3-31-13 John's 8 Months Old!

At 8 Months Old, John:
- is wearing anything from 6-9 month to 18 month clothing. What a range! I don't know who decides on these sizes...

- is really starting to love stuffed animals; when he sees them, he reaches out his arms like he wants to give them a big hug. He especially loves biting them. We're glad they're not real or they would probably bite John back.

- also reaches out to us when he wants to be picked up and he likes to hold our faces which is so endearing

- rolls around all the time. He can roll from his tummy all the way around to his tummy again in one motion. He uses this mode of transportation quite often to try to get to toys he wants, or things that are not toys. So I've got to watch him really closely! One time I put him on his tummy in the middle of the big rug (like a month ago before he was really good at rolling) with lots of toys around him, and I went down to advance the laundry. I came back 3 minutes later, and he was on his tummy 6 feet from where he started, half his little body was under the couch! He looked up at me, flailing his arms as if he were trying to swim out of there. I learned  my lesson!

- is getting really good at throwing/dropping things, and also grabbing things he wants. When he's in his jumpy seat he can even jump back and propel himself forward with the intent of grabbing the pot rack which we purposely place out of his reach.

Here's a good view of his two bottom teeth

- likes to sleep on his back, but frequently rolls onto his tummy while he's sleeping. Then he forgets that he knows how to roll onto his back again and gets stuck, starts swimming and really wakes himself up...and us too. We're really hoping that sleepy John will learn to roll back in his sleep soon!

- sits up without ever falling over unless he is trying to look at something behind him, or grab something far away or behind him. So we still keep the Boppy around him just in case.

- is starting to have tiny tantrums when he is tired- very tiny, so that they are still cute - when something happens that makes him sad, like when he can't have the toy (or non-toy object) of his desire.

- is in love with butternut squash. He seriously clamors for the spoon when we feed it to him.
- finds his daddy's hair hilarious! Seth will rub John's hands over his head (which is buzzed) and I guess it tickles John because he giggles and giggles!
- is still obsessed with tags, and now zippers. He gets so focused when he plays with them, they are so fascinating. I love to watch his concentration.

- puts his upper lip over the lower one and presses them together. He looks like a cabbage patch kid! Seriously. He does. We call it his cabbage face.

3-26-13 John just pushed up into crawling position for the first time! He got his whole tummy off the ground, and was on his hands and knees for a couple seconds! - We really, really need to baby proof this house.

3-27-13 John just learned how to shake his head back and forth. He doesn't know that it means "no," but I think he just does it because his neck is strong enough. It's really adorable, but it makes me a little nervous for the time when his favorite word will be "no!" and it makes it quite difficult to keep from putting baby food on his nose or in his ears. Feeding a moving target presents a new challenge! He even shakes his head when he likes the food and wants to eat :)

- most of the time is great at eating baby food. He even opens his mouth when he's ready to eat :) He likes eating avocado, butternut squash, sweet potato, carrots, oatmeal, and doesn't much mind quinoa if it's mixed with something he likes.

John has developed an ability to smack his tongue rather loudly, sometimes just for his own enjoyment, sometimes to let me know he wants to eat baby food, and sometimes to imitate my own eating. My mother has told me before that I chew with my mouth open, perhaps I do..., and maybe I'm teaching these bad habits to John :) He can smack very loudly indeed.