Avery - 8 Months!

At 8 months, Avery is as charming as can be. He is just the sweetest little person ever. I can't believe that just a little more than 8 months ago he was still in my tummy and now he's becoming less 'baby' and quickly turning into a little boy. So bittersweet :)

This month, Avery...
• Reaches up for us when he wants to be picked up, then wraps his arms around our neck and squeezes so tight. Greatest. Feeling. Ever. 


• Barrel rolls wherever he wants to go. He finally started rolling from his back to his front a couple of weeks ago which has helped him to get from point A to point B pretty quickly. Still no crawling, but he's so close it's going to be any day (then this mama will really have to get her running shoes on!)


• Can sit up from lying down, which makes for some pretty cute peeking-over-the-top-of-the-crib smiles :)


• Is currently drooling like a faucet again which leads me to believe his top 2 teeth are trying to make an appearance. His gums are swelled up and
he randomly cries out, so if those teeth would just
pop out soon, it would be much appreciated. ;)

 • Sleeps through the night!! Bless his little heart, this little man has finally decided to make sleeping 11 hour stretches a habit. He nods off at 8:30 in the evening and doesn't wake until 7:30 the next morning. It's life-changing.

• Eats 3 meals of 'solid' food a day. He's a hearty eater and has added asparagus, green beans, and a taste of chicken and beef to his diet. Carrots continue to be the only food he doesn't like. (But I'm going to attempt mixing carrots with peas this week...maybe 'tricking' him will get him to come around.)

• Is ticklish! When we tickle his ribs, he laughs a deep belly laugh that is seriously contagious. There is so much laughter in our house these days :)

• Plays catch! Although his aim could use some work, he gets the general idea of how the game works and enjoys throwing the ball and gets so excited waiting for it to be thrown back at him.

• Headbangs in his high chair. He slams his body back and forth when he's done eating, giving his parents a headache just watching him... but he seems to love every minute of it!

• Accompanies his mama to Zumba class 2 days a week. He just chills on a blanket, rocks to the music and plays with his toys. I realize that this scenario is about to change once he gets on the move, but for now he's a great workout partner ;)

• Is a great listener during story time. He sits on my lap and listens to book after book, slapping the pages and studying them carefully. When he gets cranky lately all I have to do is pull out his recordable storybook from Gramma Jodi and Granpa Richard and he starts rocking back and forth and squealing - he loves hearing their voices come out of the book :)

Avery and his neighborhood buddies, Owen, Max and Landon. These boys have some fun times ahead of them :) (Excuse Avery's nakedness, he really was wearing clothes ... until daddy got ahold of him ;)

Daddy and Avery sharing some giggles...xoxo