8 Months Old

Age: 8 months

Approximate height and weight: TBD

Milestones:

• Crawling like a pro, and when he really wants something, extremely fast. Sometimes, he'll take off so suddenly that he can't get traction and almost flops onto his belly.
• Pulling himself up with ease... on everything, his favorite places including Mommy and Daddy, the baby fence, his activity table, his walker, folding chairs, plastic tubs, and occasionally his crib bars.
• Standing independently for a few seconds at a time.
• Taking a few wobbly steps with the aid of his walker and lots of cheering from Mommy and Daddy.
• Understanding more complex ideas like lifting the flaps in his "peek-a-boo" book to see the images underneath and trying to put blocks on top of towers I build (his coordination isn't quite there yet).
• Seeming to understand "mommy," "daddy," "cat," "want to be picked up?," and "nursie/baba."
• Lifting his arms to be picked up. We call it "big arms."
• Eating solids twice a day (the amount he eats at each feeding varies based on his mood and attention span...) and enjoying finger foods! Since the finger foods we give him are fast-dissolving, they break and get all over him. His yogurt bites are round and stick to his fingers and clothes like little buttons lol. Regarding solids, he prefers to have his spoon dipped in the food and putting it in his mouth himself.
• Dancing his little heart out to all music, singing, tapping, etc. He's a big fan of the "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin haha.
• Curiosity about different textures, gravity, and the way objects function.

Likes: Dancing (sometimes headbanging lol) to all types of music, eating finger foods like yogurt bites and rice rusks, flipping through books on his own and "reading" them by babbling, working on standing and walking independently, playing games that involve tickling or loud noises like "KA-BOOOOM," and getting to do things that make him feel more independent like holding a spoon or turning off and on the light switch.

Dislikes: It's still a challenge getting him to enjoy being a other people's homes. It's bizarre since he gets super excited about exploring other areas of our apartment besides his play area. He gets so nervous and overwhelmed by all of the new faces and sights and it takes him at least a good 30 minutes to get acclimated to a new place. A work in progress! He's still not a huge fan of straight veggies, but enjoys them mixed with apples or pears. He's also not a fan of me taking my phone a way when he manages to grab it, the cats running away when he chases them, and crawling on hardwood floors.

Memory: I'll never forget tripping while holding BB! I was stepping over the baby fence and my second foot didn't quite make it over the top. We went crashing down but thankfully the fence, my knee, and my elbow helped break our fall. BB's head flopped a little but I had a good grasp on him... however, we were both scared to death! What's even worse was just over 24 hours later, I fell over the same fence backwards! BB was safe on my chest, but I couldn't help but worry that I might have broken him. He's fine, but the incidents were definitely a sign that I need to slow down, so now I'm working on pacing myself and not letting my mind be in a million places at once.

Mommy and Daddy: Between the falls and our car stalling out, we've had some bad luck lately, but it's showing us the importance of being there for each other during the difficult times. We're having so much fun watching BB learn and grow, slowing taking on more and more of our personality quirks and physical traits.