Gavin (Month 8)

Standing Man!!!
The monthly "green chair" pics are incredibly challenging now!  Your preference is to be "in motion" at all times.  So, indulging mommy and sitting for a few pictures is not on your agenda!

Not still... even for a second!  LOL!

LOVE this... love your face!
Blurry shots like this are pretty standard... you are a boy on the move and I don't have the time to focus properly!

Dear Gav-man,

You are a BUSY boy!  I don't even know how to keep up!  You are super serious... yet so playful.  We were at the park the other day and the grandmother of one of Preston's classmates commented on how serious you were, taking everything in.  She said, "That boy is going to grow up and change the world... he is already thinking about it!"  I thought that was a spectacular thing to have said about you!  But, for every serious, "taking it in" moment you have, you also get silly, laugh at our "jokes" and make your own.  You crack up at Preston the most and Daddy comes in a close second.

You pull up to a stand and try to climb everything!

 

If there is one thing that is certain these days... you are CRAZY busy.  Your Papa says you're like a raccoon... into everything.  It's SO true!  You cannot be trusted anywhere with anything for more than two seconds!  And, you think (just like Preston did) that sleep is overrated!  You take a good nap... sometimes.  Most of the time, without actually putting you in the car, you take two 30-45 minute naps a day.  One in the mid-morning and one in the late afternoon.  The rest of the time is go-go-go!!! Even your previously solid night sleep has been disrupted during this month. I am hopeful that, with the surge in your gross motor skills, perhaps you'll start sleeping better again. 

Little Mr. Busy!  These were taken at the end of September.  You changed so much from the beginning of your 8th month to the end.  It's mind boggling.

You desperately want to go outside and play catch with Toby.  Soon enough, Boo-Dee, soon enough!

"Oh... am I not supposed to climb onto this?!"

"Here I come, Mama!!!"

Here you are during our "green chair" photo shoot on October 16th.  Instead of photographing you in the chair, it's in the background! Over the course of the month, you went from not pulling to stand, to standing up everywhere and falling down (causing me a nervous breakdown and giving you multiple bonks, bumps and little bruises for about a week), to figuring out how to get down from a stand without falling. It was a big month for you!

You are much better in the car than a few months ago, but when you do fuss, the best remedy is when Preston sings to you.  It doesn't matter what, just that he sings. So, most of the time, he sings his sight-word songs (songs he learned in kinder to memorize the spelling of words!) and you are instantly quiet.  Your response to Preston is amazing.  You actually have a "mute" button!  LOL!

You love mealtime.  Though you want to do everything yourself and that's challenging (to find foods you can feed yourself that don't come from a jar and are not puffs!) and to keep us all from wearing it!

You've had many firsts... lots of big days lately!

September 25th was your first "big boy" shopping trip to Costco.  You were MESMERIZED from your new vantage point! You've always just been in your car seat or stroller (or in the cart while in your car seat).  Once you got over the initial awe, you were squealing and squeaking your way through the store. In fact, I could find you and Daddy in the aisles from your little voice!

September 27th... first "teething biscuits."  You growled almost the entire time... sort of like a dog with a rawhide bone... just happily grunting as you gnawed away!  Then, the next day, you scared the daylights out of me and choked a bit on a too-big chunk.  You have not had those again.  I don't like the idea that you can bite off a huge piece at any given moment.  I'm sure you'd be fine, but I don't care.  There are plenty of other things for you to grub on!

On Friday, September 28th, you gave me my first unsolicited slobbery, grab-my-face baby kiss.   You were so sweet. Mouth open, tongue all gooey! LOL!  You grabbed my cheeks and smmmmmmoooooch! I am so in LOVE!!!

On October 2nd, I found you, after your brief afternoon nap, awake in your crib... STANDING!!!

I love you HUGE... and all your faces!  :-)

Happy eight months, sweet boy!  You are a ton of fun and bring our family so much joy! While time is moving so fast and I want you to slow down, I am excited to see what fun is in store for your ninth month.
Love, Mommy