Catching Carter: 8 month Birthday

Carter-

Merry Christmas and happy 8th Month Birthday! Spider-baby!

Fun facts for the month-

1. You are getting your 2 front teeth. It might be because of these that you quit nursing in the morning just last week. You were starting to bite me, which was not fun! So now if you do wake up early, you are just fine falling back to sleep on me without the snack. Your 2 front teeth inspired me to write that as your Christmas wish on your 1st Christmas Ornament. Also we found you a couple of times grinding your teeth on Grandma and M's fireplace...not cool.

2. It's been 3 months, but you did end up with another ear infection last week. You had a cold; so Daddy took you to the doctor on Saturday and your ears looked perfect. You had an audiology appointment on Wednesday and Miss Danielle noticed some fluid in your right ear. Mommy took you back to the doctor on Thursday and it was infected. Good thing we went back because we headed to Memphis on Friday. Busy week!

Milestone of the Month-
3. Crawling & Pulling-Up- You are going everywhere now. You are still sticking with this interesting crawl- left foot out, right knee crawl, but I guess it gets the job done. See video below. Also you love shoes! I've taken to calling you our "little puppy dog" because if shoes are in your sight, you immediately start crawling towards them. And if you actually get to one unsupervised, you'll chew on them. Gross, Cart. You are also pulling up on everything and love standing, bouncing, and jumping.

Hearing Update-
4. Pilot caps are a must right now, and as much as we love your adorable head of hair, within a minute or two of letting you play without your hat on, you'll pull your ear off and start chewing. I'll still sternly say, "No, Carter!", but you just think it's hilarious and start laughing. In general, you definitely stop and listen to us when we say "No", but you don't necessarily follow the instruction. Overall, I think you are hearing very well with your ears. You always turn when we call your name, startle to a loud or unexpected sound, laugh when we play games/"peek-a-boo", and wake-up if we're too loud around you when you're napping. All great signs that your hearing aids working well.

Next week we are attempting your 1st Hearing Test again. I'm hoping it goes well!

Speech Update-
5. Earlier in the month your speech therapy went really well. Miss Geneine thought you were doing great and isn't at all worried about your progression...so much so that she said we could wait a couple months to come back for a follow-up.

Christmas break gave Dad and I so much affirmation that you really are talking up a storm. Lots of stringing together sounds...babababa, dadadada, ag-da, ah-ja and just normal jibberish. I even heard a couple m-sounds sneak in there when you were really upset like -bababba-ahha-m-scream! You've also entered the normal (around 9 months) screaming phase that's both hilarious and annoying. If you aren't getting something you want or your sister takes something away- there will be lots of high-pitched screaming.

Food Update-
6. You still haven't met a food you don't like. This month you've tried ground turkey, chicken, broccoli, risotto, asparagus, ricotta cheese, and "green" puffs. I think your new favorite thing is your cherry-blueberry puree mixed with creamy ricotta cheese. Yum!

New this month- Christmastime!
We spent most of the weekend at the Taylors, going on at least 2 grocery store trips with M and Daddy. Mommy and Daddy asked that family donate towards your college savings account, rather than giving you lots of gifts. You're only a baby! Pop did give you a toy that has 2 of your favorite things- a hammer and balls! You love a good ball for throwing and chewing.

We even convinced Grandma and Grandpa to go to the Children's Christmas Eve Mass at 4pm. You had fun hanging out in the nursery while we went to church. I checked on you once, and you were of course doing great. You love being around other kids.