Growing Up

I can't believe how quickly Hunter is growing up. He has been army crawling for weeks now and yesterday he started pulling his knees up underneath him for the first time. He took to feeding himself puffs with absolute ease and only gets more proficient at getting them in his mouth. From the get go he picked them up with his thumb and forefinger, no raking for this kid! He started sitting all by himself too, and can get to sitting from his tummy. And then, two nights ago, he woke me up in the middle of the night and when I went to get him he was standing up. I had to lower his crib mattress! I can't believe all of this has happened at once! One of the most awesome things that has improved is his sleeping habits. We used to have trouble with him waking up when we put him down, and we could only get him to fall asleep in our arms. And then one night I put him in his crib (I may have already written about this) because he wouldn't stop squirming and he fell asleep on his own! And now he does it all the time! I still rock him to sleep a night or two a week, but usually we can just put him down and within twenty minutes he's out. And when he does fall asleep in my arms I don't have to put him down gingerly anymore. I put him on his side, or as best as I can, and he rolls over on his tummy and stays asleep. It's simply amazing how quickly the time goes. I can't believe he's almost eight months old. Before I know it we'll be celebrating his first birthday. 

Hands!

Hunter has discovered his hands! Actually, for the past several weeks it's been obvious that he can put them together and knows that they are his. But today he was holding his bottle on his own! He couldn't quite hold it tall enough when it got low, it was a bit too heavy for him even almost empty, but he was holding it! It was so cool! Oh my goodness, he is getting so big! And he talks! He definitely is saying specific things, like, "Mom, my pacifier fell out, could you put it back in please?" And he will repeat the same pattern of noises until he gets what he wants. It is amazing. We can start the My Baby Can Read Program in another couple of weeks, and sign language after that. I'm so excited! And yesterday (Monday) he rolled over almost all the way from his back to his stomach while we were visiting Lisa. He's such a big, smart boy!

According to the babycenter.com developmental milestone chart he is fairly advanced even! He can do everything they say he might be able to do as a 3 month old already, such as holding his head steady, following objects with his eyes, recognizing me, vocalizing, doing the mini-pushup, bringing his hands together, and batting at toys, which range from mastered to advanced skills. And in the 4 month category he can smile, bear weight on his legs, responds vocally when we talk to him, grasps toys, and rolls over. And he's not even 3 months! Before I know it he's going to be crawling and toddling! And he might even cut a first tooth in the next little bit. We will see!

Hunter rolls over!

Hunter rolls over. I go a little overboard with the enthusiasm. He is 1 month and 3 days old.