Here's what is happening with him at eight months:
~ Crawling. He actually started crawling just before he turned seven months but I didn't have time to write a post then due to being busy with school. Back then, he would only take a few "steps" before pausing to rest. Now, he can easily crawl from one end of the room to the other without pausing at all. In fact, he can go quite quickly if he's after something he really wants - especially Mom in another room or Sadie wherever she is. I believe that Sadie is why Matt started crawling to begin with. He figured out that it took less time to crawl to her than to roll to her. I also believe that when he starts to walk, it will be to get closer to that dog - he loves her.
~ Standing up. He started standing up on the foot rest in our living room shortly after he started crawling. Now, he uses all sorts of items to pull himself up into a standing position - couches, the kitchen chairs, people, toys, and he tries to use Sadie but she moves away and he falls on his bum.
~ Eating. The boy loves to eat. He's eating more solids and hasn't found a flavor he doesn't like yet. We feed him oatmeal in the morning and a fruit or veggie in the evening. He gets treats in the afternoon. For a couple weeks, I've been working with him on feeding himself the small treats and finally this past week he started doing it. It took him awhile to figure out what to do with the small yogurt bites/cereal once he picked it up, but now he learned how to pick it up in such a way as to make it easy to get into his mouth. He still isn't proficient at it but is getting better every day.
~ Playing. Matt loves to play with all his toys but his favorites right now are a musical toy radio, a fire truck that shoots little plastic balls, and blocks. He loves to knock over the towers we make using the blocks and he recently started throwing the balls. Steve really hopes he becomes a left-handed pitcher. I think he's favoring his right hand but from what I've heard and read, it's too early to know which hand he'll use predominately. I'm impressed with how well he throws, I swear he's better than I am right now! We'll play throw-the-ball for quite a long time before he tires of it.
~ Talking. Matt has been saying "mum mum mum" for awhile and a few weeks ago he added "ba ba ba". Just recently, he added "ya ya ya" and "da da". His favorite is still "ba ba" and he's pretty darn cute as he speaks - his mouth goes up and down as he's frowning and looks like a muppet. He's also getting louder as he speaks but he also can be quite quiet and sometimes sounds like he's singing. He's definitely a talker.
~ Teeth. Just before he turned seven months, Matt grew two bottom front teeth. He looks pretty adorable with them. They gave him some pain as they came through and I think he's ready to grow some more because he's drooling more and chewing on pretty much everything. His favorite thing to chew on? Me. He chews on any body part of mine he can reach but especially loves my knees when I'm wearing jeans.
~ Bath time. Matt really loves taking a bath, especially since we moved him from the baby bath tub to the big tub. He plays with his bath toys and splashes water all over the place. Daddy taught him how to splash but somehow it's Mom that ends up getting wet. Isn't that just how life works? smile
~ Sharing. I have such a sweet kid. He'll be chewing on something - usually a block or stuffed animal - then he'll take it out of his mouth and wave it near my mouth. I pretend to eat it and he smiles a huge smile. He will also play with my hair and stretch it across my mouth so I can eat it. Again, big smile. Recently, I shared with him my glass of water. He, of course, wanted to help me by holding it too. At one point, he pushed the glass away from his mouth then lifted it so it was at my mouth. I drank from it and he smiled. He would take a drink, then I would take a drink. Steve and I couldn't believe it. He loves to share with his mommy! (He hasn't shared anything with Steve yet but I'm sure he will...someday.)
~ Miscellaneous. I'm teaching Matt happy vs. sad. I frown and say "sad" then smile and say "happy". His face falls a little when I say sad and he smiles really big when I say happy. He loves it. He also loves to eat my glasses, pull my hair, climb all over me. Basically, I guess I'm his favorite toy - daddy is when he's home. Matt definitely has figured out how to show his displeasure at something by issuing a high-pitched squeal. Luckily, he doesn't scream much and cries only when he's really mad or tired. We're learning to recognize when he's just mad at not getting his way vs really sad/in need of something. One of the ways to calm him when he's upset is to show him pictures on my phone. He especially loves the pictures of himself. Our pediatrician said babies tend to love to look at other babies, so I'm not sure if Matt get a kick out of seeing himself or if he thinks he's looking at another baby. Either way, he likes it.
We sure love Matt and are so glad he's a part of our family. It's so fun to be his mom. Here are some pictures of Matt: (in a slideshow)