8 months

January 8, 2012

Dear Callen,

You are eight months today! You have made it through two-thirds of your first year of life. The year of your birth is over and it makes me a little sad. You are so big. When I hold you you no longer seem like a little baby. Well, you are the size of some 18 month olds so that explains a lot. You are developing a huge personality and like things your way.

Here are some things that are unique to your eighth month of life:

You have started throwing temper tantrums. They last only seconds but they have begun.
The majority of your diet is baby food which you eat three meals a day in your highchair. You also have about five bottles a day but are starting to seem less interested in the formula. Your meals are accompanied with cheese, Cheerios, yogurt, or bread because one container of baby food is not enough. You eat basically anything mom and dad are eating (except milk, anything with peanuts, and honey, of course). I really try to feed you only healthy foods but you have tried In-N-Out fries, Dr. Pepper, and any thing else Grandpa Tucker tries to sneak into your mouth that I don't catch.
You make a lot of funny faces when eating. How the food tastes is clearly portrayed through all your facial expressions.
You started using a sippy cup and know exactly how to use it. You grab the handles and tip it back. What a pro.
You haven't mastered it yet but I can see you are beginning to use your thumb and pointer finger to pick things up.
Your hair is growing in so much and as it is getting longer it is beginning to curl.
You love watching baby Einstein on my laptop. You smile and laugh when you hear the opening song and throughout the show.
You learned to drink out of a straw!! When we go out to eat you get your own cup and straw so you don't hog ours.
You are an expert walker while holding onto things. You can walk all the way across the house from the coffee table, to the couch, to the ottoman, to the kitchen table, to someones leg, and onto whatever else you can reach. You scale across doors and cupboards, transferring between objects is now a simple task for you. You are starting to stand on own for a few seconds at a time. Dr. Tolba did say he wouldn't be surprised if you walked before you crawled and it looks like it is going to happen that way.
You love watching other babies and other young toddlers.
You love your new car seat from Santa. You look so big in it and love being able to see what's going on.
You graduated to a new diaper size! You now wear a size 4.
You are a social butterfly. You love getting out of the house and going places. You will stare at someone until they look at you and just smile back  at them. You're definitely a performer.
I am so thankful you are a very happy baby, always smiling. You are laughing more now, instead of trying to hold the laughs in. When I laugh, you laugh. Its adorable.
You love Costco. You love sitting in the cart, kicking your legs, watching the ceiling fans, smiling at the people.
You went to the zoo for the first time. You love all the animals.
You experienced your first Christmas! You also sat on Santa's lap for the first time. The holidays were much more fun having you here with us.
When you want something or someone you stick out your arm and open and close your fist in their direction.
In the last couple of day you have begun talking so much more. You go on and on like you are really trying to say something. You can yell, trying to get someone's attention or when you get really excited about something. You have also started repeating sounds we make.
You are now wearing size twelve month clothes.
Your favorite room in the house is still the laundry room.
You are becoming a mama's boy. And I secretly love it.

I can not wait to see what lays in store for your next month!

I love you tons and tons,

Mom (and Dad too, of course)