Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Eight Months




Dear Owen,

Each month has been awesome but there is something so magical about a baby's first Christmas and your eighth month with us was truly special.  Celebrating the holidays coincided with so many of your biggest milestones to date.  The first week of the month, you started to babble in earnest.  You have so much to say and I love it when you talk.  Sometimes it's almost like you are shy to speak and you wait until you think that no one is paying attention to you to have a little conversation with yourself.  Your biggest sounds so far have been ba-ba-ba, da-da-da, blah-blah, ra-ra and la-la (and variations of all of the above).  We love your little voice and you get very vocal at meal times.  You even growl like a little bear.



You are working so hard on mobility.  You started by really pushing up onto all fours and doing a lot of rocking and by the end of the month, you have mastered army crawling.  You mostly only like to crawl when you are going for something fun that you shouldn't have like the curtains or a cell phone.  You've taken a few steps toward really crawling with your bottom in the air but you get frustrated pretty easily.



You have two teeth!  They are coming in on the bottom.  Your ear infection that would not die was still going on and you started having a pretty upset stomach at the same time.  I just assumed that it was related to the ear infection and/or antibiotics but then your dad found two teeth right around the time that your tummy got better.  Unfortunately, you make it pretty hard to get any pictures with said teeth, so you'll just have to trust me that they are in there.




We had the "Icemageddon" storm here in Dallas.  It meant that we had Daddy home for an extra day that week and you got to go out and "sit" in the snow/ice for a few minutes.  We were lucky to have power throughout the weekend since so many people in our neighborhood did not.  The snow and ice didn't melt for almost five days!  The first night of the storm was my birthday so you were left with a babysitter (that wasn't Mimzy) for the first time.  Miss Courtney came to watch you while we enjoyed my fancy birthday dinner out.  


You are still enjoying meals and we try to eat at least two a day with you.  Greek Yogurt is still probably your most favorite food but you continue to try just about everything we give you.  Your teeth are seeming to help you make progress with eating but you're also starting to master the pincer grip and getting better at putting food in your mouth.  Other than yogurt you love: broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, sweet potato fries, carrots, meatballs, and bread of any kind.  You got to eat at some special restaurants for Christmas and birthday occasions.  We went to LARK on the Park with the Smiths for my birthday, Savor with your grandparents at Christmas and Tillman's Roadhouse to celebrate Mimzy's birthday.  You were so well behaved at each place.  You even got to sit at the chef's table at Savor.  Little man, you are special!  Not even eight months old and you've already enjoyed some very fine dining.


Christmas was so fun!  Your Papa arrived on Monday morning and Grandpa River and Grandma Bean got here shortly after.  You sat in church with us for the Christmas Eve family service and went up for the Children's Sermon for the very first time.  We had a bunch of people at the house for tamales and chili on Christmas Eve and you were great at the party until it was time to leave out cookies for Santa and go to bed.  Santa came to visit you and you were very blessed this Christmas with so many things.  We even started a little savings account for you for some of the money you've received.  Daddy made us a fantastic brisket and we had a great Christmas lunch with Mimzy and Papa.  Alli Rae and Gram arrived on the 26th and we just kept right on celebrating all weekend.  Among other things, you got tons of toys, an activity table to stand at, and a very special swing for the backyard.



It was a big month!  We had so much to celebrate for the holidays this year but most of it was related to you.  You are such a happy little man.  You charm everyone you meet no matter where we are.  Each month we see a little more of who you are and somehow you become even more lovable.  Your little voice is so funny and you have a special laugh noise and smiles for those of us who are around you the most.  It's pretty special, just like you are.



Love always,
Mommy



Stats and Milestones:

Height and Weight: close to 30 inches, right around 25 lbs. (measured at home)
Diaper Size:  size 5 (made the switch this month)
Clothing Size: 12 and 18 month (mostly 18s) and you have a couple of 2T things that fit

First fancy dinner out (LARK on the Park): 12/7
First dinner at the Chef's Table (Savor):  12/23
First Christmas (!): 12/25

You sleep from around 7-7 every night.  I can't remember the last time you woke up during the night.  You are drinking about 30-35 oz. a day and we started eating breakfast, lunch and dinner together this month.  You eat Cheerios, fruit and applesauce for breakfast and usually what we eat for lunch and dinner.  

You usually take two naps a day.  About 45 min-1 hour in the morning and about 1.5 hours in the afternoon.   

You are an army crawler and will move to get something you want, which is very rarely a toy.  You prefer cell phones, remotes and computers.  

Nicknames:  Owen Bear, Mr. Bear, Beary-Boo, Mr. O, The Baby, Beary
Things you love:  food of all kinds but especially greek yogurt and Ritz crackers; your swing; having someone help you stand up; your activity table; having family around to celebrate the holidays
Things you don't love:  diaper changes and getting dressed; when we don't feed you fast enough for your liking; being told no when you want to do silly things like pull on the curtains 




1 comment:

  1. His little arm rolls in the pool picture! AHHH!!! He is the cutest.

    ReplyDelete