Palmer turned 8 months old yesterday, so I want to take a minute and recap all about him at seven months!
I have to say that he is at such a fun age to enjoy his first Christmas! Obviously he doesn't really know what is going on, but he does love looking at the presents and lights!
He is really quite the scooter these days! He can easily get from one side of the room to the other by scooting/army crawling. His favorite motivators are shoelaces, anything that belongs to Beau, and recently the Christmas tree. Oh and cords! This boy loves some cords! Isn't it crazy how kids are attracted to the most dangerous things? Definitely keeps me on my toes! Just in the last few days, Palmer has started really getting up on all fours with his belly off the ground and rocking back and forth.
Palmer continues to be a good eater. He is nursing 3-4 times a day and has formula bottles a couple of times a day. On Beau's speech therapy days or days with lots of errands, he might have an extra bottle or two. On days when we are home the whole day, he might not have any bottles. He is pretty flexible and easy to please. As far as solids, he really will eat pretty much anything and he hasn't had any reactions to certain foods. He has developed a bit of personality during meals if he doesn't think he is getting bites of food fast enough. He will squeal/scream if he wants more.
He really enjoys the independence that the mesh feeder provides, so we use that a lot too. We typically give him the mesh feeder while we are eating because it occupies him for a while. He really likes frozen purees in the feeder such as black beans, sweet potatoes, etc. He also likes fresh fruit such as bananas and oranges.
Palmer is now wearing size 3 diapers and size 9 month clothes. It is quite amazing to watch him grow and change everyday. He still has 2 teeth on the bottom and we haven't noticed any more coming in quite yet.
One cute thing that Palmer has started doing is making a little squishy face. It is kind of like his new smile I guess. It is super cute. I love hearing Palmer "talk" and explore sounds. He has been adding in more consonants and more syllables in his babbling. I know he was just babbling, but he said "mama" on November 30.
One of the best aspects of parenting right now is watching the relationship between Beau and Palmer grow. They love each other so much and enjoy being together. The only time that Beau gets frustrated with Palmer is when Palmer tries to play with teddy and puppy (Beau's beloved stuffed animals). Beau will say, "Mine, mine, mine!" I was actually totally thrilled the first time I heard him say it because we've been working on personal pronouns for several weeks in speech. Ha! Beau loves to match Palmer and I am totally taking advantage of that because I know it won't last forever. I try to buy them all matching pajamas and it is so cute!
Oh...this is funny. Beau has heard us telling Palmer "no" when he tries to play with cords. Sometimes if I turn my back for a minute or walk away to do something, I will hear Beau telling Palmer no. Nine times out of ten when I come to see what is going on, Palmer is near a cord or something he is not allowed to have. So Beau is like our little policeman! Ha ha ha! Also, if Palmer gets fussy in a store, Beau will tell him, "Almost done Palmer." If Palmer gets fussy in the car, Beau will say, "Almost home Palmer." It is beyond precious. Beau pronounces Palmer like paw-taw... so cute.
Palmer sleeps in his crib and in his sleep sack. We are using a fleece sleep sack for winter to make sure he is nice and warm. He is definitely a tummy sleeper. I always put him to sleep on his back, but he immediately rolls to his tummy.
We love you more and more each day baby Palmer!! In a year that could have been completely dark with grief, God graciously gave us YOU! What a gift you are, in so many ways! Even though he is not here to tell you, your Pipi loves you very much, just like your Nana, Mimi, and Grandpa do! You and your big brother Beau are loved more than you could ever possibly imagine!
