10 months old!

Happiest 10 months, Hayesy (last week, whoops!) You are literally just cruisin right along, and I cannot believe we are just a couple months out from your 1st birthday. <insert sobbing emoticon>

This month you continued to improve your mobility. You can now crawl quickly across the floor, pull up and sit back down with ease, and are climbing onto things as well, like low shelves and chairs. You enjoy pushing objects around the house as you crawl. I have a hunch you will be walking before you turn one.

You have 6 teeth now, 2 on the bottom and 4 on the top. We had a few days of teething pain this past month, which resulted in a lot of tears and poor sleep. Luckily it seems like you may be over that hump now. With those new chompers poking through, however, you've discovered how to bite. You often nibble on my shoulder and leg, and when I express my pain, you laugh.

Eating continues to be one of your favorite activities. Whether you are nursing or shoveling puffs into your mouth, you love food. Eggs, cheese, strawberries, peaches, plums, blueberries, turkey, chicken, green beans, peas, and sweet potatoes are some of our go-tos. You especially love fruit and meat.

Sleep has gotten better, especially during the day. You take two naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. One of the two naps is usually between 1.5-2.5 hours! Hallelujah!  You go to bed anywhere between 6-7:30 depending on when your last nap was. You go down pretty easily, but you still wake up 2-4 times a night.

You are such a cuddly boy. When it is nap time, all it takes is a dark room, a pacifier and your blanket, and you snuggle up on my shoulder. You are still mesmerized by big sis, following her around and laughing at everything she does. Speaking of laughs, you are easy to amuse. You give the biggest belly laughs, especially when we play airplane on my legs or when we play hide and seek.

You are truly such a happy baby and an absolute joy. We love you to pieces, Hayesy boy.

9 months old + the wonderfully terrible two's

At 9 months old, Hayes is unstoppable. Gone are the days of being able to sit him down, grab a cup of coffee and come back to where I left him. In fact, it feels like most days I basically follow him around, reroute him and pull him off of whatever dangerous object he has pulled himself onto.

It's exhausting, but it also has its perks. Now that he can crawl, he loves to chase after Evie. His eye catches her across the room and nothing is going to stop him from reaching to her (except for mom of course.) I just love the little relationship they are forming and am so excited to watch them become friends.

Other fun Hayes happenings during the 9th month:

Becoming more playful and interactive.
Sitting on own.
Eating solids like a champ. So fun having a baby so excited about food. If I am eating a snack and he spots me, he basically attacks my leg and starts crying in frustration.
Sleeping better! Hooray for naps that last longer than 30 minutes.
Two top teeth poked through with two more on the way.
Pulling up (and also falling down a lot as a result of his newfound hobby).
Standing in crib. :(
Understands name and other words (like nursing and Evie).
Size 4 diapers (big boy!)
Loves being in the baby carrier.
Says mamma!

Hayes is an absolute sweetheart, has the most perfect smile, is extremely curious and keeps me on my toes all day.

In other NEWS....Evie has been potty trained for about a month now. It was easier than I anticipated, but a frustrating endeavor nonetheless. It is really nice having just one kid in diapers! Although extremely lovey and affectionate most of the time, she seems to be going through a bout of the terrible two's lately. Some of her tantrums have been insane. A lot of the time I have to remind myself that she is "only two" and she can't possibly express or understand her emotions. Love this kid and all of the craziness she brings to our family.

8th Month & Evie update

Hayes is on his way to being such a big boy! This month was all about movement. He's ALMOST sitting on his own. He's grabbing and pinching. He's picking up his food and putting it in his mouth. Andddd, he's crawling! Well not real crawling, but he can get up on all 4's, then collapse into an army crawl and get to whatever he wants pretty quickly! It's super exciting, but it is also exhausting because he can now move all over the room, and that means I have to keep a closer eye on him. I feel like I am constantly re-routing him all day or listening to Evie yell at him for getting in her things.

Also this month...

• Hayes enjoys eating so much more than Evie ever did. I am doing a combination of purees and baby led weaning and it is working pretty well. I hope in the next month to be done with the purees and just be on table food! So far he's tried a lot of variety, like avocado, sweet potatoes, squash, blueberries, toast, yogurt, corn, apple....and blackberries (only by accident though when he crawled across the floor and snatched Evie's when she wasn't looking.)

• Poor sleep is our jam. But not by choice. Hayes continues to wake 4-8 times a night. WOMP. He also takes 3 naps a day, typically lasting 30-45 minute. The other day he napped 1 hour and 45 minutes and I couldn't believe it. 

• He says "mama!" Aren't they supposed to say da-da first? #momforthewin ;)

Evie is also making some moves of her own. She continues to keep us laughing with her humor and wit. She has the biggest heart and his super aware and concerned of other's feelings. Her vocabulary is outstanding, and sometimes I think she is too smart for her own good. Most days are pretty not "terrible-twos" with her. But man, when it's a doozy of a day, she can bust out a pretty mean tantrum.

She's also just recently started peeing (and one poo!) in the potty. I just need to stop being lazy and do the potty training thing. Who knew seeing your kid poop in the pot would be so exciting!? 

7 month old Hayes

Happy 7 months, Hayes!
(This one is short..getting lazy)