8 months!

Our little guy is now 8 months old and weighs 18lbs. 2oz. He is getting so big and is more of a toddler than a baby. Sometimes we miss the little baby stage… he was so tiny and was content being held for hours… but we are loving Van in this new stage he is in. He is not content to be in one place for long, doesn’t like being held or restrained in any way shape or form. He is constantly on the go and is our little explorer.

This month Van decided that he has a deep hatred for anything that had straps or a harness or impeded his movement in any way. He screams every time we put him in his car seat, stroller, exersaucer, walker, bouncer or even on his changing table. He still loves to play with his walker and exersaucer, but only if he is standing outside of it.

Gone are the days when his changing pad had magical powers that would stop his crying. Now it is just the opposite. Van screams and struggles and tries to climb off or stand up. It makes changing him a pretty dangerous and strenuous activity. If you think I am exaggerating, I challenge you to try to change his poopy diaper, but a clean one on and put clean clothes on him. My bet is that you would be hard pressed to do it in less than 15 minutes!

Van used to hate the Bumbo seat, but now it is an invaluable tool to help dress him when I am home alone. Now he will sit in it fairly calmly while I put on his socks and pants. It is a lifesaver.

Van started to recognize his name this month and turns to look at you when you call him. He will turn and flash you the cutest and most innocent smile if you say, “Van… no, that is not for you” when he is playing with something he shouldn’t. It is too cute and most of the time I end up smiling back and laughing 🙂

After Van got into Pilot’s food this month, we put up a baby gate and moved the food into the laundry room. Van is still determined to get to the dog bowls and tries to pull down the gate and reach through the gate. If we forget and leave it open, Van somehow knows and makes a beeline straight for it. He has also found that if he sneaks through the guest bathroom and around the corner, he can circumvent the baby gate and make it to the dog food.

Van loves to walk using his push car. He has also found out that he can flip the small ottomans over and use them as walkers. He pushes them all over the house!

I am not sure if Van loves Roomba (the vacuum) or Pilot more. He loves to chase both of them all over the house. Van will crawl straight over to Roomba and turn it on without a problem. He then laughs and screams at it as it starts to move. I am pretty sure that we will have to return it it soon. Having a baby sit on it while it is trying to move probably isn’t the best… wonder if that is covered by warranty! LOL!

Pilot and Van try to share toys and play tug of war with them. Van loves Pilot and a few days ago started to say “Pwa Pwa” while looking at Pilot.

Van also says “Ma Ma” but no “Da Da” yet…

This month also marked the appearance of his first tooth. He has 2 or 3 breaking through right now and is a little fussy every once in a while but has been doing great. Actually, this week he slept in 3 days in a row due to teething… nice!

Van has finally dropped the dreamfeed (9:30pm feeding) and is sleeping 12 hours straight through at night. Yippee!

Love you Van!!!