More 8 Month Fun

Last night I only had the energy to post pictures. Now here is some more info on our growing boy!

He loves to stand! The child will be in a room full of toys, and he will spend 20 minutes standing and patting the coffee table while talking to you. Jon can now walk around the coffee table, transfer from the coffee table to the couch, and walk from one end of the dining room table to the other by holding on to the chairs. He is very proud of himself, often doing this with a big smile on his face. We play with blocks, rings, rattles, teething toys, stuffed animals, coasters, bits of dust on the floor. Uggh...Jon ate his first dust bunny on Sunday. It was disgusting, and I feel the need to compulsively swiffer now. Jon is much more of a mover and shaker than a cuddler. When we read books, he is usually standing or playing with something in his hands. His favorites seem to be "Quiet Loud" and "Noisy Kisses" because we make loud noises while reading them. This brings literal squeals of delight.

We are working on clapping, waving, and blowing kisses. He doesn't do them himself, but I think (maybe) he knows what they mean. At least he gets very excited when we start clapping. I'm also trying some signs, but I don't think the child has a clue what they mean. He much prefers to whine and grunt for his milk. I know it is a bit early, but the internet is full of these "oh yes, my 5 month old knows the signs for milk, more, and thank you" stories...blah, blah, blah. I don't have any books or DVDs, I just look up the signs online and start using them. There is probably a better way of introducing sign language, but I'm not willing to spend money on it.

Jon likes to pull hair. It is kind of his way of saying hello...although I am trying to nip this habit in the bud. He obviously pulls his father's hair, and we say "ouch" and frown while we pull his hand away to try to let him know it is a bad thing. Despite that, whenever he crawls up to a kid at story time or church, he goes straight for the hair. Usually the other kid doesn't mind, and we pull him off immediately with the accompanying ouch/frowny face. This morning, though, he pulled the hair of a girl who could talk. For the next half hour, she kept saying, "That baby pulled my hair!" Any ideas on how to teach an 8-month-old some social skills?

He's still eating solids twice a day along with two extra milk snacks. I keep thinking of adding a third meal of solids, but the kid is growing just fine, and our pediatrician said that he didn't need to start three meals until 9 months. So, I guess I'll wait. He likes all kinds of cereal, bananas, avocados, pears, apples, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, and peas. I bought some peaches and blueberries to prepare for him next. My baby food cookbook is in a box that has yet to be opened, so I'm not quite sure what I should be cooking next for him! I've started giving him small chunks of banana, and he does not really appreciate having to work to eat his food, but he is getting much better at chewing. I think at his 9-month check up, we should get the green light for cheese, yogurt, and more finger foods. I also haven't given him meat yet. I honestly can't stomach pureed meat, so I wanted to wait until I could give him shredded meat.

And last, but not least, he has a mouth full of teeth! The bottom center two came up in June, the top center two started a couple of weeks ago, and the two upper teeth outside of the center started this week. We're finally going to get professional pictures taken this week (last time we tried he was sick), and he will have a nice, toothy smile!

So that's what Jon is doing! Growing like a weed, as they say, and keeping us on our toes : )