The Hatz Family: 8 Months!

Carter is 8 months old today! 8 months. As each month passes (too quickly I might add) I always get a bittersweet feeling about my little man. I am excited about all the new things he is learning and each stage seems to be more fun than the last. But I am a little sad because he is just growing up too darn fast! Just the other night Carter fell asleep in my arms and I just sat there and looked at him. He looked so peaceful but very different than the little infant that I used to hold. Although I normally put Carter in his bed right away if he falls asleep in my arms that night I held him a little longer because I thought to myself, I don't know how much longer I will get to do this. ::tears::

But last night, well last night was a different story. Carter must have known that I was a little sad with all the growing he has been doing so he decided to revert back to an infant and was.up.all.night.long!! And for no apparent reason. He just couldn't get settled so after the 5th time of Matt or I going in his room to put his nuk back in his mouth (yes, my son still cannot keep a nuk in his mouth by himself) I decided to just bring him in bed with me. Not.a.good.idea.

He was moving all around and then sat up and starting "talking" to and giggling at Hayden, then was hitting my face, crawling all over me - the man was up to party! I was not amused and by 4 am, one (failed) cry-it-out attempt, two trips to my bed and back to his bed, and 3 more "inserting" nuk trips by Matt he was asleep. So needless to say Matt and I are a little tired today. And am I still nostalgic about Carter's newborn days? Notsomuch....

Happy 8 Months Carter Man! We love you more than words can express and your smile is always contagious (even at 3 in the morning). Many people comment on what a happy guy you are and it is so true. We couldn't have been blessed with a better baby and we know that in a matter of weeks (days?) you will really be keeping us on our toes :).

Here is what you have been up to:

You have been babbling a lot more - usually to Hayden
You are beginning to know people. You look when asked, "where is daddy? where is Hayden?"
You are mobile! You have crawled a couple times - sometimes army crawling and other times in the more traditional sense. But you only lunge forward a couple movements before plopping on your belly. So I am not officially counting it as crawling.
You usually get around my getting on your hands and knees, moving forward a little, sitting up, getting on your hands and knees, moving forward...rinse and repeat :)
You learned how to pull yourself up in your crib - so we are moving the mattress down! You pull yourself up on anything or anyone :)
You are still a drooling machine and still spit up but not nearly as much as you used to. Although "blowouts" have become a more recent occurrence than in the past. So you swapped one end for the other and still go through at least a couple outfits a day :)
You celebrated your first Thanksgiving and Christmas with Aunt Grete and Uncle Mark. You really enjoy opening gifts!
You play more with Addison and even sometimes pick on her like she picked on you...she is not amused
You are beginning to lift you arms when you want picked up
You still pant like a dog every time you see your bottle
You eat Stage 2 baby food and we are moving to Stage 3!
You now hate your bath! Strangest thing because just last week we got adorable video of you splashing around the tub and now you scream bloody murder
You love to Skype! We put the computer on the couch and you stand and talk, talk, talk
You are still very sensitive and don't like loud noises or being told no. Those events are usually followed by your sad face and tears.
You are still working on feeding yourself. Sometimes the puffs make it in your mouth and other times they just get stuck on your fingers or fall on the floor.
You love to smile, giggle and belly laugh!