Dear Nolan: 8 Months

Dear Nolan,

At the beginning of January you turned eight months old.  Every month I say I’m going to write this letter on time and every month the day comes and goes and then goes the next and the next and the next.  As your dad would tell me, as he tells me anytime I complain about not being able to stay on top of things, Three Kids! As much as I maybe don’t want to admit it, I know he is right.  The fact is, it’s hard to keep up with life when you have little ones to tend to.  I know in the grand scheme of things these years will go fast, so I try not to let myself get too worked up when I’m falling behind. And speaking of the years going fast, look at you already eight months old!  Eight months.  It is really, really hard for me to believe you are this old.

Photos by CaSondra Shim Photography

Your eight month marked the celebration of your first Christmas.  You were into the opening of gifts way more than I expected.  In fact, you were in to the whole season more than I expected.  I’ll never forget the picture we have of you sitting on Mrs. Claus’ lap staring up at Santa.  I know you had no clue who he was, but your eyes were full of wonder and it was just so precious to see.  And the train at Papa and Busha’s, you sat with your big brothers and just watched it go round and round and round.  I was shocked you didn’t grab at it, but you didn't, you just sat and watched politely.

Photos by CaSondra Shim Photography

Unfortunately, just after Christmas you got your first ear infection.  You had been battling a cold off and on in the weeks leading up to the holiday and it was almost as if you just crashed as soon as it was all over.  The three nights of continuous screaming started on New Year’s Eve and it took a few days of medication for you to finally start feeling better.  It was miserable for all of us and not exactly the start we were hoping for the New Year, but thankfully, we survived. Unfortunately I’m afraid we’ll be dealing with many more cycles of sickness and viruses before this season is over.  I feel so bad for you because I feel like every month you’ve had to fight off something.  I know it’s because you have big brothers who bring stuff home and I don’t want to keep you in a bubble, but I kind of wish I could, just until you were a little older.

Photo by CaSondra Shim Photography

This month you have been on the move.  You’re not crawling on your hands and knees yet, but that does not stop you from getting to where you are going.  The Army Crawl is your preferred method of movement right now, but you keep propping yourself on your knees and rocking back and forth, so I know the actually crawl is not far off.  You also got your first two teeth, the two bottom middle ones, and they made their appearance at practically the exact same time.  Your other big milestone, which I probably should have included in last month’s letter, is your first sound.  Much to your father’s delight, it is da da.  I’ve tried numerous times to work with you on ma ma and each time is the same result: you give me a huge smile, take a deep breath as if you’re concentrating really hard, and you blurt out Da Da!

Photo by CaSondra Shim Photography

It’s been slow going introducing you to new food because its seemed to cause a flare up in your reflux and at eight months you really still weren’t all that interested, but this month you did try both oatmeal and butternut squash (you loved the squash!) You weigh approximately 16 pounds and wear 6-9 month clothes.  You love water.  Love water.  The bath, the sink, the shower, it does not matter to you.  You don’t even mind it coming straight down over the top of your head.  This makes me excited about taking you swimming your first time. With the exception of when you were sick, you are still pretty good natured, except when you are getting your diaper changed.  At eight months we have solidly entered the diaper changing stage I like to refer to as “wrestling an alligator.”  For good measure, you like to throw in a few good screams along with all the wiggling. You are getting so big so fast and while I hate that you are moving out of the baby stage, I look forward to all the milestones to come.

Photos above by CaSondra Shim Photography

I love you sweet boy,

Mama