Tripp at 8 months

Lots of new things going on this month. Tripp has learned to pull up, sit from a laying position, and crawl. He is so mobile now. As a matter-of-fact, he just will not sit still! He also moves his head back and forth like he is saying "no" and claps his hands. It's so incredibly cute!!

Before I get into the other things that Tripp is doing right now, I have to say that he really loves his sister. As in adores her. Each day I can see how much more he loves her. He laughs at her, stares at her, and just wants to be near her. If she comes over to play with him, he starts clapping and kicking his feet. Sometimes when we are driving in the car, they start what I call a "laughfest." Sophie will make a face at Tripp, he'll smile, she'll laugh (usually a fake laugh), he'll laugh, she laughs louder, he laughs louder ... you get it ... they just laugh at one another over and over and over again. Now that Tripp pays more attention to Sophie and she has decided that she enjoys entertaining him, car rides have become a little bit more bearable. Sophie - thank you for entertaining your brother in the car!

- Personality: Observant, antsy/always trying to move, smart, sweet, and when he wants to be, he is still a cuddler.
- Based on my home scale, Tripp still weighs 21 lbs.
- Wears 12 - 18 month clothing and some 12 month clothing, size 3 shoes, and size 4 diapers.
- Tripp really loves his mommy! :-) It's the best! If he sees me and I do not walk over to see him, he starts to cry. He's still a momma's boy. Yay!
- Eats breastmilk (4 to 5 nursing sessions/bottles per day)
- Eats solids - breakfast, lunch and dinner. Doing much better eating solids. Doesn't really have a favorite food. Even if he protests, he still eats pretty much anything we give him, including green veggies!
- Starting to do some self-feeding. Likes cheerios and biter biscuits. Had lima beans the other night and really seemed to enjoy them.
- Uses pincer grasp pretty well. Can pick small objects up with these two fingers (like cheerios).
- Reaches his arms in the air when he wants to be picked up.
- Sleeping well, generally 12 hours. Sleeps on his tummy with his tooshie in the air.
- Is really sweet when he wakes in the morning. Just talks to himself and rolls around in his crib. These days he is sitting up and sometimes trying to pull up. We had to lower his crib to the lowest setting a few days ago. He also likes to play with the video monitor transmitter that is sitting on the crib. Sometimes when I push the on button to see what Tripp is doing in the morning, his face is right up in the monitor and all I can see is eyes and a nose. Love it!
- Has 5 teeth. 4 on top, 1 on bottom. It does look like the other bottom center tooth will be coming in any day now.
- He's like a monkey. No joke. He uses his feet and legs to wrap around things. Makes us laugh.
- Still has an amazingly strong grip. Crazy strong!
- Doesn't nap well. Takes 2 - 45 minute naps if we are lucky. Morning nap is easier to get him down. Afternoon nap is hit or miss. If he falls asleep for even just 5 minutes in the car, he will not take his afternoon nap.
- Takes all of his baths with Sophie and they both love it! We had to start putting him in a bath seat because he was trying to stand up using the side of the tub and he was diving into the water and at the toys. Crazy in the bath! He did take his first shower yesterday.
- Talks much more now. He officially said "da da" although he didn't say it in terms of daddy. Has also uses the syllables "a"and "g".
- Extremely hard to change is diaper or dress him. He screams and cries and rolls around. He's freakishly strong and can actually straighten his arm out so that you can't put a shirt on him.
- After all this time, he still does not like the exersaucer, jumperoo, high chair, car seat, stroller, etc.
- Tripp is very ticklish. Specifically on his bum, inner thighs and neck. When he gets going with his laugh it sounds so funny, like he can't really get an entire laugh out. It's adorable.
- He loves banging things. Doesn't matter what toy it is, he picks it up and hits things with it.
- Loves to be outside.
- Likes to sit and ride on the little red and yellow push car we have outside.
- Gets upset if a toy is taken away from him and looks for an object that has been dropped.
- Likes peekaboo! This is neat because Sophie never seemed to like it.
- Tripp is not interested in books. In fact, reading a book before bed is not even in his bedtime routine. I try once or twice a week to incorporate reading, but he just isn't a fan.