Dear Antonio,
Today you are 8 months old! Where is my little baby going?!? Some things about you now...
-You crawl all over the place. You especially like to crawl to somewhere that you can stand. You really want to crawl to the fireplace and stand, but we won't let you.
-Speaking of not letting you do something, you have a bit of a meltdown when we don't let you do something, such as crawl to the fireplace. You are very stubborn, and if you don't get your way, you get upset. You have thrown a couple all out fits where you throw yourself down and kick and scream. It's funny to me and daddy now, but I'm sure we won't find it funny for too much longer.
-You have a way of breathing through your nose really fast and making a funny face to go along with it. It's the most hilarious thing ever!
-You can hold your bottle by yourself, but you won't because you'd rather us do it for you. You'd prefer to rub your eyes, your hair, my hair, or my shirt while I hold the bottle.
-You only nurse when you first wake up in the morning. Any other time is out of the question. I hope you appreciate all the trouble I go through pumping and then putting it in a bottle and feeding it to you! I hate pumping!
-When we read your favorite book, Peekaboo Kisses, you kick your legs when you want me to turn the page. You also like to touch the animal fur in the book. Your favorite is the purple puppy. Your other favorite is the end of the story where you see yourself in the mirror. You always have a cheesy grin when you see yourself!
-Changing your diaper is a huge pain! So is getting you dressed. You roll over and try to crawl away. We have to distract you with toys to get anything done. I took some pictures of you tonight while Daddy was trying to dress you.
-You also like to roll over and stand up on the changing table. That's not safe, son! You really want to get the cross down that Halie's nana made you.
-You've gone through a whole month of swimming lessons and kick your feet and do much better in the water now.
-You are finally eating baby food! You eat oatmeal in the morning along with about a half a jar of fruit. Then at dinner you eat a half a jar of veggies. You even eat squash, which used to make you throw up. Being able to feed you some baby food at dinner has made it easier for me and Daddy to eat our dinner.
-Another thing you eat now is Gerber puffs. Bless those things! You love them! It's so funny to watch you gnaw on them. Anytime we are in the car and you start crying, I give you some puffs and you are happy.
-You are able to sit in a restaurant in a high chair and behave pretty well. You play with your toys and eat puffs while Daddy and I enjoy a meal.
-Today, you laid in our bed and held your own bottle while we got ready for church. It was really funny because Daddy was making the bed and put the covers over you. You looked like such a big boy laying on the pillow all covered up drinking your bottle, or as I call it sometimes, your baba.
-You seem to be getting some sign language. I think you kind of know what "milk" and "eat" are. We are starting to teach you "no no." That one has become very important with your crawling all over the place. "All done" is still a work in progress.
-You can walk along the furniture. You can also walk behind your toy that Melanie got you, but it goes a little too fast so we have to be there to spot you.
-You are a total monkey. You like to hang upside down. If we are holding you, you lean backwards so you are upside down. When you are on our lap in the couch you like if we let you hang upside down. You also like to spin in circles in our arms and to be tossed in the air.
-You are starting to talk a lot, but still no distinct sounds. I'm pulling for mama to be your first word, but I bet it will be dada. Actually, your favorite word seems to be grandma!
-You put everything in your mouth. If we take something away, we have to hide it because you will seek it out and put it back in. You especially like to put my cell phone in your mouth.
-Halie got you some easter eggs that look like sports balls and they are your new favorite toy. You like to crawl around while holding one in your hand.
-You are still a great sleeper at night and pretty much sleep 8-7:30ish everyday. When I lay you down at night, you just roll to your stomach and go right to sleep. You rarely cry. It's so awesome!
-You like to take a morning nap two hours after you get up. This has been making swimming lessons and church difficult because they are both two hours after you wake up. You take an afternoon nap around 2.
-Daddy and I both think you are going to walk sometime this month. Daddy wants you to, I'd rather you wait another month. I think you will be all over the place making messes when you start walking!
-Tonight at dinner, Daddy and I were eating at the table and you were crawling all over the kitchen and dining room. Daddy was saying how he can't believe that we get to have you for a son. He is always amazed that
we made you. He was saying how it used to be just us, and how we created such a pefect little human. He was going on about what a miracle you are. We are blessed to have you Antonio! We both love you so much!
Love,
Mommy
