8 months

Our little man is 8 months old today. It's fun to think about the ways he's changed since he was born, but equally fascinating (to me anyway) how he's stayed the same. And of course, I can't stop finding the ways he and Zach are different!

We joined the YMCA earlier this month, as we do each winter. They have a day care there, so Charlie has had his first real experience of having a stranger watch him, in a strange place (our teenaged neighbor has babysat him, but not for long stretches of time, a large portion of which he's sleeping. Plus he's at home!). The first time he cried a little, and that was it. The guy told me the last time I picked the boys up that Charlie is "content to just sit and watch everybody." I had to laugh - I think I've used those exact words to describe Charlie many many times since the day he was born.

There is one big difference though - he's getting much more interactive, and clearly wishes he could join in. A friend and I took our boys to the Children's Museum earlier this month, and it was the first time I've seen Charlie get really excited about something other than watching Zach or playing with one of us. He looked around for a while, and then started squealing and kicking his little legs as hard as he could. All those preschoolers and toddlers running around - I think it was nirvana for him. He also loves it when we go in the gym at the Y. I put Charlie in the bjorn and do my best to wear out his brother. Usually I end up chasing Zach or trying to "block" him in a game of faux-football, and every time Zach heads towards us Charlie starts squealing and wiggling around. He's pretty loud now - I think the (usually old) people walking around the track above us get a pretty good laugh.

This boy also continues to be a champion eater. I think if he had his way he'd be done with any type of milk and would just go for the real food. I've never seen a baby stare so intently at the food the people around him are eating. As a result, he's already fed himself eggs, pancakes, and many other things I won't mention. And I think it's safe to say he won't be off his weight curve when we go in for his 9 month appointment in January!

One thing that has been consistent with Charlie but that is very different from Zach is his love of toys. I didn't even realize it until a friend mentioned the same was true of their second baby. Charlie will sit and play with toys for a long period of time (thank goodness). He bangs them together, examines them closely, chews on them - whatever. It doesn't even really matter what it is. Zach was never that interested, as is evidenced by the fuzzy Eeyore rattle that was a gift to Zach when he was a baby. When I brought it out for Charlie, it was in pristine condition - the "fur" was still nice and fluffy. Now that poor thing is all matted and gummed. Charlie puts his toys to good use!

Charlie is also fascinated with textures. We generally put him on a blanket when he's on the floor, to avoid the inevitable dog hair. But when he has been directly on the carpet, he just leans over and starts examining the fibers - his little fingers raking and rubbing. He also seeks out the tags on any soft toy or blanket. As you may know, that is why the Taggies brand of toys was invented - a mom noticed babies were always more interested in the tags than the toy itself. The fact that Charlie does it makes me smile, because while Zach's beloved cowbungadee is a Taggie, he NEVER showed any interest whatsoever in the various tags themselves. Yet another funny difference between our boys!

What Charlie is not is a boy in motion. He still hasn't rolled from back to front. I have to laugh, because if he was my first child I'd be panicked about developmental delays. But it's fairly obvious that he has no desire to be on his belly. And I know we haven't helped matters by still swaddling him at night - poor guy can't practice rolling around in his crib! When I've put him on his belly and put a toy out of reach, he stretches as best he can and ends up rocking a bit on his belly, but he sure isn't going anywhere any time soon. He is a champion sitter - check out that downward facing dog pose. He can sit back up when he does that too! He loves to stand, which I suspect is more "nurture" than "nature" - we tend to encourage walking over crawling. But he can stand for quite a while on his own.

And I'm happy to say that one thing that has changed lately is his sleeping. We seem to be in a pattern now; it's been about three weeks of him sleeping all the way until about 5 AM or so. It's a nice change after the roller coaster we've been on. Sometimes he eats and goes back to sleep, but if it's closer to 5:30 we're usually up for the day. Really not going to complain though - I can live with this.

Let's see, what else is Charlie good at?? Oh yes, drooling. He's always been pretty talented, but he has really taken it to a new level now. We sometimes find puddles on the floor after he's been sitting and leaning over a bit. There's gotta be some teeth approaching, I think, but no real signs of them yet (Zach got his first tooth right about this age).

And then there's hair-pulling. He's a champion. Did I mention previously that when we were in Boise over Thanksgiving that Bryn (age 8) seem to get a kick out of letting Charlie pull her hair? At one point Maryn (6) came over and said "Uh, there's a big wad of hair in Charlie's hand." Went to check it out, and yep, there it was - a great big clump of hair, roots and all. Ouch! Since then he's just kept improving - I can barely hold him without him grabbing a handful of hair on both sides of my head. This is another difference between our boys - Zach wasn't the least bit interested, and my hair was even longer then. I think there may be a haircut in my near future.

Happy "birthday" Charliebug. Can't wait to see what happens the next 8 months!