Grady at Eight Months

Size: Around 19 pounds. Starting to wear 12-month clothes, and even a couple 18-month shirts!

Personality: Still loves to interact with people and animals. Even if he's a bit tired or cranky, a trip to Target or church will perk him right up.

Stranger anxiety is starting to show up a little, though. Once in a while he'll screw up his face and burrow into Mommy's shoulder.

Grady is also learning how to voice his frustration. If I stop blowing bubbles or come to the end of his favorite book (I Love You Through and Through), he squawks piercingly. We are trying to work on the "more" sign to save on our eardrums!

Talking: He's now mixing his syllables and says strings of different sounds during the same conversation. Occasionally a "dah-wah" will come out--perhaps he's asking for Auntie Darla? :-)

Eating: Anything and everything (within reason)! This month's favorites include pears, tuna, and hummus. If he sees you eating something different than what's on his high chair tray, watch out! He'll voice a loud protest. We're going to have to start eating the "off-limits" food (i.e. ice cream) after he goes to bed.

Moving: He still loves to jump. This month he learned how to lower himself from a sitting to tummy position without bumping his head on the floor. He's also starting to rock back and forth from hands to knees and do those "pre-crawl" push ups.

He also loves to drum (a.k.a. hit!) his hands on everything these days.

Favorite activities (besides the tried-and-true faves, which remain the same): feeding the ducks at Bay Point Park, watching his hands furl and unfurl, waving (a new trick!), playing peek-a-boo (he whips the blanket off as fast as he can and then laughs hysterically), grabbing glasses off your face and laughing, knocking over block towers, cross-country skiing in the Ergo.

Least-favorite activities: fingernail clipping, succumbing to sleep.

Sleeping: About the same as last month. I'm so happy to finally have a napper! Even though his naps aren't aren't long, they are better than the tiny catnaps he used to take.

Other changes: He added two teeth to the collection this month. Now he has two big ones in the middle bottom and two poking through on the top sides.

He is also figuring out how much fun it is to swipe food off his high chair tray and watch it fall to the floor. We are in for some fun times this month!