Ok, Mom. I'm smiling. Snap my picture.
(Call me crazy, but I promise you he's started smiling for the camera a lot of the times when I pull it out.)
Did you get it??
Ooh, the blinds are open! I love being outside and I love when Mom opens my blinds so I can look outside!
I think I'll stand up so I can get a better view. Oh yeah, I can stand up now. No big deal.
What's down there?
My sock basket! I love picking up my sock basket!
Silly Mommy! You think I'm actually going to sit here?
I think we're all done here. See ya later!
Aedan, this month you have started developing such a little personality. I can't wait until you can start talking (or signing!) and I get to hear what's going on in that little head of yours. You already let me know some things that you like or don't like and I love that you have preferences. For example, if we walk to the front door and look out for a minute but don't actually go outside, you burst out crying for a few seconds, just to show your disapproval. If we walk into your room around naptime and (this is my theory, at least) you really don't want to take a nap, you do the same thing--burst into tears. Then, we leave the room and you smile and coo at me. Sometimes while we're rocking, I'll cover you with a blanket and you'll throw it back because you don't like your top arm covered. I'll recover it and you'll push it back again. It's cute. Usually I let you win. And, when you're nursing, you have started to always tuck your bottom arm in between you and me and prop your little feet up on the arm of the chair. It's like you've found your comfy place. :)
Or last night--I was giving you a bath and I guess I made the bath water slightly warmer than you like, because I tried to put you into your little tub and you refused to sit down and started crying when I tried to make you. So I pulled you out, cooled off the water a little and then wen to put you back in. As I was lowering you into the tub you looked at me with big eyes and swung your little legs up to avoid touching the water--you were like, I'm not making that mistake again!! It was so cute and so cool to see you processing things like that and developing such a fun little personality and preferences!
You also hit a few milestones (I guess that's what you call them) this month! Right around 7 1/2 months, you finally cut your first tooth and then last night, the night before you turned 8 months old, you cut your second. You now have your two bottom middle teeth and it's precious. I thought I'd be sad when you didn't have your little gummy smile anymore, but the teeth just make it cuter. And, let's be honest--most of the time it still looks like you have a little gummy smile. But, now that your first tooth is getting bigger we get little glimpses of it more often, even though you still cover them up with your tongue every time we try to look.
And, you are officially a crawler.
At almost exactly 7 1/2 months (February 13th), you crawled for the first time when you were at home with your daddy and I was at my Bible study--which I think is almost perfect, considering your daddy was the one that really helped you learn how to crawl.
You did a combination of scooting, lunging, crawling and the inchworm for about a week and a half and then, a few days ago, on February 22nd, you figured out that you could crawl anywhere you wanted to and were officially on the move!
You're not super fast yet (which I'm thankful for!) but you can definitely get where you want to go. You've crawled to your daddy and me four times without any prompting, which totally melts my heart. I love seeing you crawl--your little face is so concentrated on getting where you want to go. And you are so much happier now that you can get where you want to go. Right now, your two favorite places to go to are the dog's bed and the roomba. We're seeing what to do about that, ha!
You're still a little talker and a yeller. This month you started talking in what sounds like your own little language. You make this noise with your tongue that sounds like you're saying "liderliderlider". It's one of the funniest things I think I've ever heard. You like to talk to your daddy and me and the dogs especially. Sometimes when you're talking you raise your little arms in the air and wave them all around and it looks and sounds like you're giving a very passionate speech. Cracks me up.
You notice other babies now and smile and talk to them. Precious. And, you love looking at yourself in videos and the mirror--you smile and talk to yourself!
You have a lot of things that you really like and dislike. And, you especially love power cords and computers and cell phones and keys.You love playing with your little singing panda while I change your diaper. But, you hate laying on your back and cry for a few seconds almost every time I lay you down.
You love water still--pretty much in any form...sink, bath, fountain, hose.
You love music--we sing all day it seems like. And you like listening to music too--especially kids songs. I made you a Pandora stations with kids Bible songs on it and we play that and sing to it a lot of days.
Daddy and I started training for a half marathon last week, so we've been taking some slightly longer runs with you. You love it--you are just a little angel baby while we run--you talk and yell and kick your legs up in the air and play with your little toys. I love running with you.
Everything is still in your mouth! You love playing with your toys though--alone for a bit and always with someone.
You love shoes and shoelaces and string and water bottles. We recently made you your own and you love it!
You love being in the air.
And, you still really love bouncing! (and super fun aunts and uncles who will play with you all night!)
You still love bathtime, though you're almost too busy for your little ducky tub already! You keep trying to stand up and crawl around.
You are super ticklish on your neck, and also ticklish on your back and stomach.
You recently have started getting scared by some loud noises. You freeze and then your little bottom lip starts quivering and then the tears start flowing. It's so cute and so sad all at the same time. Then, when we pick you up you hug us really tight.
You just recently really discovered your feet, while in your carseat.
You'll occasionally also grab them while I'm trying to change your diaper. And, you started pulling your left sock off of your foot while in your carseat--always only the left one though. Funny baby.
You crack up when we make silly noises at you--so we end up making silly noises a lot because hearing your little giggle is the best.You are not stingy at all now with your smiles and laughs.
You love reading. This month, you've really gotten into the books and looking at everything and wanting to touch the ones that have things to touch. And, at the place where I always laugh as I read it in "Eight Silly Monkeys", you laughed on your own a few times. Even if you were just imitating me, if was so fun to hear. Every night before bed (unless you fall asleep nursing) and sometimes before naps, we read the same books--Time To Sleep, Good Night Moon, Tumble Bumble, I Love You Through and Through and You Are My Sunshine. And, throughout the day we real a whole bunch of other books--it is one of my most favorite things to do with you. I think your favorite book is Dear Zoo, which is fun because it's the one I've been reading with you since you were about a week old. You always make this little excited noise when I grab it and you're learning how to life the flaps, which is fun.
You hate when someone passes by you and you think they're going to pick you up and they don't.
This month for some reason, I've gotten about 10 comments on how big your eyes are--and they're still this grey-blue that I love.
You're wearing mostly 6 month and 6-9 month and 9 month clothes, but still some 3-6 month onesies fit. You weigh around 18 pounds.
You still go to the nursery at church at least once a week on Sunday mornings--and sometimes on Wednesday nights with Daddy or Tuesday mornings with Mommy. You do really well still and can usually be found playing in the exersaucer when we come and pick you up. You have a super hard time sleeping in there though, which makes it hard when church takes place at your naptime.
You're sleeping pretty well--a lot better this month than the previous--with the exception of the nights you've been about to cut a tooth or actually cutting a tooth. Those nights have been a little rough; neither of us slept much. But, overall you're usually waking up only 1-2 times a night, which is good with me. You sometimes wake up and cry for a minute but then roll onto your stomach and go back to sleep. You are definitely a stomach sleeper now, but I still always put you down on your back or side after I rock you because if I put you down on your stomach, you wake up and push up into crawling position.
And, you're doing much better and waking up and going back to sleep--you move around a lot in your sleep now. We try to put you down between 830-930pm and you wake up between 730-830am for the day. A lot of days you wake up wide awake around 630am in your bed and I'll bring you in our bed for another couple of hours so that you'll go back to sleep, which works well for all involved.
You are a determined little booger. If you want something, you are relentless at going after it, no matter how many times I take it away or move you. Don't lose that determination, buddy.
You are also forever pulling up on anything low that you can get a good grip on, which makes me a little nervous! I have to watch you really closely. You love to stand up by yourself--you pull up on me, on your bouncer and on your little whale bathtub multiple times a day. And if anyone is sitting on the floor (Will and Baby included), you are crawling all over them too.
You are so curious about everything. You just look and look and study everything around you. I love watching you take it all in. Sometimes something happens and you look at me with big eyes and an open mouth as if to say "Mom, did you just see that?!?".
You are eating food pretty much every night with us at dinner and, just this week, I've started giving you some at lunch time too because you seem to be hungry all the time! But, some foods (carrots and squash) have seemed to stop you up a little, so I'm just sticking mainly to fruits right now, since you haven't had any issues with those. This month I've made you bananas, avacados, pears, apples, plums, squash and sweet potatoes.
I have a mango in the fridge that we're going to try this week and we should be getting some strawberries and blueberries for you in our co-op on Wednesday. I was not really excited about starting you on food in the beginning because it made me sad that you were growing up, but really, it has been a lot of fun to experience foods for the first time with you. And, I've discovered something about myself--I thought I would care if you made a mess, but I really don't. And--I forgot to mention--you generally like the food and are a good eater, but man, you really love that spoon. You cry when we don't let you chew on it. Usually we don't give in, but occasionally, you win. :) You think you're a big boy feeding yourself, I guess. Either that or if just feels good to chew on!
I'm sure all parents must think this but Aedan, I truly think you are the funniest, smartest, cuddliest, happiest most precious baby ever created. We just cannot get enough of you.
You are God's wonderful gift to your daddy and me. Your laugh and smile and sweet, sweet hugs(you've started giving hugs just in the past couple of weeks--and kisses/bites too!-- and it's amazing!) truly light up our lives. We pray for you daily and pray that God shapes us into the parents that He created for us to be for you. We love you more than we could have imagined.
Happy birthday, Dad! We had fun hanging out and celebrating with you!