Sullivan at Eight Months

"Baby Sully" as he's often referred to by his sister Cece is starting to feel less and less like a baby. He's already eight months old, this kid! Wow. Cece's first year went by fast, but nothing compared to this. Incredible.

Sully has to be just about the happiest baby ever. His smile goes on for days and days and he's such a flirt. Smile, giggle, coo. Smile, giggle, screech. Smile, giggle, repeat... Part of me wants to keep him this age forever and ever. Although, the part of me that would like to sleep again may not be on board with that, ha. Sleeping (through the night) is still one thing he's not excelling at. He goes down easy enough but still doesn't usually sleep longer than 4 hours at a stretch. Once or twice he's given us 6 hours and we rejoiced ("this is it! he's figured it out!") but of course, it didn't last. Tough love is coming his way soon though because I KNOW he's capable of sleeping longer.

He's still nursing pretty well but we have hit the distraction phase hard. Unless he's really sleepy or we seclude ourselves in a dark, quiet room, he doesn't nurse all that well anymore. He wants the boob (always) but he can't seem to focus all that well and any hint of an outward distraction (noises, people, cell phones, etc) means he's a squirmy hot mess. A big, strong squirmy hot mess! There is no containing him.

Part of the reason he's not nursing all that well anymore is probably because the kid EATS LIKE A HORSE! He eats everything we put in front of him and most of it isn't "baby food" anymore. No mush for this kid (despite not having any teeth), he'd rather "chew" it himself. Favorites include cubed sweet potatoes, peas, pasta, pizza crust (of course), chicken, eggs, avocado, banana, waffles, beans, literally ANYTHING! He's going to catch up to and surpass Cece's weight before we know it. He's got to be close to 20 pounds now. I just hope he keeps it up. It would be great not to have to deal with another picky eater like Cece.

He's also officially on the move! Sully started crawling about a week ago. I think he's enjoying his new tricks too, we often find him giggling away after managing to crawl under a chair or couch. He's almost ready to pull himself up to a standing position, too and just like Cece at this age, he loves to use those thunder thighs to jump in the jumperoo.

He also loves Summit. Thank goodness she's a good sport because she puts up with a lot from these kids. He will giggle and coo at her for as long as she'll stick around (indefinitely if he happens to have food in his hand!). She lets both kids climb on her and has never been aggressive toward them. Summit is a lot of things and her behavior (barking and crazy amounts of doggie joy) are not always conducive to having a small child in the house but I'll say one thing, the kids both absolutely love her and none of us can imagine a life or a house without that crazy beast in it.

We took the kids camping a few weeks ago (more on that soon!) and they both did great. There's nothing better than spending quality time as a family however Sully really used the opportunity to attach himself deeply to me. A true mama's boy, this kid. It's hard to complain about being so loved though. Being "on demand" 24-7 can be exhausting but it won't last forever.

A few other random thoughts from this month:

• Sully's hair is still a lovely shade of strawberry blonde and is starting to come in thick already. Lately I've been looking up "baby boy hairstyles" because before long, he'll need a trim. Or, maybe not, I like a kid with longer hair. Cece won't let me touch hers though, not even to put it in a ponytail to keep it out of her face...we probably should have started cutting hers sooner!
• He's solidly wearing 12-18 month clothes because his thunder thighs are busting out of just about anything smaller. He also seems tall? Will be curious to see his growth stats at his 9 month check up.
• He LOVES splashing in the water! We just plop him down in the tub or at Nana's lake and he will play and play for hours if we let him!
• He's showing signs of teething and has two small bumps where his lower front teeth are making their way to the surface. Ouch!
• He coos and babbles all the time and can tell us precisely what he wants in grunts.
• When he's really excited about something (usually food) he also starts swinging his arms wildly in circles. It can be hard to hold on to him!
• Seriously though, he is like the happiest baby ever. Ever!
  
   
   
  
  
  Want to see what Cece was up to at 8 months?! Check out her 8 month post. Sully definitely wins for the most hair!