Dear Ryder - 8 months

Dear Ryder,

Today you are 8 months old. Happy Birthday to you!

You weigh about 21 pounds and you are very long. I guess we need to invest in a tape measure for these months we don't go to the doctor and get measured. I know your 9 month sleepers that you got for Christmas are not long enough any more, so you have been very busy growing this last month. You are wearing size 3 diapers now and while they are a little roomy (baby does NOT have back) they do the job. You still have a chubby belly and chipmunk cheeks, but you are not a fat baby. Your hair is getting thicker and longer, but mostly just on top and not on the sides. You have a few hairs in the back that stand straight up on end. Your eyes are dark gray.

You haven't felt well for a good part of the last month. We blamed a lot of it on getting more teeth, even though those top ones still haven't come through. You have had a fever, you have had diarrhea, you have had a runny nose, you have had a cough. You don't want to eat, you don't want to drink. You especially don't want to be left alone. Pretty much all you want is your mommy, which is a big departure from what you wanted for the first 7 months, which was your daddy.

You really like your bouncer and spend hours in it just bouncing away - as long as someone is looking at you at all times. You like your walker too and the sounds the horn and blinkers make, but you haven't figured out how to make it move yet. You learned to sit on your own and can do so for hours on the floor playing with your new toys. You especially like your lantern and the rings (and the cell phones and remote control if we would let you). You have become all boy when playing with the smaller toys as you like to bang them together and throw them around. You aren't as crazy about being on your stomach any more and you have no interest in crawling. You love to stand up and will even take a step or two if mommy is holding your hands. But nothing is as great as a book. You love books. You love to look at them, you love have anyone read them to you, you love to eat them. You get that from Gramma Jill (not the eating part, you get that from Dakota).

Speaking of Dakota, you have decided that you flat out love the dogs. Dakota reciprocates these feelings, but Callie not so much. You aren't so great at the flat handed pet yet, so mostly you either make a fist and whack Dakota on the head or grab a chunk of hair, ear or lip. Dakota just sits there and takes it or, much to daddy's dislike, licks you. You giggle and wiggle and the two of you have a great time. Now with Callie things don't go nearly as well. You pull out a fist of hair and we don't see Callie for an hour. She'll come around. She is always lurking waiting for you to drop some food so she never gets too far away. You watch them whether you are in your high chair, on your changing table, in your crib, or in your bouncer. You look for them first thing when you wake up in the morning. They lay at my feet when I rock you to sleep at night.

When you eat, you are still a good eater. You are up to the Stage 3 foods. Best I can tell that just means they already mixed it with rice. You still like peas and green beans best, and even when you don't want to eat I can usually get you to eat those. You like the meat foods too, and so far we haven't found any that smell like cat food. Turkey and rice and chicken and apples seem to hit the spot the best. You aren't so crazy about fruit still, but you will eat it at daycare. You usually eat cereal and fruit for breakfast, fruit and veggies for lunch, meat and veggies for dinner - and about 16-20 oz of formula a day.

We have done a better job with a nighttime routine, and that was working well until you got sick. We all really enjoy bath time - you have so many toys in there with you now that there is hardly any room for water. You get read a story every night, and usually you go to sleep pretty fast. You always start out in your crib, and usually wake up after about an hour looking for that pacifier. Most of the time we are able to get you back to sleep. For about 2 weeks you were sleeping through the night without a bottle and without coming into bed with mommy. We had a set back but we are working our way back to restful nights. You might be a stubborn baby, but you inherited it from someone who has had a lot more years practice. 

You are really interactive in whatever we are doing. You are so proud of yourself if we clap and say "Yay Ryder!". You will hold your arms up in the air when we say "So Big" and we are working on giving a high five (waving is still a work in progress). You pet daddy when he makes noises like a kitty. If we even come at you with the tickle monster you start giggling. We can hypnotize you with your pacifier on a string.

Even though it has been a hard month with you feeling crummy, you are still our little warrior. It doesn't matter if you have had a fever for 3 days or a poopy diaper for 12, you always find a way to put a smile on your face. The way you put your little arms around my neck and lay your head on my shoulder melts my heart, and there is nothing in the world I wouldn't do for you. You are my sunshine.

I love you to the moon and back,
Mommy