8 months old!

THANK GOODNESS! 8 Months = Happy Baby!
Matthew's tears of the unknown are turning into independence. This kind of independence we've been anticipating since he was born.

What is Matthew up to...
He's been taking his first few crawls and tonight he did a complete weave through the toys across the playroom. His motivation, a dinosaur!!! And by gosh, he got it. It was quite cute as Brad and I were totally 100% into cheering Matthew on, our lovely Sam decided it was time for the spotlight to be redirected to him. So, Sam got down on all 4 and started to wine like his brother and crawl, fall, crawl, fall until he got a truck. It was priceless!

Sleeping: we're FINALLY on a GREAT schedule (yes Amy you told me to hold on and this will happen) 2 naps a day, about 2 hours each AND...I've finally got my dear boys to nap TOGETHER in the afternoon so I can get the much needed mommy time (yes Amy you told me this would happen). Bedtime: between 7 and 8. Awake: between 6 and 7! That's right, I said it...7 o'clock and he IS a Teplin boy!!! Baby Boot camp has resulted in success. (I'm so glad that is behind us.)

Back to the 7 a.m. wake up....I know this entry is about Matthew, however, I have to document that this household, (Brad as an exception) for the past week, has not rolled out of bed until 7. That is 7 A.M. Daddy is already gone for his work day and his family is JUST GETTING UP. I have to say, I LOVE THIS. I know it is a total fluke, but I am enjoying it as much as I can. For the past 2.5 years my children have had us up at 5 a.m. and they are normally bathed and breakfast is done BY 7 a.m.

Eating: Still on his Dr. Browns bottles. We tried switching and I'm now convinced that the Dr bottles really do work. We had him on Avent bottles for a weekend and he was a mess. A complete mess. We went back to the Dr bottles and he was a TON better. So we'll continue. They are just a pain to wash. Matthew still is offered baby food, but prefers table food. He loves frozen peas, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, hummus, cheese, yogurt, turkey and waffles! It's so cute watching him try to put the food in his mouth. His little stubbys just can't figure out where that mouth opening is. His new favorite love is drinking out of a sippy cup like Sam and eating mac n cheese.

Personality: Stubbornness is kicking in. It's actually rather amusing to watch him struggle non verbally for what he is telling us he wants. He will push my hand away and insist I understand what his little wines mean. Once we accomplish what it is he wanted, we receive ear to ear smiles. He still likes to be cuddled. However, with his independence entering his world, I already see this drifting away. BUT, he still likes to be held when he drinks his bottle.

Words: Da Da. Don't worry, it's not used at daddy, but Sam is demanding he says, "mama" and "Sam". We'll hear from the other room, "Matthew, say MaMa" "Matthew, say, Sam!".

Favorite loves: His blue My Blankee

No doctors visit until his 9 month appt. AND, I verified with the doctor today that Matthew is all caught up on his shots, which means NO SHOTS at his 9 month well check. Thank goodness because Mimi and Papa will be here and we need Matthew on his BEST behavior or else we pack him in their suitcases for a little boot camp in WI!