Daniel: Eight Months Old

Our little man is eight months old. Can you believe it?! I know I can't. Jonathan and I were just looking at pictures of Daniel as a newborn and reminiscing. We both loved and missed that stage. But we are also enjoying how engaging Daniel is.

He is at that age where he seems to be doing something new everyday. While I was a bit curious to see if he would ever rollover (he wouldn't tolerate his stomach or back for very long), he now does it fairly often. He is a stomach sleeper and we usually find him on his back in the morning or after his nap. When he reaches for a toy and falls over from his sitting position, he is now decently content to roll around and play on his back or stomach.

That being said, he has also been getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth! I love watching him do it and when I praise him and get excited, he gets a huge grin across his face. He knows that he has done something special. He has been working on scooting backwards from this position and often gets his feet stuck under some piece of furniture and gets frustrated. Now he needs to learn how to go forward! I have a feeling we will have a crawler in the not so distant future.

Daniel still loves to eat and at his last doctors appointment, he was in the 80th percentile for weight. He eats a six ounce bottle every two hours and enjoys baby purees for breakfast and dinner. We usually do some kind of fruit puree mixed with greek yogurt for breakfast and for dinner it is a mixture of veggies and fruit. Sometimes I will blend up what we are having for him to try. He hasn't really rejected anything yet, but doesn't seem to enjoy avocados. Apparently he is like his daddy in thinking that they have no flavor.

He wears an assortment if 12 to 18 month clothing (mostly size 12 months for tops and size 18 months for his cloth diapered bottom). We have enjoyed a lot of hand-me-downs (thanks Cristale!) and recently he has started wearing crib shoes.

Daniel wakes up anywhere between six or seven and loves when both daddy and mommy come in to get him. We change him, feed him a bottle, and while we get ourselves breakfast, he will usually sit and play on his own. He loves the baskets of toys that I keep in our living room. I just pull one over and he digs through it playing with whatever he desires. Once he is bored with that, we usually feed him his fruit and yogurt breakfast and he will then play some more, jump in his jumper, or play in his exersauser until he is ready for a mid-morning nap (well, if he takes one that is).

After a nap that can last anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours, we go through the change, feed, play routine again. Then there is the afternoon nap around one that lasts for, usually, two hours. He is up at three and ready for a change, to eat, and (you guessed it) play. He loves when daddy comes home and usually bounces in my arms and smiles when he walks through the door.

Bed time is between six and seven depending on how his naps went for the day. We have been so lucky to have a good sleeper. Once he is down for the night, he is there for good. Occasionally he will wake up, but only needs his pacifier and his mobile turned on to go back to sleep.

Everyday, I enjoy watching him learn something new. Jonathan and I love comparing stories on the new things we see him doing. I know one thing, I'm going to have to baby proof this house very soon!!