baby rocks.

Colton, 

This is the first time I feel like I JUST wrote one of these monthly updates, it came so quickly. Well… part of that is because I posted my last one late (which I’m doing AGAIN), but still! Time is definitely picking up speed. ::tear:: 

You have done SO many things this month, I feel like you’ve barreled over the next stage of development all of a sudden. Crawling, waving, dancing, cruising, saying MAMA! You’re eating a lot more food, sleeping through the night (okay so that happened just once. last night. but I’m counting it!), and the one thing I’m not excited about it… separation anxiety. In any case, all these new things have been really keeping me on my feet and I’m having so much fun with you. 

THIS MONTH:

You’re crawling! This one has been long anticipated. I mean, I know the average age to do this is between 7-9 months, so you’re right smack in “the zone”, but you’ve looked like you were on the brink of it for literally two months. You would get on your knees, but faceplant and bulldoze, or you’d get on your hands and push your arms up, but do the downward dog yoga pose and just sit there like that. Pretty cute, but you just couldn’t coordinate to do the two together. Because of that everyone was starting to say it was never going to happen and you were going to go straight to walking, so I was starting to worry, but then you finally did it! I was so proud of you, and so relieved. You do the “wounded soldier” crawl, where you’re on one knee and one foot scooting along. It’s actually really funny. Some people call it the crab-crawl. My favorite is when you try and go fast, you look hysterical. I love it so much.

You’re beginning to wave goodbye. I didn’t actually know you were doing this until Sarah pointed it out while we were camping. I mean, I had seen you do it, and I remember even thinking “that’s cute, it looked like he waved back”, but I didn’t think you were actually really waving. It looked more like a one-arm flap. But then after Sarah said she really thought it was an intentional wave, we watched you, and time and time again you continued to flap at people when we would say bye. It’s definitely still vague, but it’s there, and people have noticed.

You dance every time I cheer and clap for you. It actually started last month when you first stood up, but again, I didn’t realize you were dancing at the time, but since then I’ve seen you do it every time so I know now you’re definitely shaking your little groove thing. Whenever you’re standing I’ll clap my hands and say, “Go Colty, Go Colty, Go Colty, Go Colty,” and you start bouncing and bouncing and smiling and laughing. It’s the best thing ever. The other day we were in the store and I had just won a bet with your dad, so I was dancing around him going “Booyha, boohya” (I know, we’re very mature folk), and you got a kick out of it and started bouncing in your dad’s arms and flailing about, so your dad chimed in and we were all dancing in the aisle to whatever song was playing over the speaker. It was one of my favorite moments of this month.

You’re cruising all over the place! Just a few days after you stood you started cruising all around your crib, and now you cruise everywhere. Your goal in life is to crawl to something you can pull yourself up on to stand, and then cruise. Just a few days ago you started bouncing between furniture, too! You’ll be standing against the coffee table and then turn and grab for the couch, and continue to go back and forth. You have a really great range, it’s impressive. You love to walk around holding our hands too. I’m thinking of getting you walking wings.

You definitely say mama now! Remember back in June when you first started saying mama? I mean, I knew that wasn’t you *actually* saying ‘mama’, as in ‘mom’, it was just a sound you learned, and would mostly do just when you were frustrated or mad, but it was fun to hear nonetheless. But then you stopped doing it, and a couple months later you started saying dadadada. WHAT?? Rude. I take care of you all day every day and you’re gonna say daddy first?! So I decided I needed to teach you mama. So a few weeks ago to a few times a day sit right in front of you and slowly say “muuuummaaaa” as you watched. Within a day you started trying to move your mouth along with mine, and another day and you started doing it and haven’t stopped. And NOW you’re *actually* saying mama, in reference to me! Of course you’ll also say it to our dog, too, so I still don’t think you know it’s my name, officially, but you do know I respond to it; I react every time you say it, and so you know that if you say it, you’ll get my attention. I read that in order for the sounds “mama” and “dada” to be considered a word, and not just a noise, a baby has to say it three times in context… and you definitely have. Many, many more times than three now, too. The other night dad just finished getting you ready for bed and you were pretty tired and hungry, but I was clearing the table before I took you, so daddy was playing with you for a few minutes and when I walked by you immediately turned to me, dropped your toy, reached out, and started going mamamamama. Another time you were playing with daddy on the floor and I was sitting on the couch right above you, and I think you were getting hungry, and you crawled over to me, pulled yourself up on my legs, and started saying mamamamama as you reached out toward me. If I’m cleaning up and walking in and out of the room, you’ll call after me mamamamama. I love it so much. LOVE it.

You started showing signs of stranger danger!! Your dad doesn’t think it’s possible you learned this from another baby, but it literally started the DAY AFTER you saw another baby who cried the entire time he was away from his mama, and the day before you witnessed this, I left you at the nursery at church you were perfectly fine. I’ve asked several seasoned moms (moms with grown kids) and they all think you absolutely did learn it from him. In any event, I know this is the time when most babies start developing this, but some babies never do, and I truly thought you were going to be one of them (and maybe you would have, but now this triggered it [so another seasoned mama suggested]). So I’ve tried leaving you at the gym nursery several times since, and you immediately burst into these really sad tears. You don’t freak out and flail and go all wild, like I see some babies do, you just become really passive and sunken in and scared. I hate it. But then I’ve left you at the church nursery a couple times since then too and you’ve been perfectly happy and normal and fine (AND it’s always been right at your nap time, too, so you’d think you’d be worse!). I don’t get it. I’m really thankful you like the nursery at church (and the women there), but I’m really sad I haven’t been able to workout lately. I’m hoping this passes and it’s not something with the gym that makes you scared and uncomfortable. I’m also SO GLAD you don’t have this issue with any of our friends or family. Yet, at least.

_________

SLEEPING: You’re really deciding how you feel most comfortable now, rolling around until you find that perfectly comfy spot. Your favorite position is flat on your back with your arms straight out to your sides and slightly above your head, like a plane, palms up. It’s very cute. You also like to be curled on your side. You’re down to two naps a day now. Your afternoon nap has been consistently an hour and forty five minutes these last few weeks, which is nice, and then you’ll do a quick 45 minute one in the late afternoon… it keeps you up a bit later now, but it’s kinda nice because it’s meant you’ve been able to join us for dinner and spend more time with daddy before bed.

EATING: For some reason you’re not totally into food and it worries me a bit. We’re doing the baby-led weaning thing and when we first started you seemed totally into it, but now you appear just plain bored. The other week I mushed up some cauliflower with breastmilk and cheddar cheese, just to see what would happen if I tried spoon feeding you again, and you loved it! You ate the entire thing (1.5oz)! The next morning I gave you toast with cottage cheese on it, as soon as you touched it you dropped it like a little girl who just touched a worm (hilarious), so I went over and picked it up and you leaned forward toward it and opened your mouth for me to feed it to you! So as it turns out, you don’t dislike food, you’re just lazy!!! So the last couple weeks we’ve been cutting up your food into bits and feeding it to you (still giving you what we’re eating though). In any case, I trust that you’re going at your pace and that you’ll eat when you’re ready, but I can’t help but still be anxious at the idea of you being a picky eater. Your dad and I will literally eat anything, so the thought of you being particular freaks me out in crazy ways.

POTTY: Okay, not trying to get too gross here, but you’re having your first “real human like” signs of movements, and let’s be honest, it’s kinda freaking me out. Some of your toots may as well be some of your daddy’s, they’re getting kinda foul, and your dad about threw up from his crazy gag reflux the other day from your diaper change (I think he said he heaved 7 times, but who’s counting). ha! At least you only go once a day, right?!

STATS:

• Weight: 21lbs 8oz
• Height: 28in
• Head: 18.11in
• PERCENTILES: 79% |  | 81%