Walker, 8 months old

Holy moly. I can't believe Walker is 8 months old. His personality is becoming more apparent to us by the day and he is just so fun. Well, that is, when he's not teething or getting an ear infection or missing his nap or hungry or getting his nose sucked or suffering from reflux. Those are all the things that make him a bit cranky. I get it. I think I'd be cranky if all of those things happened to me, too. ;)

Some baby facts about Walker this month:

• He's babbling. Lots of "bah" and "buh" and some "duhs" and "mahs" and "muhs." And oh my gosh, it's the sweetest sound. We love hearing him babble. Lainey tries to talk back to him and sometimes he'll respond to her. LOVE it!!
• He would like to be able to pull up on things but he's not quite there yet.
• When he has a bottle, especially when he's sleepy, he rubs his eyes with his forearms and hands. It's very sweet and it's obviously something he does to comfort and relax himself.
• He's starting to be more aware of people and faces and does show some stranger anxiety.
• He loves the character Moose on Nick Jr. He always smiles and turns to the TV when he hears Moose's voice! It's so funny.
• Picking up small bits of food - like Puffs and Yogurt Melts - is getting easier for Walker. He's actually getting some pieces into his mouth and, while he still has a pretty strong gag reflex causing him to spit out the food, he is getting better at chewing and swallowing.
• He has perfected his army crawl, and he is trying to bring his knees up underneath his body to crawl. He's rocked a bit on his hands and knees and I think he's getting ready to move. He scoots everywhere and gets stuck in places - like under the Exersaucer, under the table, under a chair... Lainey never did that. She only crawled in open spaces, never under things. So this is new for us!
• He has two new teeth. He has his top left center tooth (if that makes sense) and then the one on the outside of that...I think it's an incisor. Anyway, he now has 4 teeth.
• Walker loves children. All children. They make him smile - on TV, in pictures, in real-life.
• He and his sister are still such sweet friends and buddies. She is so sweet to him, and he just adores her. I so hope that she continues to play with him as he gets older.
• He is the funniest eater. Still! There is no pattern to when he eats or how much he eats. For example, he had a bottle this morning at 7:00 a.m. I think it was 5 ounces. He refused to eat again until noon, when he had about 3 or 4 ounces of formula and half a jar of applesauce. The kid just eats when he wants and how much he wants, and there's no forcing it. Believe me, we've tried. :)
• Thankfully, he goes with the flow - for the most part. There are days when his naps take place in his car seat - going to take Lainey to school and then going to pick her up. On those days, he goes to bed very, very early.
• He cannot stand his ear plugs that he now has to wear because of his tubes. He gets SO mad when we put them in.
• He can let you have it if you put him somewhere (like his Exersaucer) or leave him somewhere (like his crib) that he doesn't want to be. The baby can scream! :)
• Bouncing, standing, scooting, stomping his feet, and "swimming" on his tummy (with legs and arms flying) are his favorite things to do. He doesn't like to sit.
• We tired upgrading him to the faster-flow bottle. After nearly a week of sleepless nights (we're talking all-out screaming, causing us to go into his room anywhere from 7 to 10 times a night) and a visit to the pediatrician it FINALLY dawned on me that this baby was indeed suffering from reflux (like the pediatrician said) but it was due to the fact that he was eating too much too fast (not because of the anesthesia). He was having trouble burping and thus, the reflux occurred. Poor baby. We switched him back to the medium-flow bottle and he was back to his normal self.

Overall, Walker is just turning into quite a spirited little guy. He's full of smiles and personality and definitely has opinions about things. He is not necessarily what I'd call a happy, chilled-out baby. Although, as he's getting older, he's getting easier and a bit more predictable.