Happy 8 month Birthday!!!

Happy 8 month birthday (yesterday) Brooks!!!

At 8 months you
* are more fun then ever
* keep mommy very busy- I don't get to blog nearly as much but we have fun
* take 2 naps a day (90 min morning nap, 75 min afternoon on a great day)
* still wake up twice a night at great peril to Mommy's sanity
* sit fantastically on your own, then plunge into a stomach position
* push up on your hands (not just your arms)- getting ready to crawl maybe?
* get very frustrated/angry at your lack of mobility and let us know
* say 'Hey' to Mommy and Daddy as a way of greeting us
* think the dog's tail is a toy much to her horror
* love everything that you can't have- USB cords, laptop, telephone, remote, etc
* are eating a variety of finger foods in addition to baby food. You are still hit or miss on how much you eat per day- some days I can barely get a jar of baby food in you, some days you down 4 jars
* find yourself in the mirror to be fantastically amusing, and give yourself slobbery kisses
* love hanging upside down- love, love, love it.
* really like to make things rattle/jingle/etc in your hand
* stand on your own holding onto a table or the couch (without mommy or daddy's help)
* fall asleep on your own in your crib
* are still nursing (go us!)
* are in your big boy carseat (mommy misses the infant carrier b/c now she can't bring you in the house still asleep)
* sit in high chairs and shopping carts when we go out
* laugh like a loon at everything
*are very ticklish- especially in your pits and on your feet
*shriek- all.the.time. You are a crazy man with shrieking- i LOVE it
* are starting to try to pull yourself up on things. You have not mastered it, but you are getting there. Gymboree sure will help with that!
*are a complete wiggle worm. You can no longer be propped up sitting on the couch, a chair, your changing table, anywhere- you will head dive forward from wherever you are.
*are impossible to get dressed (see above)


How much have you grown? AKA- the case of the shrinking chair & monkey
5 days old


8 months:



1 Month:





And of course- this month's chair picture (above) was not easily obtained- although it may be my fave one yet because of how happy he looks to be 8 months and how he is showing us how big he is. It did take a lot of picture taking to get it.

Brooks was more interested in eating the monkey.


Was laughing so hard he was falling over


You can tell I take a lot of pics of him- he hams it up for the camera!



Many shots had the monkey fallen over b/c he kept grabbing it... while cute, not good for comparison!



And- as stated before- he tries to forward climb out of everything. Picture taking was difficult b/c he kept trying to get off the chair.

Happy Days!!

Happy 17th Birthday Uncle Griff!
Happy 90th Birthday Great Great Uncle George!
Happy Valentines Day!

Well it has been quite a busy week around here- we were snowed in like you would not believe. We had 28" of snow on 2/6 and an additional 18" of snow on 2/9-10. My car was absolutely stuck, Septa wasn't running, Eric's office was closed Wed & Thurs, there was no mail- it has been nuts. You may also notice that it is further between blog posts lately. That is a testament to this child and how busy he is keeping me. He is becoming quite the active little guy and it is hard to get on here sometimes.

On Monday 2/8- between the 2 storms- Brooks and I drove up to North Jersey to celebrate Uncle Griff's birthday. Beware drivers- he is now on the road! We were supposed to go Saturday, his actual birthday, but that was the 28"er day so it was postponed. It was nice also b/c Aunt Ali & Nana were able to find some fleece outfits for B- I still can't believe it took the 3 of us and prob 20 stores to get him 4 pjs.




Wed & Thurs were like a mini vacation b/c Eric was home all day with us- we didn't take him out in this snow like we did last time because it was icy, and well- we got pictures with the 28", why torture him any more.

Here is how Philly looked when it was all done:





We cleared out of the snow in time to go up to North Jersey again for my mom's Uncle George's 90th birthday party. It was a beautiful party and highly entertaining. (I think an 80 year old gave him a lap dance). It was also fun to dress B up all nice












HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!



And in other big news this week. B is not crawling- but this week he started pushing up on his hands (not just his forearms)... this is HUGE and a big step towards mobility. I am a little scared.


And him and Ming playing together at his table

Sleep

I am giving up on sleep training- sort of.
We are now over a month in and it has worked in some ways and failed in others.

The good-
I can now put B down for the night awake and he will chat himself to sleep.
When he wakes for feeding I can put him down awake and he goes to sleep on his own.
I hear him cry out sometimes and within 5 minutes of random cries- he is back asleep.

So he definitely learned something

The Bad-
My goal was to get him to 1 feeding a night, around 4 am. This failed miserable. I tried doing CIO for the 1-2am wakeup and he would cry for over an hour.

So now I am feeding him twice (1:30 & 4:30). I am up for a total of 15-20 minutes each time and he goes right back down.

I guess he just was not ready to drop a 2nd feeding. I am torn because the ped said he should be, books say he should be down to 1, but I just can't do it. I can't let him cry thinking he is hungry. I want to sleep- and feeding him twice quickly is better for both of us getting sleep than letting him cry through one feeding and then feeding him later.

I don't know if this counts as success or failure- but the attempt didn't work. Now I am just hoping he drops a feeding on his own. When he was about 3 mos old we were on the same schedule we are on now. He gradually woke later and later and was feeding once around 3, then 4, and then even 5 or 6. Hopefully if we keep on this path he will do that again. My big goal is to start getting him to really eat more during the day. I don't know if it is because I nurse on demand that he takes snacks rather than full feeds- I am going to try to space out my nursing and see if that helps. Solids are hit or miss- some days he eats only 2 oz, somedays up to 8. The nights don't seem to correlate to anything in regards to solids. So- here's hoping he adjusts on his own. In my heart I think he learned what he needed to from CIO. And unless I go hardcore and drop all feedings, this is the best it is going to be for now. I feel a bit like a failure, and I feel bad for him and that we did so many nights of crying.
At least we are both getting a little more sleep this way.

Snowed in...

Philadelphia got 28.5 inches of snow yesterday- WOW!!!

Fortunately we had good leftovers from book club and it was a weekend, so we lit a fire and enjoyed the day :) I would like to wish my dear friend Mary a very happy baby shower- I just could not get there today :(. I love you and will shower you myself soon :)

This post is basically just pictures of us and the snow

P here is what we opened the door to. Keep in mind the door is 2 steps up!





I stepped outside- yes the snow is up to my mid thigh!




Brooks was not very into making snow angels...





After we played in our yard, B took a nap and then the family (Ming included!) went to the park. We do not have a sled or tube for Brooks yet, so we brought his ducky bath tub to use. Also- he is in the coat we bought him for next year (size 12-24) so is quite stiff armed and it is a little big.





Ming LOVES running laps in the snow!!











And today- Sunday- we played out back again. He enjoyed it for a little bit.






And then looked tortured...