8 months

8 months as of February 26, 2014

Weight - 19 pounds 2 ounces

Clothes: You are wearing all 6-9 month or 6-12 month clothes. Your pj's are all 9 month and you're still in size 3 diapers.

Sleep: You sleep from approx. 7:00pm-7:00am and go down for a nap at 9:00am and 1:00pm. Both naps range anywhere between 1-2 hours long, with your first nap generally being your longest. 

Health: You've now had you cranial band on for a long 10 weeks and thankfully you graduate out of it on Friday. We are so ready to be done with it. Your head shape is much more fluid, but unfortunitely it's not perfect, which is what we were really hoping for. All in all, we've had a great experience at Cranial Tech, are happy with the results and would recommend getting a DOC band to anyone who's child needs ones. I hate the fact that you were born with torticollis, but it could always be much worse. You still have eczema patches on your shoulders, a small one on your face near your mouth and I've just recently discovered a couple new patches on your legs. It seems like just when one patch clears up another pops up somewhere else. Also, your baby acne on your right cheek comes and goes in waves -- some days you have it, others you don't.

Diet: You still get 4 bottles/day and eat 3 meals/day. You're on Similac Sensitive. You take 3 6 oz. bottles throughout the day (7:30am, 11:00am and 3:00pm) and 1 8oz. bottle as your last bottle at 6:30pm. You eat rice or oatmeal cereal at 8:15am. I make all of your baby food out of organic vegetables and fruits and have made sweet potato, green bean, peas, carrot, squash, red apple, fugi apple, banana and pear thus far. We've added meats into the mix - chicken, turkey and beef. You love everything! You kick your feet and flail your arms, out of pure excitement, when we put you in your highchair. You open up your mouth nice and wide when you're ready for your next bite and are often done eating within 5 minutes. You just love food and are such an incredible eater! You eat lunch at 12:15pm and dinner at around 5:00pm. You're getting better with your hands and are able to feed yourself Gerber Organic Yogurt Melts (strawberry banana) and Happy Baby Puffs (spinach apple). I've given you noodles (you were unsure about them, but ultimately liked) and fresh strawberries (you hated them, gave sour face and gagged).

 Baby Gear Love: Baby Einstein jumper, Britax b-ready stroller, Fisher Price space saver, Tiny Love play mat, Aden + Anais lovie, Itzy Ritzy shopping cart cover

Likes: smiling, talking, sucking fingers, playing with Cali, baby food, getting a diaper change, going on walks, playing with all of your toys, sitting up, falling over and onto your belly, standing, fake coughing, blowing raspberries

Dislikes: boredom, Nose Frida, dirty diaper, cutting teeth

Crying: You still aren't a major crier, but you definitely have your moments. Obviously teething has made you a bit more irritable, but it really wasn't all that bad. You mainly cry or whine out of frustration/boredom, when you want your diaper changed or you accidentally fall over and bump your head on the carpet while sitting up. And this crying only lasts until Dad or I remedy the situation, which usually takes just a few seconds.

Milestones: You cut 1 more tooth this month - front upper left - making it a total of 4 teeth in that cute little mouth of yours. Although you still don't roll around, you did finally roll from stomach to back for the 1st time, and you've only done it that one time. With that being said, you've started sitting up. You sit all the time and are really good at going from laying on your stomach to sitting to falling back down onto your stomach again. You do this over and over and over again. You're so strong and you go up/down flawlessly and effortlessly. You have also mastered the Army Crawl, in that you're able to scoot/drag your entire body across the floor to retrieve a toy, to get Cali or to satisfy your curiosity. You are so good at it that I know that you'll be crawling in no time.

Dear Trace, I've never known a happier baby than you (disregard the above picture when reading ;). You get so much satisfaction out of a simple smile and you hand them out to anyone who looks your way. When out in public I often get told how happy and smiley you are. This makes my heart flutter because I know that in that very moment, you - an 8 month old - have brought a complete stranger joy. And you bring that joy to Dad and I over and over again throughout our days. All I have to do is give you a quick glance and your face lights up. Your smile is contagious. You shine. I said this very early on and I continue to say it -- At the end of the day my mouth hurts... it hurts from smiling at you and with you all day long. And now that you have 4 teeth, that smile of yours has gotten even more cute. More cute? I thought that was impossible! Boy was I wrong. With every month that passes I am reminded of what a good natured, sweet and happy boy you are. I often wonder if this is how I will always describe you or if you'll turn into a tough and wild little rascal. Regardless, always know that you are loved beyond words and that that smile of yours is the best part of my day.

Scenes from the past month!