Happy 8 months!! And Merry Christmas sweetie!! I'm so happy the holidays are here with you around! I don't know why the holidays just seem more special with you in our life! It gets me a tad weepy just thinking how it's your very first Christmas!! Although I'm a little relieved the craziness is over. We've had a lot of fun this busy month!!
Highlights- Christmas definitely. More to come on that below. The second highlight is that you tried tomatoes. You loved them!! You will eat them whole and with a a little italian seasoning on top. I'm so excited to try other soft pieces and seasonings! It's very fun to watch you self feed while I make dinner. It's such a relief because not only are you learning motor skills but also eating the perfect amount you need without the guess work.
Other ones are that you are sitting up taller and more steady. You are raising up more on your tommy. It makes me think that your building your arm muscles for crawling. You are inching your way up on your back. Many times I'll find you higher in your crib than before. I'm guessing you'll start to crawl in a month or so! Part of me feels ready and the other doesn't. I don't even know how to baby proof the house!
Favorite moments-I will never forget the day we played in the snow!! It snowed 4 inches here! Its quite unheard of around here in this mild desert! As you'll find, it hardly rains around here. So snow in this warm dry desert is pretty unbelievable! It really makes your first Christmas feel more Christmas-y.
Other little fun moments that made us laugh is when you were trying Laughing while hiccuping or crying. It's pretty funny. You have this puzzled look on your face! It's the cutest! A few times you sneezed and then said Doy Doy like you were saying bless you afterwards!! Very precious! I love to watch you play with daddy. It will always be a favorite moment for us. I can tell daddy is excited to play with you. When he comes home, he helps more feed you and plays with you while I cook or clean up. Many times I'll catch you two playing and one day I walked into this. :-)
Other moments I love is when you reach out to daddy and many times you'll say da da. We got excited and then realized you say it for everything. It's still fun to hear your sweet little voice. You love to talk especially when we are at church! Many times you'll gab through the service and fall asleep in the last five minutes of it. Everyone loves to hear to babble through service. They always smile at you and laugh when they find you fell asleep.
First Christmas!!- it was wonderful! We were busy because a lot of family came to town. your grandpa Charlie and jane came a week before to visit. We had a little pre Christmas party with them and auntie al. It was nice to get together and visit. I loved watching you grab for the tissue paper and your surprised expressions on what the commotion was about. You were such a VIP. Everyone wanted to hold you. On Christmas Day, we visited with nana and papa in the morning. We got to have a nice breakfest and visit auntie Tara & uncle Nathan. You watched your cousins play around you and take a sweet picture with them under the Christmas tree. Your cousin Caede read us the Christmas story. You watched your cousins unwrap their presents and swat at your own. Everyone was very thoughtful and generous to you on your first Christmas! Then we were off to Grammies house for a second Christmas. There we visited with auntie al and uncle scot. We had a nice salmon dinner and opened presents. Some items you got were much needed clothes, car seat, walker and lovely books! I am very excited to read you the stories I read growing up! Of course me and your dad gave you your presents on Christmas Eve. I gave you your birth box of the things on your very first birthday! And your dad gave you a fun camo onie! You can tell he's just a little excited to take you hunting someday!:-)
It was a very special Christmas together. I am sad that you're first one is over but relieved. I am looking forward to the next ones where we can share more Christmas activities- reading the Christmas story together. I am excited to explain to you the real meaning of Christmas- it's about baby Jesus! It's the holy day when God came down in a form of a baby named Jesus to save us from our sins and give us everlasting life with him. Philippians 2:6-8 says, "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!" I'm so glad God choose to come as a baby. It made me realize how important babies are to God. You are so important to him and part of his plan like baby Jesus was. He is the greatest gift of all!
New Years- we had a great New Year's Eve. Your dad got off early. We hang out at home and enjoyed being together as a family playing with your new toys on the floor. We were all so exhausted for Christmas. We went to bed early! Here you are in the new year and new Jammie's!
I don't have a New Years resolution per we this year. I want to keep myself open to your needs. Some things I'd like to do more of this year would be more sunshine, tommy time, social time , and cooking healthy dinners.
Nursing-it's going good and super fast. It's only taking me 20 minutes. Many times it feels like 5 minutes. At this time, were nursing only 4-5 times a day sometimes more when you're sick. Many times you'll be wiggly, turn your head, pinch, or smack me while nursing. It's definitely not the still sleepy nursing like when you're younger. When you were little you'd drift off to sleep so peacefully. Now you kind of fight it. Many times you'll get wiggly or arch your back in protest ( hate that).
Nap/ nighttime- naps are tough! It's hard to find a routine or system down. The more food you eat the better you sleep for some reason. I've realized this months that I need to feed you three times before you'll take a nap ( nurse, food, nurse). I'm not really sure if you're really nursing on the third. But it put you to sleep. I've realized you'll wake up if you can't move your arms. So I try not to have them stuck or swaddled (just your legs swaddled). It's pretty sad I'm finally realizing some of this stuff after 8 months. Many times I'll tuck in an extra blanket to keep you warm. I call it the double swaddle. Genius I know.
Development- you are a whooping 15 lbs! you make more sounds like- da, blah, hi, gee, Doy, blowing and lots of clicking sounds. you are drinking out of your sippy cup! This is great that you figured this out in your own! You figured out that the sucking is different with the cup. Other developments are that your hair is growing long! I think your hair color is very close to mine. Daddy says that you're looking more and more like me these days. Most people agree that you look like him. We all know that you really look like you as your own perfect little self!
Leap-With this leap, it time for the world of 'categories'. Now your baby learns that a large dog is not a horse. Or that a checkered cat is not a cow. You will notice your baby investigating everything in his path and studying every detail as he starts to categorize things around him. That takes a lot to consider and compare, and your baby is in love with you and everything in his ever widening world. Just as with former leaps, there are several characteristics you will recognize when your baby is going through this leap. Your baby will cry more, sleep less, have mood swings and clings to you more.
Typical signs of this leap are also:
- Jealousy: Your baby wants that you only play with him. If you pay attention to someone else, he becomes difficult. One can say he is jealous, but not consciously. (Yes!)
- Nightmares: Babies dream, so they also have nightmares. During this leap you will notice he may suddenly wake up screaming, or make crying sounds while he is asleep. These are signs of nightmares. ( yes!)
- Being extremely lovely: For the first time, your baby will alternate between his bad temper and good; going from being difficult to extremely lovely and nice. Obviously, this is another way to get attention. (Yes!)
- Behaving more babyish: Your baby can suddenly act as if he were a younger baby, although he does this unconsciously. It's like going back in time. After having gone through this leap, the changes in your baby's behavior are dramatic. Now, your little baby is developing into a child.
Examples of what your baby's skills and interests might be after this leap:
- Shows us that he knows some words;
- Makes it clear to you that he finds something dirty, for example by sniffing;
- Imitates adults;
- Recognizes himself in the mirror; ( you love this)
- Can really exaggerate his moods;
- Plays peek-a-boo by himself;
- Challenges others to play a game;
- Calls for a song by example by clapping his hands;
- Begins to practice crawling.
Note: many mothers are fed up with breastfeeding after this leap. Your baby's ability to 'nag' during this leap can be rather irritating. Remember: a leap will go away and it's really best for your baby to continue breastfeeding for a least one year! ( nursing does get old. But it's worth it!)
On a different note, I'm starting to see you acting up in little fits when you don't like something. I'm not sure when to start discipline. (When I mean discipline its small corrections at this age. Does that make sense?). They say the earlier the better. I'm trying to repeat phrases like gentle, no hitting, etc to get you used to them. I need to do more research on that. Other challenges are trying to keep you healthy and ease you teething pain.
What I've learned a s a mom-Weirdly enough, I'm starting to miss the little baby things. I keep rememissing when I'd hold you or nurse while drifting to sleep. I miss the little moments of bonding after nursing. We still have those every once in a while. But now you are more adventurous. I look forward in sharing more adventures and outings with you as you get older. I think I will have things I love and miss about each phase of your life. This month I've really enjoyed having you always by my side. I love how you always want to be with me (well most days). I love how you always look for me. I love how I can make you happy instantly and how I'm your favorite person in the whole wide world. I'm going to miss that when you're a teenager! As Grammie daily reminds me - enjoy every moment!:-) julienne Moore says it best- "as a mom, the days are long but the years are short."
Love you my side kick!
All the hugs and kisses in the world,
Mom
