Charlie 8 Months

Charlie has to be the easiest baby ever. He is so so sweet and content 95% of the time, the other 5% of the time his brother is probably pestering him in some way.

Charlie said his first word the week after he turned 7 months old. It was "Hi". He says hi and simultaneously waves. It is probably the cutest thing ever. That same night he started to say "Dada". We thought he was just making the noise, but I asked him, "Charlie, where's Dad?" and he looked right at Gordy and reached for him. From the first time he said it, he totally associated the word "dada" with Gordy. He still uses it in connection with Gordy too.  He loves his dad so, so much. Everyday when Gordy walks in the front door, Charlie breathes really fast and kicks his arms and legs and grunts until Gordy picks him up. Such a daddy's boy.

Charlie still doesn't really say "mama". Well, he kind of makes a noise that sounds like mama, but I'm not going to count it until he says it to my face.

Charlie is starting in with stranger danger, but only with men.

Charlie started clapping, but only with one open hand, the other is closed in a fist.

He likes to sing along when we sing songs, especially in sacrament meeting.

We haven't found anything that Charlie doesn't like to eat yet. He loves pretty much everything. He especially loves when we give him some of our food. Charlie loves to feed himself finger foods. He is pretty much a pro now. He almost never misses. He's pretty good about holding his bottle/sippy cup too. AND he's finally figured out how to take a few sips from it.

Charlie has started to squeal for attention.

My favorite time of the day is when I get Charlie up in the morning or up from his naps. He always wakes up in the best mood. When I walk in the room he has the biggest smile on his face and he just kicks and squeals with delight. It is the best.

At the beginning of this month, we sleep trained Charlie. The first night was horrendous. He cried and cried for an hour. I felt terrible and sent Gordy in a few times to check on him, because if I go in, he would only want to nurse. I think that he cried so long for the first night BECAUSE we went in to check on him. Every time we went in, he just got all riled up again. The next night, he cried for 35 mins, then the next night for 5 mins, then the next night no crying at all. It's been so nice to have him putting himself to sleep. He's definitely been sleeping much better at night since we let him cry it out.

Charlie likes to say "la, la, la" along with us when we chant it to him.

We all, Jack included, blow raspberries on Charlie's tummy and he loves it. He has actually started to try to blow raspberries on our arms and legs whenever he gets close enough... silly boy.

Charlie has a few favorite toys these days. He has never really been that interested in baby toys. He really only likes to play with the things he sees his brother playing with. He loves to hold his brother's cars and he makes a motor sound when he holds them... he also loves to bang on the keyboard, and he's absolutely obsessed with balls.

This month, Charlie has started sleeping on his tummy.

Charlie LOVES when I read to him. He gets so excited when he sees a book.

Charlie goes up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth. He is trying really, really hard to crawl, but hasn't figured it out yet. Tonight, Jack and I were in the boy's room and when we came out, Charlie had scooted himself a few feet off of the blanket I left him on. So, I guess he is scooting a little bit too, but he just barely started doing that.

Another thing Charlie has just started to do this past week is pull himself up. He has actually only done it on his own one or two times, but he is getting the hang of it.

When Charlie hears Jack crying in another room, he always shows concern by looking around for his brother, then looking at me and grunting, then looking around for his brother again. It's like he's saying, "hey mom, Jack's in trouble and he needs you!".

When Charlie is crying and I pick him up, he pats me on the back. I love that he does that.

Charlie is our little drummer boy. He is always banging on things. He'll probably be a percussionist like his Pop.

Charlie has started to shake his head no. He does it sometimes when we talk to him and it's funny because it's like he knows what we mean. He also does it when I try to offer him a bite of food while he is still chewing. I love when they start learning how to communicate what they want/don't want.

One of my boy's favorite things to do is make funny noises with their mouths while I move my finger up and down on their lips really fast (what's that called anyway?).  Both of my boys think it's so silly, but Charlie especially loves it. He has even started doing it to himself.

Charlie loves to watch his brother. He thinks pretty much everything Jack does is hilarious. Jack even threw up a little bit the other day and Charlie was laughing so hard he was almost in tears. I think he has a really high opinion of his brother, as a little brother should. I'm so happy that they seem to like each other so much. I think they are going to be really good friends as they grow older.

Charlie absolutely can not go for a ride in the stroller without falling asleep. Seriously, it only takes two minutes and he's out like a light. He's getting a little bit better at not falling asleep every single time we get in the car, but he still falls asleep most of the time.

As you can tell, there is just so much about Charlie that I love. He is so sweet and happy. I think that as he grows, we are just going to keep learning about him and his mellow, happy, and optimistic spirit. Charlie has taught me so much in the short time he has been in our family, and we are so, so blessed to have him.