I know it’s a little late, but here is your eight month update, little one. Lots of things have happened this month, and though most have already been chronicled in previous posts, I’ll summarize a few of the more important ones here.
Let’s start with food! The menu of foods that you now eat has expanded considerably in the last four weeks and includes a wide variety of fruits and vegetables as well as Puffs, an organic, fruit-based alternative to Cheerios. You devour them like Daddy devours Skittles, which is why we do not keep Skittles in the house.
I am powerless against them.
Mommy says that you’re also capable of eating bread and meat now, so I’m looking forward to the day that I can put a hunk of prime rib in your baby safe feeder and welcome you to the carnivore’s club. Just think: sucking on prime rib! Could there be anything better?
You’re also eating two solid meals a day, and we’re about to add lunch to your repertoire. Overall you’re a good eater, devouring a bowl of fruits or vegetables rather quickly, but you can be quite demanding when the pace of food slackens on our end. You and I have been eating dinner together for the last couple nights, each of us alternating between bites, and if I don’t get the spoon to your mouth fast enough, I hear about it.
Not nice.
In addition to adding new food to the menu, you’ve also officially rejected your pacifier. Though you will occasionally chew on the edge of the pacifier or on Wubbie’s feet, you are no longer interested in sucking on the thing. When I offered it to you tonight before bed, you took it from my hands and threw it on the floor in genuine anger. When in need of soothing, you suck your thumb.
And you have your first tooth, little one. A tiny little tooth on your bottom jaw. It’s barely visible, but when you bite, it’s more than noticeable. Mommy and I are happy for you, but we adore your gummy smile and are bemoaning the fact that it won’t last much longer.
You’ve also become quite ticklish this month, particularly on your neck and belly. Mommy often makes you laugh in the morning with kisses and tickles on the belly, and the resulting laughter is one of our most favorite sounds.
You have increased your vocabulary this month as well, adding Daddy and Hi to your old standard, Momma. The context is not always correct, but that’s okay. Words are words. Your most enthusiastic greetings are normally reserved for Owen, but you’ve said, Hi!” to others as well, and you’ve even said, “Hi, Daddy” to me on a couple mornings this month. Of course, you’ve also said, “Hi, Daddy,” to Owen at least twice as well, so comprehension of your vocabulary is a bit of a problem.
And you’ve also started to wave. You’re not consistent, often require coaxing, and save most of your waving for Owen, but it’s damn cute to watch you flap your arms at others while saying, “Hi!”
Speaking of Owen, you have become obsessed with the poor cat, unable to eat or sleep when he’s around. Owen is capable of transforming a frowning, crying Clara into a happy, joyous baby just by appearing in the room. You stroke his fur, grab his tail, pinch his skin, and even then, he makes no move to harm you in any way. He will shy away from you from time to time, fearful of your flailing arms, but he’s been incredibly sweet to you so far, which has been good for him. There are days when he throws up on the floor and awakens Mommy with head-butts and meows when I worry he might someday end up on the street. But the way that he treats you seems to have engendered some newfound affection from Mommy, which may just save his skin.
You like Kaleigh, too, and become quite animated when she walks into the room, but you seem to understand that she has considerably less patience for you. Owen is by far your favorite.
In addition to Owen, you seem to be quite comfortable around people other than Mommy and me. You have been exceptionally well behaved for your babysitters, and when out in a restaurant or otherwise in public, you smile continuously at the people around you and get lots of attention for it. Just last night at least four different people in Panera asked about your age and name, declaring you to be the happiest and cutest baby around.
At last you have begun to get around on your own! Some might call it crawling, but it’s mostly rolling and backward scooting, but you can go forward a little and you managed to get wherever you want. You often get stuck in corner or under things like the bed, chairs, and the shelves in the kitchen. Last week you even manage to roll yourself right out of your bedroom.
Unfortunately, you’ve also begun crying whenever we put on your pajamas, but as if to pay us back for the suffering of listening to you wail, once you are in the pajamas and in our lap, you have grown very fond of turning the pages in the books that we read. I’ve been reading a lot of Sandra Boynton to you and am beginning to memorize some of her books. They are really quite wonderful.
A month of many changes, and surely another one ahead. I can’t believe how quickly you are growing up, little one!
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