8 Months

Eight months! I don't know where the time has gone! Just a few months ago we were marveling at his crawling skills, and now we're holding our breath as he practices his balance while standing and routinely escapes from his furniture barricades in the living room. He shocks us daily with new tricks that he's learned -- and scrunches up his little nose with delight at his accomplishments. We're looking forward to the next month of surprises. 

Stats: 

Weight: 19.4 pounds
Height: Coming soon

New Foods: Broccoli, roasted chicken, pork, wheat. 

Tricks: Miles is much better at using his fingers to pick up food (and any microscopic thing hanging out on the carpet). He started cruising along furniture and walls and often checks his balance by letting go. Yesterday, he attempted to do a pull up on the small cupboard that we have in the dining room and he's learned that his leg bends and lifts. With these two skills, it's only a matter of days until he successfully climbs on top of furniture. In a matter of weeks, he's managed to outsmart most of our baby-proofing efforts. And that hair. It deserves an entry for its own set of tricks:

Chaos? What Chaos?

Ignoring chaos on the couch in favor of saying "cheese" to the new camera -- and showing off the teeth.

Vacuum Time

The beautiful weather this weekend was inspiration to throw open the windows and do a massive cleanup and organization of the apartment. Miles was pretty thrilled to have is furniture barricade removed and free reign of the place. He crawled up and down the hallway, played with the door stops, and banged on doors and walls. He also was quite fascinated by the vacuum cleaner, following it around like it was his little pet. 

If only I got this much pleasure out of vacuuming.


Vacuum Time from Erin Brasell on Vimeo.

Peepzilla

Yesterday we went to our friends' Easter party that includes a Peeps art contest. Last year we won with a gladiator seen "Sparta-Peeps", so this year we really had to go one step further. Miles became part of our living art piece entitled "Peepzilla". As you can tell, Miles was pretty stoked about his outfit. He kept this indifferent gaze for most of the party, even when we danced and tried to get him to laugh. I think he somehow knows that this particular event will come up again, say when he goes to his first prom or brings his new girlfriend over for the first time. He just doesn't appreciate that I spent most of Friday creating his puffed outfit. 

He decided to begrudgingly crawl around, searching for something to take his mind off the fuzzy cap and sumo suit. He eventually found the entertainment center that had not only electronics, but was littered with temptations like little fuzzy chicks and malted chocolate eggs. Ethan, in the background, helpfully pushed the candy dish back so Miles couldn't get to the chocolate -- I think because he wanted the eggs all to himself.

Finally, we got to the good part. Miles warmed up to the crowd and fulfilled his Peepzilla mission with methodical enthusiasm. He dismembered unsuspecting Peeps hanging out in the park and then made his way to the buildings, using his best banging skills to tilt and sway the tall tower. Overall, Peepzilla was a success. And when Miles was finished, the other two boys joined in. I couldn't have imagined a better use for some old cardboard boxes. 

Here is Miles in action:

Drool Buckets

Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.

Sophisticated Humor

Miles may have inherited a lot of Jesse, but he got my sense of humor -- the sophisticated kind.

Books!

Miles learned how to unload the bookshelf this week. I knew this day would come, but wasn't sure when. He's always loved looking at our shelves because they are so colorful, but it wasn't until he actually started cruising around the furniture that he realized that they weren't just colorful -- they move! They also make wonderful thuds on the floor when you drop them. So far he's really just into the travel section, but as you can see isn't far from the cookbooks up top. I think I may have to move them lower so he doesn't drop one on his head!

Babygate

After a bit of a rough early morning, Miles slept in until 8:30am. Jesse rushed in to get him, turned off the monitor and let me sleep in until 9:45am. It was amazing. While I was sleeping, he and Miles were making rock 'n roll breakfast (trying to balance his healthy doses of girl rock that he gets while I'm in the kitchen).

While Jesse was loading the dishwasher, Miles figured out how to crawl under the footstool that has been serving as our barrier to the kitchen. He insanely proud of himself and spent some time dancing and shaking his head in victory. I think it was an accident, but given his learning curve, it's just a matter of days before he's doing it on purpose and all the time! 

We're off to the store this morning for a real baby gate. Let the proper baby proofing begin!

The Man Likes His Dinner Dance

How could he help himself? I am a glorious singer-songwriter (and also have no shame when it comes to Miles).

Bath Time

I purchased a non-slip mat for the bath so Miles can have the whole tub to himself. This was a quick decision made after a leisurely bath in the late morning when his head got red, he bared down, and grunted. I gasped, grabbed him under the armpits, and jumped out of the tub. In this case, I didn't scare the poop out of him, but scared him into not pooping -- hopefully this doesn't impact future potty training efforts. I decided that it was time for him to bathe free range, so to speak, and if he wanted to soil his water then he'd be the only one impacted. 

Also, he's gotten so squirmy and active that he just needed more space and less water in order to roam. Solo bath time was a success. He loves sticking his hand in the water and watching as it gets blurry and wavy. Splashing is also fun and I especially love the look of shock when the water gets on his face. He doesn't seem to mind at all and splashes even harder the next time. Sucking on towels is also great fun, as is crawling around looking for toys. 

He also loves to trying to stand on his own without the help of me or the side of the tub. I nearly had a heart attack when he tried the first time and he giggled at my anguish. More annoyingly, he also loves grabbing the shower rack, which unhinges and threatens to fall on his head. I gently distract him from trying to stand, but firmly say "no" and shake my finger at him when he grabs at the shower rack. I'm not sure it's working, but look at that face. How could you be annoyed at that for long?