Dear Michael,
You are 8 months (and one week) old and have changed so much this past month! I am constantly amazed at how fast you are growing up. I took the picture above tonight right before dinner. Of course it was with my phone and not the real camera! I thought it was too cute not too post.You are my happy and laid back little guy. Daddy and I joke that your brother tends to be a little more high maintenance and maybe you are more laid back because he forces you to be. I think it is just your personality though, you really seem to go with the flow and are genuinely happy. Mommy is back to work teaching and we have our routine down. You and James still go to Brookhaven Child Development Center (and probably will until you go to Kindergarten!) Daddy gets you and James dressed in the morning, gives you a bottle and feeds James, then takes you to school. Mommy took you two to school this summer and getting you both up, fed, dressed, and out the door at a reasonable hour is not an easy task! You have an amazing Daddy who loves you both so very much and loves spending time with you both in the morning. I like to pick you and your brother up after school since I haven't seen you all day! On the daily reports I get it from your teachers it always says you were happy and had a wonderful day. It makes me happy to know that you are happy at school and loved very much by the teachers. Your big brother even comes to your room to visit you during the day which I think is too cute. Evenings and weekends are my favorite time because we get to spend so much time together. It is finally getting cooler so I am excited we will be able to go on more walks and go to the park. We went to the park once this week and you rode in the BOB stroller for the first time!
So Michael Scott, what are you up to at 8 months old?!?
You are 28 inches long and weigh 18 pounds
You wear size 6-9 and 9-12 month clothing, depending on the brand
You wear a size 3 diaper
You wore your first pair of shoes today to church! But you were sleeping in your car seat when we got there so we sat in the balcony and took you to "big church" with us and you continued sleeping until the very end. You just snuggled as I held you and listened to the music. I think you love music just like your brother!
You had your 2nd haircut last week
You are still working on your first tooth. It seems like you have been teething for months now, which you have! I can feel two bumps now on the bottom and one on top. I was curious and looked back on the blog to see when James got his first tooth and it was 3 days before he turned 8 months old. I have a feeling you will get several teeth in at the same time!
You are the best eater and love just about everything we give you. I wish I could say that I steam and puree all of your baby food but I don't. I do only feed you organic baby food and we have tried Earth's Best, Plum, Ella's Kitchen but my favorite is Sprout Baby and it comes in zip lock sealed pouches. It tastes like homemade pureed baby food and you love it. Peas and green beans are not your favorite, in fact you make a funny face when I give them to you but you still eat them. You love sweet potatoes, butternut squash, pears, apples, bananas, blueberries, rice cereal with fruit, and of course puffs. The puffs keep you entertained and your fine motor skills are very good. You can pick each puff up using only your index finger and thumb!
You have a bottle for breakfast then rice cereal and fruit or a vegetable and a fruit for lunch and dinner. You get a mid-morning snack of puffs and a bottle, a mid-afternoon bottle, then I still nurse you after dinner before bedtime. I don't think that will last too much longer!
You started crawling on all fours this last month and are all over the place. You are also very busy and into everything I would expect nothing less at this age!
You pulled up to standing in your crib for the first time about three weeks ago so we had to lower your crib from the middle setting to the lowest setting. A few days after that you pulled up to standing on the floor holding my hands and pulled up using your activity table toy. I had to look back at the blog again to see when James started standing and he was 9 months old! So you pulled up over a month sooner! I know taking your first steps is right around the corner and I don't know if I am ready for that yet. My baby boy is growing up too fast.
You are talking but are also quiet at times too. You say gue, gue, ga, ga, da ,da, eh, eh, and LOVE to blow raspberries. I think the vibration feels good on your gums.
You love bath time and transitioned this last month from your blue baby bath tub in the kitchen sink to a big boy bath! I want to eventually bathe you and your brother together but not yet. I will wait until you are a little older. We don't put you in a seat or anything inflatable. We put down a bath mat and make sure the water level isn't too high. We let you crawl around and sit and splash. We did the same thing with your brother and it worked well for us. You both love bath time!
You are a good sleeper. You go to bed every night between 8:00-8:30 p.m. but still wake up once to nurse or have a bottle, usually between 3:00-4:00 a.m. You always go right back to sleep then wake up again around 7:00 a.m. You nap from 12:00-2:00 during the day and usually in the car the 20-30 minutes on the way to school and on the way home. I would love for you to sleep all night long!
Mommy and Daddy both spent the night away from you for the first time since you were born. Grandma-ma and Papa spent the weekend with you and your brother at our house while Mommy and Daddy went to St. Louis for Daddy's cousin's wedding. Unfortunately you had a stuffy nose so you kept waking yourself up when you couldn't breathe very well. It was only two nights though and were better when we got home.
You had your first stomach virus last weekend. You and your brother were both sick. We changed a lot of pj's and sheets in the middle of the night for three nights straight. You never acted like you felt bad though, you were still happy and active when you were awake.
You went to three 2nd birthday parties and one 1st birthday party this past month! I love that we have so many friends with children around your age and that you all will be growing up together.
I thank God every day for choosing me to be your Mommy. You and your brother are my pride and joy! We love you very much and can't wait to see how you grow and change this next month.
Love,
Mommy
