8 Months- what a month it's been! + a WINNER!

8 months with this sweet boy and we just can't get enough of him. Here are some highlights from this past month:

Bath time:

He loves being in the big tub without a seat and loves splashing, reaching for toys, looking at his reflection in the "mirror" in the tub, banging and scraping the stackable cups along the side of the tub, dunking his head forward under the running faucet, and he loves when we let the water trickle out from the bottom of the stackable cups over his back and arms and belly. Bath time is one of his favorite parts of the day.

Dance, too much booty in your pants:

So we have this nightly bath time ritual now that involves Matt and I busting out the "Dance, too much booty in your pants" song while we carry a naked Ryan to the tub. He starts kicking his legs and arms the second we start with the word, "DANCE...!" and wiggles to the finish of the song when we place him in the tub. I have a video of this but think what we really need is to get my mom to video the three of us the next time she spends the night so that the full insanity of this nightly routine can be captured.

Crawling:

He first crawled on 3/3 when we was 7 months and a few days. He had been pulling his knees in and rocking for a week or more and had also been "inch worm crawling" to get to where he wanted to go, but on that day, he decided to try out the hand/knee method. Since then he usually starts out with the hand/knee approach and then inch worms when he gets close to his target. ;)

Talking Sounds:

When Ryan first started making talking sounds, they were these cute, deep, sucking-in-air noises that would usually be followed by some bubble blowing with his lips. Adorable. And then this month, he went through this special couple of weeks where he hit octaves I didn't know were possible both when we was super excited and when he was frustrated. So sometimes we'd transition from happy squeals (squeals is actually an understatement... they were quite shrill) straight into frustrated squeals when nap time was approaching or when a meal was almost finished (the boy does not like for meal times to end). For this mama who, according to my mom, used to cry at school assemblies when I was little because the cheering was too loud, the shrill sounds were a lot piercing and not my fave attempts at conversation. But I am happy to say he has seemed to find a mellower version of the shrillness for now so I'm hoping he sticks to his new-found mid-range octaves.

Light Switch:

This month Ryan learned about the light switch and was quite fascinated by his power! ;)

Big Boy Stroller & Eating at the Table:

We stropped using the infant carrier adapter toward the end of this month and now set him in the stroller facing out like a big boy. He loves it! He claps his feet together while we walk- one of my favorite new tricks of his. :) He also started eating in a high chair at restaurants, sitting in the front seat part of the cart at the grocery store, and sitting with us at the table at home when we eat. All of those things make me feel like he is becoming such a little person. And such a fun little person!

Teeth:

Poor guy had a tough stretch this month but now has a total of 6 teeth that have broken through and a few other spots that look like they're getting ready. He now has the two bottom teeth and the top four front teeth.

Clothing:

He is officially in 12 month clothing, 18 month pjs, and size 3 diapers still. Our baby is growing up! I bought him his first bathing suit and sunglasses for our trip in May plus he has a cute pair of swim trunks that my sister's boys wore when they were little and a super cute sun hat/fedora that my mom got him. I can't wait to get this buddy dressed up and out on the beach!

Left Hand "wave" Position:

I noticed this month that Ryan almost always has his left hand up in the wave position. It is about the cutest thing I've seen. It's almost like he's using it to balance or like he doesn't know what else to do with it so he just holds it up there. But I hope he does it for a while longer because I think it's so cute!

This was also Ryan's first bath with a buddy! Henry is one year older than Ryan. It was so fun to watch the two of them in the tub together!

Kissing:

Now every time we get to the last page of the Peek-a-boo, I love you! book with the mirror, Ryan leans in and kisses himself. Every time. It is so stinkin' cute! There have been a handful of time where he'll kiss babies in his two baby picture books, and he has also leaned in to kiss his buddy Reynolds and has even done it twice to me. Granted, I think he was trying to let me know he was reading for a meal, but I like to think he knew exactly what he was doing when he laid one of me. :)

Sleeping:

Wouldn't you know this boo has started sleeping on his back?! I laugh as I think about how much he disliked sleeping on his back and how he made it clear he wanted to be a tummy sleeper early on. He really sleeps all over the place though and moves into at least 1,017 different positions each night. Which, I will admit, he totally gets from me. 

Another thing he has started doing lately is laying his head on my shoulder when he gets sleepy, which is about my favorite thing in the world. Melt. I have visions of him doing that on the airplane in a month. I figure if I envision it that way, maybe it will actually happen. ;) 

He still wakes up once in the middle of the night to eat, anywhere between 12:45-4:45. It's crazy that the window is that broad, and I used to worry when I would hear him before 1am, but the boy seems to know what he needs and that one meal is all he's asking for when he's healthy and not teething (whew we had some tough teething nights this month- poor buddy... he even came in the bed with me one night at my moms when Matt was out of town. I had been up so much with him that putting him next to me seemed like the way for both of us to get the most sleep. Not gonna lie, I would do that every night if I could- those few hours of sleepy snuggles were so sweet!) I'm thankful that he's such a quick eater and goes right back down without a fuss. Oh and I also started using the Pamper's Baby Dry diapers this month and now don't even have to change his diaper during that middle of the night feed! Yes, loving those diapers and those sweet moments with my buddy.

New foods:

goat cheese

peaches

clementine

raspberries

blackberries

kiwi

lemon

lime

carrots

asparagus

cucumber

garlic pickle

brussel sprouts

peas

veggie straws

TJ's green bean chips

chicken

plain yogurt

unsweetened apple sauce

popsicle (he had a couple tastes of Matt's and boy did he love it!)

drinking water from Matt's glass- he thought he big stuff ;)

I also let him taste what we're eating like Souper Jenny's vegetable lasagna soup, my chicken enchiladas, and pizza crust (because it bought us a good 15 minutes at the restaurant after his meal was complete)

(brussel sprouts)

(goat cheese)

(garlic pickle)

Here are some other pictures from the past month!

My cooking buddy :)

Fun times at Aunt Gretchen's!

selfie ;)

I love this sleepy morning pic :)

morning floor time with Papa!

Play dates and mall dates with Reynolds and Teagan!

Sleeping in the car and on walks:

Road tripping to Nonna and Papa's!

One of our tough teething nights- sweet buddy wanted to be curled up in my arms. This was the night that he ended up in bed with me.

Three friends in the mirror!

Daddy's home from his trip!

:)

Reading with his sweet cousins

And checking out books at Aunt Karen's!

A coooold morning for tennis!

Ryan and Tally Pics:

And the winner of the March Favorite Finds Giveaway was Ashley Perez!
Congratulations, Ashley!