This is a long one...
The weather has been a little crazy here this week...a couple of days of snow showers, sleet, hail and then the dreaded ice (and now it's back in the 50's...go figure). So schools were closed around here on Thursday, which was Nate's last day of school for the year and also the day of his class party. I was so thankful when I got up Thursday morning and, after seeing the notice of the school closing, saw an email from Nate's wonderful teacher to all of the parents saying that she was still up for meeting at the school at noon (once the roads thawed) and having the party if we were. Most all of the parents were in so the party was on!
So the pizza was eaten...the cupcakes were sufficiently smeared all over the faces...and then it was gift time. All of the children brought in a wrapped Golden Book and they sat in a circle and got to choose which friend they wanted to give their gift to. Just my luck, the friend that chose Nate gave him "Bambi"...not exactly the story I wanted to explain right before Christmas (or before the age of 10)...I thought that maybe the 'short' version left the bad parts out, but nope...I read it one time, casually skipped the last couple of pages and then promptly hid that book in the hopes he doesn't ask me to read it again!! Sheesh...
Everyone had to bring their kids who were also home from school so it was a packed room...Matthew got to play with a couple of babies so he had a built in playdate...win-win! So, I didn't really get any great pictures but here are a few none-the-less.
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| Matthew has become yoga baby...this is his downward dog... |
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| It's not a party without an appearance by Cupcake Face! |
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| Sitting patiently in the circle waiting for his gift |
I have been doing a better job of taking tons of pics of Matthew...but I have slacked on blogging his monthly milestones. So, here is a quick 8 month check in...feel free to skip down to the pics if this is boring, this is more for my baby journal sake!
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| This dinosaur has turned in to his "lovey"...he has to sleep curled up with it and he even chews and sucks on the little brown spiky things like a paci...this is his bedtime buddy. |
Health - I am certainly jinxing myself by saying this but he really hasn't had so much as a cold since he has been born...which completely baffles me because Nate had probably had 3 ear infections, a stomach bug and 2 rounds of breathing treatments for respiratory infections by this age. I know daycare has a TON to do with that difference but still. I actually took him in for his first "sick" appointment last week...he wasn't drinking his bottles well, was waking up at night and started pulling on his ear...I thought for certain that this was his first ear infection. But when she checked his ears she said "perfect!"...then she peeked in his mouth and pointed out tooth # 6 making its appearance. What a rookie mom move! :) So...bottom line...so far he is one healthy kid! I did get to find out that he weighs 18 lbs though...so he has put on 2 lbs in the last month.
Teeth - as I said, he's got 5 with one on the way....two bottoms and the top four
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| You can almost make out his top teeth in this one... |
Eating - I have started trying some finger foods with him over the last few weeks...the usual suspects - Cheerios, puffs, diced fruits/veggies, etc...but I discovered these Mum Mum Baby wafer things in Walmart the other day (maybe I am the last one to know about these but I don't remember them when I was buying Nate snacks) and he LOVES them. It is big enough to hold on to, has a good little crispy crunch that he likes, and dissolves easily in his mouth so he doesn't have to chew much. (And I love them because them are individually wrapped and can easily be thrown in my bag.) He is still pretty open to trying most things....he loves his yogurt and he loves fruit from the jar but we are still working on the fresh stuff. We are also trying out the sippy cups...he has taken to them better than I recall Nate did but I think he is using it more as a teether than really drinking from them.
Mobility - he isn't officially crawling yet but he is really really close. When I sit him on the floor he will go straight to all fours and he can get around the entire room on his own, just not the conventional way yet. But I think he will have it all together in the coming days. And I love that he can now get into sitting position on his own...I love going to get him in the mornings and he is sitting up smiling at me when I walk in his room! And, as I am typing this, I turn around to see him behind me in his pack and play doing this....
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| Guess I can add pulling up to standing to his list of tricks! |
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Talking - he does a lot of babbling these days...I don't count all of the "mama's" and "dada's" as words yet since he hasn't really said them in the right context but he certainly has a wide repertoire of his own little words that he says! I love his little language...can't wait to understand it!
Nicknames - As I did with Nate, I have a million little nicknames that just pop out and make no sense...but I always call him "Choo Choo" (that evolved from "Ma-Choo" :) but Nate kept telling me that wasn't how you say his name) and "Baby Love" (I don't know where this came from but it cracks me up when I hear Nate call him Baby Love...the other day I heard him said "Good Morning Baby Love, did you have a good nap?" Makes me smile :) )
He is the sweetest little guy...he loves to play with toys and he is happy the majority of the time...I take him everywhere with me and he just goes with the flow. He laughs and giggles and I just want to eat him up!! I love this age....and I love my little Choo Choo!
