today you turn eight months old! eight months. i can hardly believe it! a few weeks after you were born i went through the calendar on my phone and every month on the 10th i wrote 'baby finn ___ months old.' when i got to december, i realized that your eight month birthday fell on mine and dad's anniversary. i remember thinking how far away december seemed, and how it would probably be freezing cold, and we'd be in the middle of one of my favorite times of year. i remember thinking how excited i was, even way back then, to celebrate your first christmas, but i also remember praying that it wouldn't come too fast, because every moment with you is so precious and i wanted to cherish it all. well here we are, december 10th...every thing i thought way back in april is upon us. so far this month has been a blast, and i know it will only get better as christmas draws nearer.
like every other month, a lot has happened this month! you have learned new tricks and perfected old ones. you have forayed into the wonderful world of table food. we have hung out with friends, been to parties and done lots of fun things, and even though you probably have no clue what the heck is going on i still like to think you have had a lot of fun. i know you have. :)
you are still the happy, easy going baby you've always been, which leads me to believe this is probably how you'll be your whole life. not many things get you riled up, not many things make you overly excited...you are just one chill dude. i love it. it makes you the easiest baby who has ever lived, i'm sure. which, kinda makes me scared for your teenage years...maybe that's when you'll become a nightmare? ;) haha i'm kidding, and i hope not!
as you know from previous letters, once you learned to stand you had quite a difficult time going down for naps and bed. i would lay you in your crib, and immediately you'd start standing up, and just scream. it took you about a week to figure out how to sit back down, and even once you figured it out you still didn't like to take naps or go down for bed at night. you must think there's a party goin' on without you...but there isn't. it only lasted a couple weeks, but you did a lot of crying before you decided it was okay to just go down without a fuss. i am happy to report that now we just sit you in your crib, you immediately stand up, we kiss you and walk out the room, shut the door and you usually just play for a bit then fall asleep. you are so much happier when you get your naps, so i am glad that you finally decided it was okay to take them.
this is kind of an off topic story, but i wanted to document it. the other day you went down for a nap, and i came down to the computer and got some stuff done around the house. well, about an hour and a half later when i went upstairs to check on you, you were just sitting in your crib playing with your stuffed animals. when you saw me, your eyes got big, your face lit up and you just got the cutest grin on your face. it melted my heart. i love that you know i'm your mommy and that you get so happy when we reunite after an hour or two apart. i can tell that it comforts you, and that makes me happier than you'll ever know.
this past month you got two teeth! the teething process wasn't as horrible as i was expecting it to be (knock on wood!). i think the horrible part was when you were four months old and you were in phase one of teething...that was pretty bad. for a couple weeks before your teeth actually cut through, you were a bit cranky and constantly had something in your mouth - fist, foot, toy...anything you could get your hands on. you were also very slobbery, and had a bit harder time falling to sleep at night (which was due to a few other factors, as well). your gums were swollen, and i could see your teeth just below the surface. i knew it was only a matter of weeks before they came through, and i was right! you cut your first tooth on saturday november 26. your second one came in about a week and a half later, on december 6. we didn't even know it was there until i took a picture of your mouth while you were sleeping (bc any time i try to pull your lip down while you're awake, you immediately stick your tongue out so we can't see nothin'!). well when i pulled your lip down i noticed that tooth #2 was there! they haven't come up very far yet, but the first one that cut through is a little crooked! i hope you don't have crooked teeth forever, but as a baby you'll look cute no matter what. :) i guess it's time to get you a tooth brush and start brushing those teeth!
about a month and a half ago we started teaching you how to wave. sometimes you put your hand up by your ear and wiggle your fingers a little bit. i am not sure if that is you waving though, because since your teeth started coming in your have been tugging on your ears a lot. well, the other day we were at the mall, and one of the ladies at nordstrom (who loves you!) waved to you. we waited for a second or two and you brought your hand up by your ear and wiggled your fingers, so i'm pretty sure that is how you wave!
a couple days ago we were out shopping with grandma cindy and she put her hand out and said, "give me a five baby finn." to our utter astonishment, you took your hand and placed it on hers! i swear, i really think you know how to give a five! you always seem to learn new tricks from grandma cindy, and much of the time you'll only perform them for her...i love it, and i know it makes her feel so special! every day since we have asked for fives, and you give 'em to us, almost every time! way to go baby finn, you are so smart!
also just very recently (like within the past week) you learned how to hold your bottle! okay, i seriously thought you'd have figured this one out months ago, but i was wrong. i have seen babies at five months doing it, and i must admit, i kind of thought there was something wrong when you were nearing eight months and unable (or maybe even just unwilling) to hold your own bottle. so dad suggested that we just make you do it, and i think that did it because ever since you have known how to do it. i still feed you three of your four daily bottles, because i like the bonding time. :) but it is nice that if we are in a hurry, or if we're out and about, i can give it to you and you'll feed yourself. see how old you're gettin'?!
one of your most recent developments is you start to cry when dad leaves the room! i noticed it for the first time about a week ago. after you wake up and eat your morning bottle, we set you down on the floor in our bedroom where you crawl around and play for a while. well, right before dad left for work, he sat down and played with you for a bit. well, when he got up and said goodbye, you started crying. he didn't think anything of it, but it crossed my mind that you might have been sad to see him go. dad thought he must have bumped or knicked you, he said sorry then left. well a couple days later, he came home from work and came and held you for a bit before getting in the shower. again, when he set you down and left the room, you started crying. yesterday grandma cindy was over, and i was telling her this very thing, when guess who walked in from work? dad. he held you like he always does, handed you back to me then walked upstairs to shower. when he disappeared from your sight, you started crying! you love your daddy so much, and you are sad whenever he goes! it melts my heart, and makes me a little jealous at the same time, because you are not like that with me! grandma says it's because i am always with you, and whenever i leave you know i am coming back. but with dad, you only see him a couple hours a day, so you get excited to see him and sad when he leaves. i hope that's the reason, and it's not because you love me less. :(
this past month you started babbling. now, anyone who knows you well knows that you have always been a chatterbox. you "talk" like no other baby i have ever heard of and you have been that way since you were about 5 weeks old! people that knew me when i was a baby say that i was a "gooer," but grandma cindy says i was nothing like you. anyway, your sounds up until now have been just "ahhhh's" and "oooh's" and different variations and lenghts and pitches. it is always so cute. but this past month you started saying "dadadadadad" a lot!! it makes your daddy so happy, because it is so close to "dad." and although i don't think you are quite at the point where you know what - or who, rather - "dad" is (i know you know who your dad is, as proven in the previous paragraph, i just don't think you know his name is actually dad yet), i have a feeling that will be your first word. grandma cindy and i are always trying to get you to say "mamamama," but so far the only time you make any sound close to that is when you are crying. i guess it makes sense, because little kids always cry for their mom's. anyway, i know it will come in time. :)
you still love to patty cake, crawl, and stand on anything and everything. in fact, you have some bruises on your head from some falls you've taken. i feel terrible about them, but dad says i need to get used to it because you're a boy and it will happen every day for the rest of your life. we still have to take some precautions though, because i don't want anything seriously dangerous to happen to you. you have become a very speedy crawler, and if i turn my back for one minute you are in a completely different place! you still love outlets and cords, and right now there are plenty of christmas lights all over the house that you are constantly crawling to, trying to pull down. you stink pot! you still love your brothers, and you get a little kick out of duke. i don't know what it is about duke, but you only giggle when he does something you think is funny, never claus. but you and claus are best buds...he pretty much just gives you kisses all day long. and now that i think of it, you do laugh when he does that to you! it's pretty cute.
this past month you tried lots of new foods! your very favorite, i'd have to say, is ice cream! the first time we gave you some was when we were up in logan. we can't go to logan without making a stop at aggie ice cream! so dad went in and got some for us, and as we were eating it i could see a glisten in your eye...you were curious to try some! so i gave you a taste of dad's (caramel cashew) and you loved it! omg dear boy, you screamed at us for more! i think that is why they call it ice cream...like i scream! haha, get it?! ;) it was pretty funny. after a while dad said i should stop feeding it to you, because it might make you sick. well, you did not like that at all. it took us a minute or two to calm you down. haha, my boy likes him some ice cream! we give it to you a few times a week now, and every time it's the same story. you scream when you're ready for more, and cry when it's all gone.
you still eat pureed baby food a few times a day, but now we feed you the food that we are eating, and you love it, as do we. it makes meal time so much fun! we have ordered a separate entree for you a few times when we've gone out to dinner. it makes you seem so old. you don't really make a dent in it though, since it takes you such a long time to "chew" (aka gum) foods that aren't pureed. i can't even think of all the stuff we've fed you...i know that you didn't like steak (probably bc you couldn't gum it very well), you still aren't a huge fan of potatoes (you only like them if there is no salt, garlic, etc, which is probably a good thing!), i don't think you like bacon (you made a funny face when we gave you some, then proceeded to gag yourself), and you didn't love the pinto beans i tried feeding you at red iguana the other night. other than those things, you love everything! it is so cute to watch you "chew" your food. you are now at the point where when you see us eating something, you wait patiently (or sometimes not so patiently!) for us to let you try some! i'm afraid we are nearing that point where you'll only eat what we eat. i hope you continue to stay such a great eater...it sure makes things easier!
along the lines of food, i'm afraid i have started a horrible habit that i'll regret when you get older. for the past few days, if you're a bit fussy and it's not time to eat, i will give you an animal cracker. it satisfies you for the time being, until you are done with it, then you generally ask for another (aka, whine for another) and i give in. it is just so much easier than other methods of soothing you, haha, and i am lazy and usually resort to that. i hope i don't turn you into the kid who is screaming at wal mart, so i give you a candy bar to make you stop. that would be bad! ;)
i feel like this is the longest letter ever, but there is just so much to say. your newest nickname, and the one i have been calling you most frequently, is "booger." haha, like many of the others, i don't know where it came from, and i realize it probably sounds really gross when we are out in public, but it is habit and reflex.
you visited with santa a few times this month. first time was the day after thanksgiving, at fashion place mall. grandma cindy was curious to see how you'd react to him. we had our annual friend christmas party the day after, and santa surprised us with a visit. both times you just stared up at him, wondering who the heck he was, i'm sure! it was pretty cute. then last week i took you out to sweet briar hollow to have your picture taken with him again. he had grown a full beard and put on a couple pounds, and had his sleigh with him and everything! we of course couldn't get you to smile, but nevertheless the expression on your face was priceless. i am hoping to make that a christmas tradition (visiting him at sweet briar hollow). i am so excited for him to visit our home this christmas! i know you will have no idea what is going on, but it is still going to be a great day. :)
i love you more than you'll ever know. you make every day so special and wonderful, and even though you no longer feel like a baby, i love every moment of this adventure we are taking together. i am so grateful you have a daddy who loves you so much. i am also very grateful that we have grandma cindy, who loves you more than you'll ever know. she loves spending time with you, and in fact, she is going to take care of you tonight while me and dad have a night out on the town, to celebrate our anniversary. if it were anyone else taking care of you, i'd be worried, and probably would't feel too excited about going out. but because it's grandma cindy, i know i have nothing to worry about. you are so special to all of us, and every day i thank my heavenly father for blessing me with the cutest, most beautiful baby boy this world has ever known. :)
love,
mom
