8 months old
I know I start every monthly update with the same comment, but here it goes - Gabriel, you've grown so much!! My brain is fried from moving, so I'm simply going to brainstorm a bulleted list here:
- Still constantly pulling yourself up to a stand, only now you don't need much support to do so. Even something a few inches off the ground gives you enough of a boost. And, lately, you been standing for a few seconds all by yourself. The first time was at B&N, when you let go of the table to transfer a train from one hand to the other. You also prefer to stand when you eat...making it a much messier process.
- Food! Lately, you've even pushed your mama away in favor of solid food. :-( You LOVE to eat. So far, you've eaten: avocado, scrambled eggs, chicken, beef, beans, rice, broccoli, sweet potatoes, hummus, french fries, potatoes, all kinds of fruits (your favorites seems to be grapes, peaches and mangos), and yogurt, You consistently eat breakfast and dinner, and snack on whatever we are eating throughout the day.
- Your favorite snack is the O cereal (toasted oats in the bulk section, but we still call them 'cheeri-os') As a matter of fact, for a while the word 'cheeri-os' was a favorite around here; he would fall into hysterical fits of laughter when we said it.
- You want to feed yourself, and are working on the pincher grip. If we give you one O cereal at a time, you will carefully put your thumb and forefinger around it in a perfect pincer grip. Any more than one, though, and you simply paw them up and try to shove as many as you can into your mouth! I'm also impressed with your aim using a spoon - your miss percentage is about 50 percent - not bad!
- Your favorite play activity is to crawl around seeing what you haven't discovered yet. You've found exiting things so far - plastic bags, sharp objects, pebbles, bugs, electric wires, and cats with claws. You next favorite activity is turning all your toys upside down or pushing them 'back and forth' to see what they do. Finally, you are starting to play 'hide and seek'...we'll hide behind something and say 'come find me,' and you'll squeal with delight as you make a beeline towards where you last saw us.
- Your language over all hasn't increased since last month, but you are using your voice more purposefully now. You've also signed 'all done' a couple of times now.
- Your personality is blossoming, and it's so much fun to get to know you! You are such an easy-going kiddo, and love to laugh. You also do a good job of calming yourself down when you get upset. And if you can't, it usually just takes a little baba/mama love to help. As long as your not overtired, we can just look into your eyes and talk or sing softly and you'll calm right down. It's so very sweet to see you take a little breath, relax, and sometimes even break out into a smile. ('The ants go marching' song is a surefire winner in this regard.)
- You love music! You will stare longingly at the stereo until we turn it on. A few weeks ago at graduation, you went into total bliss when the live band started to play - smiling and dancing and flipping out with joy. Baba recently showed you how to play the drums at home.
- Sleep is getting much much better. You actually prefer to sleep in your co-sleeper instead of in the bed with mama and baba. You still prefer to wake up every two hour and be fed, but then you want mama to put you back in your own space. I think you like to stretch out!




