He's so happy and playful. And loves people. Over the holidays, it's been hectic and we've fallen off of any routine that we did have. More like it's been so loud that his naps usually get interrupted. But he's loved being around all the people and even if he doesn't get a good nap in, he still manages quite well. He has loved playing with his crazy uncles & cousins and all the extra attention at home. Now that it's just us again, he seems kinda bored and keeps looking around for some more action...sorry Tanners.
I keep saying this, but it's still true. I'm in LOVE with this stage. And here's why:
- Giggles & Luaghs. Especially when you throw him in the air, nibble on his neck, or just do something silly - like making barking dog sounds. And when he smiles, he smiles with his entire face.
- Attacking. When Tanner is really hungry or really tired, he totally attacks my face and tries to eat/suck on my face. This combo usually happens in the middle of the night when I get up to feed him - which usually is 2 times a night, somtimes 3. (And for the record, I've decided I'm been obsessing about how much he sleeps and it's not working so I'm just going to try to be more low key and see where that takes me). I use the word ATTACK because he hurts and he's so aggressive about it. It's like he's totally calm one minute, and then goes to a state of panic and attacks me with his hands and mouth. But even if it hurts, I still think it's cute.
- Scooting around in pursuit of something greater. Tanner is running over constantly these days. He now prefers to be laying on his stomach with his head up looking around. When he goes down for naps, he somehow manages to roll over onto his stomach (even with an infact positioner) and has his head up high like he's on a surf board. Sleep is usually the last thing on his mind.
- Sitting up. He's just now prefcting it and occasionally will get carried away w/a smile and knock himself over. But this is prob his favorite position. He loves to sit up and look around to see what's going on.
- Eating solid food. Just in the past week, Tanner has expanded his horizon from rice cereal to real pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and peas. We started with the veggies so he would develop a love for them. This week I've been even racier and given him yogurt, bananas, and occassioanly, other nibbles of people food that we're eating. I'll let him chew on an apple slice (it's better than my finger). So far, he hasn't turned anything down and also attacks the spoon. He gets really anxious if you don't feed it to him fast enough. So inbetween me taking a bite of my dinner, I give him a bite of his own. And he just keeps eating it. In less than a week of eating solid food, he's eating the whole 2 oz container at a time. I'm also making most of his baby food - more nutrious, healthier, and cheaper!
Feed me!
- Baby talk. He makes the cutest little sounds. I especially love the little exciting noises he makes when I'm getting close to picking him up (followed by the rapid kicking of feet & reaching hands out) or his anxious cries he makes right before I nurse him. When he's getting cranky, he'll make little gee gee sounds. And when he's tired, he'll just go into this low baby talk sound until he nods off to sleep.
- First sickness - ear infection. No fun, but luckily did not last long.
- Tanner the tank. People (even strangers) comment on how big of a baby he is. I get comemnts like 'how much to you feed him' or 'how much did he weigh when he was born' or some other irrelevant comment - then followed by a 'you better watch what he eats' or 'start cutting him back'. First, any doctor will you they worry most about the skinny ones. And second, he's a baby and unlike an adult, they can easily monitor the caloric intake. When I see an overweight kid or adult, I don't comment to them they should lay off Mcdonalds? And I promise I don't feed him too much. He really only eats every 3 1/2 to 4 hours and nurses for less than 5 minutes at a time - so I'm not overfeeding him. He's just a big boy. And he does like to eating, but what's wrong with that? I like eating food too! And I like his chubbiness (especially his thights) and have fully embraced it.
- Crawling. I was joking around that he had 2 weeks to learn how to crawl - but of course that was being a little ambitous. He's carrying some extra weight so it'll prob be a while. And I can wait!
- Toes and Ears -His toes and ears always seems to be his latest target - grabbing his feet and toes can keep him entertained for a while. At first I was worried his ear infection was coming back when he started tugging at his ears, but no, he's just playing with them and exploring the rest of his body. The best is when he plays with his tummy rolls. Yes, when he's taking a bath or getting a diaper change, he'll grab his little love handle just like an old man. So cute!
Get me outta here! Help!
PS - I have more pics that I'll post later!
