everett's eight month update

posted by mommy

1. food - ev has finally taken to eating "real" food and is up to three meals a day. his current favorites include butternut squash, banana, peas, and spinach. meals include grains, tofu, or yogurt mixed with a variety of fruits and veggies, including blueberries, carrots, peas, green beans, squash, sweet potato, apple, and pear. he also loves eating chunks of some of these as well as banana and avocado. additionally, he really enjoys snacks of yogurt melts and puffs. he likes to grab at them and pick them up, but he hasn't quite taken to the concept of bringing the food to his mouth, yet. even with all this food, ev absolutely prefers to nurse and we do so about 7 times a day/night.
2. growth - he only recently began cruising, so he still has retained his chunk-a-munk rolls!
3. development - ev's crawling!!! yep, now he won't stay in one place anymore. although not yet on his hands and knees, he pulls his stout little body around everywhere army-style, and far prefers being downstairs where he can move more quickly on our hardwood and tile floors. sometimes, though, if it takes too long to get to whatever he is eyeing, he gives up and rolls onto his back to play with his feet. definitely not as persistent or motivated as his older bro. ev has also started talking a lot more but not yet doing true consonants. lastly he finally cut both top middle teeth...a very long, hard, and sleepless 4+ week process (momma's a tired lady!). thank goodness for hyland's teething tablets (we so should have bought stock just for him!).
4. sleeping - now that his two top teeth finally fully cut (like just in the last couple days) we are settling back into a semi-dependable routine. he still wakes 2-3 times per night, but doesn't have to nurse each time (thanks to a great daddy he loves!), but has had one night where he only woke once. he takes two naps each day, the first at around 10 for 1.5-2 hours, and the second around 2:30 for 1.5 hours. the funniest part of ev sleeping is listening to him fall asleep...moaning all the way!
5. overall demeanor - as he gets older, ev definitely mellows more and more and has become quite funny and jolly. he laughs a lot, especially at his silly goose of a brother, and fusses a whole lot less. he still has his moments, especially when he's done eating (when he's done, he's soooo done...like "get me out of this chair NOW" done!). i think now that he is more interactive and mobile, it has helped relieve some of his fussiness. he still really wants to be in the middle of everything (not one who likes to be left alone too long), but hopefully that will continue to get better as his mobility develops and his independence grows.
6. favorite things - besides crawling wherever he can and playing with his brother, one of ev's new favorite things is making lots of funny sounds with his tongue and lips...and spitting everywhere in the process! he also loves "talking" to o and sitting up in the basket of carts at the store. he also still chews on everything (even with teeth that finally cut, he is almost vicious when chomping down!). his latest favorite chew toy is my silicone teething bracelet that came in our goodie bag at the cloth diaper change event. he also really likes anything that rattles and he can shake. now that he is becoming more mobile he is also discovering the myriad of toys in other areas of the house that he never knew existed...much to his brother's chagrin!