing on the cord to the laptop. Mother of the Year moment for sure. He also LOVES necklaces and earrings - mama will be unadorned for the forseeable future.

He seems to be tired of most of his toys, so we have been on the lookout for some new things for him to play with. I've tried to put some of his toys away and then reintroduce them - that has worked pretty well. He still loves his piano and his drum and just smiles and laughs when he plays. It makes us laugh every time.
He also is learning to roll a ball back and forth. Sometimes he just bats at the ball, but he has actually pushed it back and forth several times - it is just so fun to watch him learn!

He loves to "read" and turn the pages of his books. Right now, one of his favorites is I Love You, Goodnight. He loves to pat the pages and then turn them when we've finished the page. He also still likes In My Den and any peekaboo or Karen Kane book.

He is a HUGE fan of his daddy and grins and giggles every time he walks in the room. They have enjoyed some early morning walks since it is WAY too hot to go out after about 8 am! Kasey comes up with all kinds of games and fun things to do - it has been so amazing watching him as a daddy - they are going to be such good friends one day.

Sleeping continues to improve (although I hate to put that in writing ;-) He is waking once at night instead of 2 or 3 times and is taking pretty good naps. He usually gets 2 or 3 naps a day, usually for 45 minutes to an hour or so each time.

He is such a happy baby! He will just go to anyone and puts on a show when we are in public. Case in point - when he got an ear infection last week, he was acting all pitiful and sick when he was at home, but the minute we got to the doctor's office, he turned on the charm and had everyone wrapped around his little finger. He is obsessed with the table paper at the doctor's office and loves to pull it and wrap himself up in it. I don't know why I spend money on all of these toys when he would seemingly be just as happy with a roll of table paper!  He also loves newspapers and magazines - we have to keep them way out of reach, or they become a baby snack. I'm not really sure that I want him eating newsprint!

Separation anxiety has started to sprout up here and there - he is Mr. Friendly as long as he can see me, but if I get too far out of sight, he gets a little rowdy.

I will not go so long between posts next time - I don't want to forget all of the things he is doing - it is just going so fast!