Alexander at 8 Months

Alexander is a busy, busy baby now. He's up, down, all over, and into everything. He loves being able to move though and all of the activity has him napping better again, so that is good.

At 8 months Alexander:

• Is 20 pounds and 30 inches
• Is wearing 12-18 month clothes
• Can say Mamma and Dadda
• Loves eggs and sweet potatoes and bangs on his tray for more (hasn't caught onto any actual sign language yet, but definitely wants to communicate)
• Pulls himself up on all kinds of furniture
• Cruises around the couches and even transfers from one piece of furniture to another with relative ease
• Thinks he should be able to do everything his brothers can do
• Still scoots around on his tummy really fast (although just today I saw him do a tiny bit of real crawling, so maybe that will catch on soon
• Can be very focused and have a good attention span if we're interacting with him
• But won't sit still if he isn't being held or strapped into a seat, so he still can not sit steadily by himself
• Has a great smile and laugh and is already developing his own little sense of humor

Alexander at 7 months

He is on the move! Alexander can scoot all over really quickly now. Which of course means now he needs constant supervision and is into everything, but he loves to move and chase his brothers. :)

At 7 months Alexander:

• Is about 19 pounds and 29.5 inches long
• Wearing 9-18 month clothes
• Is getting better at sitting, although he'll still fall over sometimes
• Has two teeth!
• Has been trying a little more solid food
• Loves fruit!
• Has discovered his tongue and does funny things with it
• Is super cute! (at least we think so)

He loves grandma!

Alexander loved the carpet at the hotel and kept petting it. :)

I like sweet potatoes!

I like whipped cream!

Alexander at 6 months

I'm sure you can tell we've been busy lately by my lack of posting. The boys and life in general always keep us busy of course, but we've also been blessed to just have my husband's family come for a visit and my parents are coming for a visit in less than two weeks! I think we may make all our American friends here jealous since our family is so great to travel so far to visit us, but I think maybe they are really just flying around the world to see our kids, including super cute baby man.

Anyway Alexander is half a year old already and changing all the time, like all babies do.

At 6 months Alexander is:

• 18.5 pounds and 28.5 inches long (our longest and "thinnest" baby at this point, but just barely as he is really closely following Aaron's growth trends)
• He is wearing clothing in sizes 9-18months, but he is about to bust the 9 month onesies, so those are going to have to be packed up soon again
• He smiles, giggles, and laughs a lot
• He is still my worst sleeper, doesn't nap much again, and wakes up a lot at night. None of my boys thought sleeping was a particularly good use of time though, and although they are all good at lots of things, sleeping just doesn't seem to be one of them. :)
• He can now scoot all over the floor forward on his tummy, which means now he can intentionally go where he wants to. Watch out, but at least he isn't very fast yet.
• He likes to move, but also has a really good attention span and can pay attention to something for a really long time for his age.
• He can say mmmmmmama! Sometimes it comes it comes out mmm, sometimes mom, and sometimes mama, but it is incredibly intentional and directed only at mama. He is the first to say mama as his first word too (the first two boys definitely said dada first).
• He is totally a mama's boy, but in a different way than my first. Aaron would cry the entire time I was gone and if I would even go to the bathroom. Alexander won't cry that much if I'm gone or out of sight. However, if I in sight but out of reach or not holding him he'll just cry mmmmama over and over. It's cute and heartbreaking sometimes.
• He still doesn't seem to show a naturally gifted ability or bent to either verbal or motor skills, but his determination gained him real mobility and communication in the last month, so it seems to be working for him!
• He has met both maternal and paternal grandparents now!

I love how blue Alexander's eyes are in this picture Grandpa took!

Alexander at 4 Months

Another month has passed quickly and Alexander is 4 months old. Growing quickly he is now 16 pounds 10 ounces and 27 inches long.

At four months:

• He is starting to grab toys and put them in his mouth.
• He definitely notices and plays with his hands a lot.
• He notices and tries to grab his feet often, but he still seems quite surprised that they are there the next time he sees them.
• He loves when his brothers talk and read to him and play nearby him.
• He loves attention! He even like diaper changes and baths most of the time because someone is paying attention just to him. :)
• He is still doing fine on just a milk diet, but is very interested in food. He has really liked the few licks of apple and pear he has had.