Life Within the Cuckoo's Nest: Milestones: 8 Months Old

Oh Austin, how much you have grown! Last month you were our sweet baby who sat there contently playing with your toys, too lazy to really go anywhere unless you really really wanted to. And even then, you found it just as appealing to lay there and cry for someone to come pick you up rather than expend any energy of your own in crawling.

That was last month.

This month it seems like someone sprinkled adventure dust over you while you slept and you woke up a new man! You are everywhere! If I want to go to the bathroom I have to choose between leaving you alone for a minute and hoping you don't do too much damage, or locking you in the bathroom with me and going about the fun job of simultaneously trying to pee while keeping you out of the garbage, toilet bowl cleaner, etc. Thank goodness for hand sanitizer because the second I turn around to wash my hands, you are instantly in the toilet!

Getting into everything!

The word "NO" is a joke to you. I know you understand me because the second I say it you turn around and give me that mischievous smile, think about it for a moment, and then you go right back to what you were doing!

That mischievous face I'm talking about!

You love pulling all the DVDs off the bookcase, which isn't that big of a deal. Except for you insist on grabbing the DVD that's totally out of your reach, resulting in you falling, smacking your head on the corner of the bookcase, and crying like someone just shot you. We blocked off that bookcase with the Love-Sac which resulted in you finding the window sill and pulling on the blinds. I opened the blinds and allowed you to stand there looking out the window while I went about my business of doing dishes. Then I noticed you were chewing like there was something in your mouth. I went over to check on you and saw that you were chewing on the wall! You had chewed through the paint and the plaster, clear down to the metal and dry wall! I spent the next five minutes fighting you to get all that stuff out of your mouth and with the amount of struggle you put up, it must have tasted good! I closed the window, put you in front of your toys, and went back to my chores. Less than two minutes later you were right back up to the window eating the wall again! I couldn't help but laugh when I heard myself say, "Austin! Stop eating the walls!" It just sounded so ridiculous.

Pulling all the DVDs off the shelf

Look what you did to our brand new walls! Now I get to add painting to my to do list :(.

After that, I spent the day keeping you from turning the Playstation on and off, and tearing apart the cute decorative basket it sits on. Of course that went along with trying to keep you away from all the electrical cords. I love you kid, but I find myself getting excited for Dad to come home and give me a second of peace!

Getting my two second cuddle in :).

I keep telling myself I need to get up before you or Dad wake up so I can get ready for the day and perhaps even exercise. But that thought flies out the window by 4:00am when I fling myself back into bed after being up with you at least four times throughout the night. Last night it was literally every hour starting at midnight. Judging by the low grade fever and your sudden desire to chew everything like a puppy, we think you are teething.

Waiting for Dad to get home.

You have so much fun playing with your Daddy! He does fun things like make box-cars and pushes you around the house!

It is so funny to me that you love trying new food so much because just two months ago you wouldn't give anything but breast milk the time of day! You are supposed to continue breast feeding until you turn one but this is suddenly a huge struggle! You are way too interested in your surroundings and can't seem to sit still long enough to nurse! My milk supply is already starting to dwindle so I've got to make a change somewhere. You don't mind taking a bottle because it allows you to sit up and watch everything while you eat so I think I'm just going to have to start pumping all throughout the day and giving you bottles..... great :(. I hate pumping and it is especially annoying now that you are into everything and I can't pump longer than a minute without having to stop and go rescue you from whatever situation you have gotten yourself into! But I am determined to not give you formula so you better thank me someday!

I turned around for a second and you had gotten into the Edamame I was going to snack on! I laughed so hard because you had them all shoved in your mouth and they were scattered all around you!

We give you bits and pieces of our food when we eat (usually only mashed potatoes and bread) and you love it. I decided to give you Cheerios the day you chewed on the walls, hoping that would be a good alternative. It was an instant success! I bit them in half at first, making sure you could swallow them and now you are eating them whole. It is so cute watching you try to use your chubby fingers to pick them up and shove them in your mouth. You use both hands to grab one Cheerio and then try to fit both fists in your little mouth, which results in the Cheerio getting dropped in your lap without you noticing it haha. I get a kick out of watching you :). You also love Greek Yogurt more than anything else we have given you! I have been sharing it with you, but yesterday you ate the entire container by yourself!

Eating your Cheerios for the first time!

The weather has been perfect for taking walks and you are loving it! Besides hating the sun because it makes you sneeze and making me constantly shade your eyes, you sit contently while we push you around and look at all the beauty around you :).

Taking a walk around the neighborhood with Dad after work!

Soaking in the sunshine!

Here's a little photo dump of the past month:

You amazed me when you started pulling blocks one by one out of that bucket! I then put them back in and put the lid on and you proceeded to take the lid off and pull each block out again! You're too smart!