The old joke about the first kid having a thousand pictures for every milestone and every subsequent kid having two is very true. The time is flying by and every day is a race to survive until bed. Unfortunately, the Pumpkin's blog is suffering greatly for it. I'll try to remember all the milestones Mr. Man hit in the last four months - there has been some major ones. He has changed so much since the last post and is growing into a precious and determined little guy. 1. First teeth - two on the bottom around 7 months. And drooling and chewing ever since. No more teeth have appeared but he is adorable with those first two!
2. Sitting up - happened during our family trip with my parents to San Diego around 8 months. Crawling happened shortly after that. Ever since he has been on the move, he has shown such will and determination (okay, and stubbornness). He loves being able to go, go, go and get into trouble. And he looooves being able to grab his brother's toys. The only thing that gives him greater pleasure in life than his brother is his brother's toys. The baby cage has gone back up and he hates being trapped in there by himself, even if we are in the same room. 3. Standing - this happened while he was staying at Nana's at the end of August around 9 months. He was so proud of himself and enjoys cruising the furniture but doesn't quite like to walk while someone is holding him up yet. He immediately plants his bottom down.
4. Sleeping - he's still sleeping through the night off and on. Mostly he wakes up for one bottle but he'll go to bed around 7:30 and sleep about 12 hours. He hasn't started sleeping in the bottom up position his brother favors. Every night when I go check on him, I never know what to expect, except that his crib will look like a college dorm room after a major party with him crashed out in a corner somewhere - legs and arms thrown about, blankie over the head, or sometimes just face planted like he did a belly flop in there. If I wasn't worried about him breathing, it would be hilarious.
5. Food - bottle is still best but he finally started baby food! It was delayed until about 8 months when he finally got interested and didn't act like the food was poison. He is also a fan of some finger foods and is working on chewing with his gums. He is not a fan of bibs and will pull them off immediately. 6. Trips - We have been on two airplane trips in the last few months. I was a nervous wreck both times but the Pumpkin did really well. He managed to fall asleep for a time on all trips and was really good despite being trapped on a lap for 2+ hours. He is a very good traveler overall. He only gets cranky when he is super hungry and has made numerous trips to Houston more pleasant than his brother did at the same age.
7. Personality - This is a big one that has really started to develop. He, of course, loves playing with toys, especially anything that looks good to chew on as well. He likes anything we don't want him to have and anything his brother is playing with. Don't leave him in the baby cage by himself because he will deafen the room with his cries. He is really starting to like being held and interacting with people. He will flirt unabashedly with anyone and flash that megawatt, mega-dimple smile at people who please him. He likes being the center of attention and getting to do new things. He seems pretty fearless - likes being thrown up in the air, tossed on the bed, and will brush off most rough treatment from his brother. And he is a strong little dude. Changing his diaper has turned into a wrestling match and trying to hold him when he wants down is challenging at the least. He is determined, focused and goal-oriented right now. I don't think calling him laid back is accurate - he is more of a force in the world than flowing with it. But he is good natured and happy for the most part. You can really see him trying to figure out how things work and his relationships with others. He loves talking, and loudly yelling when he's happy, and makes this strange squeaky inhalation sound when he's really happy (kinda like a cross between a balloon deflating and a donkey braying). It is so funny. He's also excellent at a ton of different sound effects. And just last week he developed The Look. He uses The Look when he is angry, frustrated or disappointed - basically, when he is told 'No' which is a lot. The Look was proceeded briefly by the lower lip sticking out even more and trembling until a full cry commenced but so many people started laughing at The Look, he has started to use it for comedic effect too.
