Ryan at 8 months

Ryan is growing way too fast for us. It's unbelievable to think that he's already 8 months old! What really gets my attention is that he is only 4 months away from his first birthday- where is the time going?

Ryan is currently participating in Operation Tough Love. After 8 months of waking several times during the night, Mike and I have decided to give him (and ourselves) the gift of SLEEP. So, no more nursing himself to sleep. No more eating in the middle of the night. No more being picked up in the middle of the night. If he wakes up, he's gotta soothe himself back to sleep. We are serious about this- it's been going on way too long.

Ryan is a mover and a shaker- he is up on all fours and is very good at pushing himself backwards- he'll make it all the way across the room! He has moved in the forward direction exactly 2 times now. The marble flooring is a bit of a challenge, especially when his little hands get sweaty. But I predict that he's going to get it down any day now, and then our lives will really change. He still loves, loves, loves his exersaucer and we've had to raise it up a notch since he's grown so tall. He can sit up forever now without falling back, and prefers to stand whenever he gets a chance.

Ryan loves to have eyes on Mommy every waking moment. He gives great kisses- he'll grab my face and gnaw on my chin- I love it! :) He totally recognizes his name now and will turn when he hears it. He also loves to play dropsies with toys and bend down to see where it went.

Ryan is still Catherine's #1 fan...he loves everything she does. They play peekaboo together and they roll the ball between themselves. She is very responsible and will take inappropriate toys away and tut "no, no, little boy, that toy is not for you...!"

Ryan HATES hats. It's hilarious how many times he'll pull one off, over and over again. Then he'll promptly drop it on the floor.

Ryan is eating like a CHAMP. I've been making his food: applesauce, pears, strawberries, bananas, green beans, peas, broccoli, zucchini, squash, cauliflower, carrots, avocado- he'll eat virually anything. He really loves yogurt and is starting to have some water with his sippy cup. He's enjoying a few puffs at lunch time; I'll introduce a full lunch next month. He's developing his pincer grasp- he'll oftentimes get the puff stuck in his fist so he still needs a bit of help.

Ryan is a super happy and social baby- he'll smile at anyone and everyone and the Indians love that! He's a big hit at the grocery store as he rides in the Baby Bjorn.

I'm not exactly sure how big Ryan is now, but my guestimate is around 20-22 pounds. He's MASSIVE. He's well into 9 month clothing, and is very long! We'll move him to the Britax car seat next month. Speaking of cars, he's still very tolerant of the long car rides around Mumbai...I'd say we average about 1.5 hours a day in the car, and he'll either sleep or look out the window.

Our little boy is such a blessing!