8 Months

Dear Evan,

You turned eight months old yesterday. Un-stinking-believable.

As with every month since you started daycare, you spent most of this month sick. It's really getting old for all of us, Buddy. This month, the doctor gave us a nebulizer so we could give you breathing treatments at home, morning and night. You did not like the nebulizer but you eventually accepted it. It was during nebulizing that we learned something funny about you. We (and by "we", I mean Dad because he was the nebulizing king!) always ended up giving you your treatment around 7:30. We're also in the habit of watching Family Fued at 7:30. We noticed that you'd get fussy during the commercials but calm down when the show came back on. Buddy, you love Steve Harvey. We ended up playing the Family Fued YouTube Channel on the TV for you every time you needed a breathing treatment. Whatever works, right?

"Aw, Steve. You so funny!" 

You have become so mobile this month. You're not crawling yet, but you've gotten quite directional in your rolling. You're pretty good at getting up on your hands and knees, sometimes hands and feet, but you haven't quite figured how to start moving. It should be any day now.

Motion Shot

Concentration

Like spread legs push ups

You now have five teeth with one more on the way. Thanks to your cold(s) and teething, we've all been pretty low on sleep lately. We've tried pain medications, icy chew toys, numbing gels, you name it. The only thing that seems to make you happy when you're uncomfortable in the middle of the night is Mommy. It sucks for me, but I kinda don't blame you. I'm pretty awesome.

We're still having a good time introducing new foods. You're eating more and more table foods lately. I love to watch you enjoy a new food...or the faces you make when you don't enjoy it. We've been attempting the dissolvable puffs with you for quite a while. You do not like them at all. I was telling a friend about this and she suggested just plain Cheerios instead. My response was, "Yeah, maybe. We'll give it a try." But what I was thinking was, "That's the most idiotic suggestion ever! The puffs are sweet and taste like apples and bananas! If he doesn't like those, there's no way he likes Cheerios!" As it turns out, occasionally the other mommies know a thing or two.

Deliciously sweet, dissolvable puffs

Cheerios make you cheery! 

Celery: delicious and good for teething

You're chattering away pretty much anytime you're awake. "Mamama... Dadada..." You smile at us like you know that those words have something to do with us. Yet, you can't quite figure out what that something is. Also, your dad thinks I'm a crazy, but I swear you've said "Laika" twice, possibly more.

First, you were in your exersaucer while I was trying to get Laika to behave. I was saying, "Laika, no! Laika, get in your bed! Laika, lay down!", and then from across the room, clear as day, you said "Laika!" Of course, I was the only witness so your dad doesn't believe it.

And then, you were rolling around in the living room while Laika was sitting in the kitchen. You, very obviously, looked into the kitchen and said her name. Your dad won't agree, but I'm going on the record that your first word (that you actually assigned to something) was Laika.

Hugs (next was tastes- blah)

A favorite pastime for the two of you

You're growing so big and learning so many new things every single day. It's so easy for me to get caught up in what a big boy you're becoming:

I sometimes have to remind myself that you're still a baby: 

I love you, Buddy.

Mmmmmom

Sunny Days

Evan and I enjoyed the mid-80s temperatures today by cutting out of work/daycare early and making a trip to Cox Arboretum. The fields of daffodils and many of the trees were in bloom.

He had a good time sitting in the shade and pulling at the grass. 

Is this what he thinks we look like when we chew?

David posted it on Facebook, but I'll put here for posterity too.

New Chair

Catchin' some rays. If you look closely, you can see two tiny front teeth. 

Cantaloupe! Yum! 

"What you lookin' at, man? Why don't you take a picture?" 

He Doesn't Know His Own Strength

Evan has decided to play with his toys in alternative ways.

This is called the Farmhouse Full Nelson Bodyslam.

And this one is the Playmat Facebuster Flipjack. 

We're working on his WWE alias. Evan the Destroyer?

And this is why I showered on the back porch at 7 months pregnant

I can't even guess how many times I said, "I will not bath my kid in this skanky pink bathtub!"

So, in the months leading up to Evan's birth, we remodeled the bathroom. I didn't want anything extravagant. We don't have an extravagant bathroom kind of house. I love our bathroom now. It's simple and it doesn't have 50 years worth of other people's grime between the cracks anymore.

During the remodel, which I don't think I ever actually wrote about on here, I got so desperate for something resembling a real shower that I took buckets of warm water out on the back porch on a moonless night and "showered" in a bikini. The tub was the first thing to go back in so I also took a bath with no drywall on the walls, and just a piece of plywood on the floor.

Tonight, though, it was all worth it. Evan took his first big boy bath in the bathtub. He's been really filling up the baby bath lately and it since he can sit pretty reliably, I figured it was time. He had so. much. fun. Splish, splash, splish, splash. He yelled and splashed and laughed.

I can't wait for bath time tomorrow.

Just Some Things

Evan's starting to learn about cause and effect. For example, when he opens the door on his farm toy, it says "Peek-a-boo! I see you!", which he does over and over and over...and over and over...and over.

Or, if he doesn't want to eat the puff I put on the table in front of him, he can drop it over the side of his chair and I'll leave him alone about it. Of course, to his dismay, I just continue to put new puffs in front of him. There are 73 of those things in one serving; if he thinks throwing a couple on the floor is going to make me stop, he's quite wrong.

It's really cool to see him learn these things... even if they are maddening at times.


We've been having a lot of fun at dinnertime. The other day, David burped which made Evan smile. Then, Evan burped which made David laugh. I think that was just a glimpse of what I'm in for with those two.


Last week at Buffalo Wild Wings, we gave Evan a celery stick to play with (good parenting, right?). To our surprise, he actually started chewing on it and ended up eating quite a bit of it. So, we decided to try some eat-it-yourself things at home. Like carrots:

And bananas:

Never mind that last picture. He really enjoyed both but in both cases (the carrot was cooked but not cooked to mushy) he was able to get big hunks off which freaked me out and caused me to immediately take it away. I need to study up on baby heimlich a little before I'm ready for that!


And last, but not least, this:

Best Friends Forever