Liam: 8 months

Weight:  18 pounds 8 ounces (with clothes on)

*This hasn't changed since last month, we go back to the doctor at 9 months.

Clothes: You are still in 9 month clothes for everything.  I'm getting kind of sick of these clothes. These are the clothes you have been in the longest it seems. I put away of all your 6 month clothes in your closet, and I took out your 12-24 month clothes.  The 12 month clothes are just waiting patiently to be washed. We may have to move you up a size in your PJs soon.

Diapers Size 3

Health: For about a week you were tugging on your ear.  I called the doctor and they said as long as there was no fever and you were sleeping well to just monitor it.  They noticed at daycare and there was a night or two where you woke up crying. I took you in and they said your ears were perfect. We concluded that maybe you just have a lucky ear! While we were at the doctors they did an exam and discovered that you have tonsillitis. Say what? Apparently kids can't get strep under the age of 2, so tonsillitis it is.  They said they couldn't give you any medicine for it, and the only concern they had was your eating habits. Well - your eating is something we never have to worry about. You LOVE eating. You caught a cold your last week. We didn't want to go to the doctor, but I finally took you in when your cough sounded like you were wheezing. While there we discovered that you now had an ear infection. They gave you some antibiotics and you started feeling better a few days later.  

Diet: You are the BEST eater. I can't believe you are still the same kid who hated eating solids back in January. As soon as I start making your food you kick your legs and bounce up and down. If I have to let your food cool down, forget it! You freak out and cry and cry until it's time to eat. As soon as we put you in the high chair you lean forward with your mouth open. If we are too slow you cry.  You have been introduced to cauliflower, mango, green apples, peaches, kiwi, and ground turkey this month. We recently started feeding you three times a day.  You eat breakfast at home (fruit/oatmeal), eat lunch at daycare (fruit/veggie/little oatmeal), and eat dinner at home (veggie/meat).

You still take 3 6 ounce bottles at daycare.  We are all working together to try and get you to drop a bottle at daycare.  I usually miss you by 15 minutes in the afternoons, so we are almost there! You are still mostly breastfed. I usually give you about 4 bottles of formula a week. I'm so happy I'm still able to pump at work and give you most of what you need. 

Sleep: You typically take 3 naps a day. You still need your night time snooze between 5:00-6:00.  I can't wait for the summer.  The first thing I'm going to do is get your butt on a schedule! I hate not knowing when you are going to fall asleep. Pretty much whatever you say goes! You give us tired cues and we are really good at reading them now. 

Your dad and I needed lots of help at night.  You were constantly waking up.  Luckily, you have a pretty sweet dad and he took care of you a LOT! At the beginning of the month I would find you both snoozing on the couch upstairs.  You just hated sleeping in your crib! One night we decided this had to stop. So we let you cry it out.  I never wanted to do this! I was totally against it. You cried for 20 minutes. We went upstairs to console you and then you cried for another 30 minutes. We caved, and you got to sleep with your dad on the couch upstairs. We did some reading and had a plan for the next night.  We let you cry for 5 minutes. Then went upstairs and calmed you down (we didn't take you out of your crib), and then let you cry for 10 minutes.  In the middle of your crying you flipped on your belly and fell asleep. FOR THE NIGHT! What?? The next night you flipped on your belly again and slept FOR THE NIGHT. This was a miracle. We hadn't slept through the night for a month. 

Now you sleep on your belly.  We still stick to your bedtime routine of a bath/pjs/nurse/etc. and then you come downstairs and play or we stay up in your room and read some books. We no longer try and put you to bed at 7:00, that time just doesn't work for you.  You typically go to bed between 8:00-9:30. It just depends on the day. Would I like you to go to bed earlier? Yes! Do I enjoy sleeping through the night more? You bet!  Of course, there are nights you still wake up but we try really hard to stick to our 5/10/15 minute rule.  You typically don't make it past the 10 minute cry.

We try really hard to be at home around your bedtime.  If we aren't it ruins the whole night. You are a routine kid, and that's quite alright with me!

Likes: toys with music, exersaucer (you now run circles around it), paci, being tickled, playing peek-a-boo, being thrown up in the air, hanging upside down, eating, baths, walks 

Dislikes: getting your nose sucked out, shirts getting stuck on your face when you are getting dressed, being hungry

Milestones: At the beginning of this month you had your first hair cut. We went to a kid's salon and let's just say it may have been her first day! You are getting really good at pulling yourself up. We don't have many kid sized furniture so you typically just do it on your dad and I. You will pull yourself up on your train table and have stood there on your own a few times. You are starting to lunge forward and look like you are ready to start crawling. You cut your first tooth two days before your 8 month. This may have explained why you were so cranky in Ohio. You started sitting in the grocery cart while shopping (you love it!). I bought you a blankie this month.  I had one growing up, so naturally you will too! You seem to like  it.  I put it over your face and play peek-a-boo with you.  You now pull the blanket over your head.  It is super cute! I'm trying to teach you to clap and wave bye-bye but we haven't got the hang of it quite yet. You haven't stood up in your crib yet, but just to be safe we lowered your crib this month.

Personality: You are very interested in everything going on around you. You are very observant!! There were two instances this month where we saw people speaking another language.  Your eyes were glued on them the whole time. KC is probably your favorite thing to watch.  Your eyes follow her around.  You have started to explore her ears, paws, and even her mouth this month.  She is a good girl and lets you explore! When we go on a walk you are perfectly happy just watching the world go by.  You sit up and twist your ankles the whole walk. We say you are observant like your momma and get excited like your daddy. It's so fun watching you explore toys.  Lately, you have been really into books. You don't like when people read them, you just want to look at them. You also really enjoy musical toys. You flip them over and are very curious how the sound works.

Visitors: Renee, we also went to Ohio to visit some of your mom's family and friends