Silas is *8* months old
So much drool...
So, first of all, we have a tooth and then some!
We've learned that Silas is an early, slow, painful teether. :-\ He started teething at 3 months old (and don't tell me that wasn't teething. It definitely was.). We only just got this tooth done. The one next to it sometimes is visible and sometimes isn't. Did you know that baby teeth can move backward? True story. So...1 down, 19 more to go?
I think I need a nap. And a Valium.
HOWEVER, not to look a gift horse in the mouth (heh), Silas is FINALLY feeling better. He had an ear infection earlier in the month, and an ear drum ruptured and he was on antibiotics, which made his guts all weird. All of that is finally cleared up...just in time for ramping up production on tooth #2. I am happy that he's feeling better, and is back to his adorable playful self, though. The whiny fussitude was getting old.
Oh! and he's getting sweet little baby curls!
We had a great Easter. Thanks to the Grandmas for providing Easter...things. I totally was not on top of that this year.
Cute outfit from Verna, giant lamb and The Easter Egg by Jan Brett from Mom, fluffy lavender-scented bunny from Jean Huber aka "Great-Nanny" (yes, it's PartyLite!).
It wasn't quite in time for Easter, but we did get him this adorable little bench.
Look! It has elephants!
Silas is developing a lot of new skills lately. He REALLY wants to crawl, but can't do it yet. FRUSTRATIONS. But, he is starting to enjoy solid foods more. He wants to feed himself, and we let him sometimes.
It's kind of messy.
BUT FUN!
His favorite food right now is homemade yogurt.
GIVE IT TO ME FASTER.
He can get his foot in his mouth now.
Learning to play the drums...
...and type.
He finally understands "peekaboo"
and LOVES IT.
He's also learning to give "kisses." This isn't a very good picture, but I think you can tell what's going on. He grabs my hair with both hands, and pulls my head toward his gaping maw (with the one SHARP tooth).
And then he sort of...chews on my face (ow!).
New favorite thing this month: The exploration basket. I'm reading Montessori from the Start, which I'm finding very interesting and mostly agreeing with (although I just read their section on breastfeeding and sleep training, which kind of ticked me off...I guess nothing's perfect). One activity they recommend for 6-9 month olds, which does not involve buying their weird special Montessori toys, is to get a little basket and fill it with household items that your baby can explore. If you pick the right things, so they claim, things that are at the perfect challenge level for your baby, and offer only four to six things at a time, and rotate them every few days, your baby will be thoroughly occupied for up to an hour, on his own. And learning! I was skeptical, but how could I not try it?
I took this basket that Greta gave me--she also lent me the Montessori book, come to think of it--and gathered two hair brushes (one soft baby brush and one travel brush), a coat hook, a rubber spatula, a tiny mixing bowl, a cookie cutter, and a few other things. I picked five things at random and gave them to Silas.
Forty-five minutes, I kid you not. And the next day, too. And most days since then. Maybe I can get my work done even if the baby refuses to nap after all!
We're doing a few other "very Montessori" things too. Actually, letting Silas feed himself counts, but isn't as weird as some of the other things. EC (putting the baby on the potty) is a concept that is very much in line with the Montessori principles, but I doubt it's mentioned in the book. I haven't gotten to the section where that would be yet, though, so maybe.
One major thing--and very noticeable to a visitor--is that we don't have a crib. Bryce gave us one, but we ended up passing it on to Dale and Olesya without ever using it. Instead we have a floor bed (or, Montessori would say, "child-bed.")
The concept here is that the room is pretty well babyproofed (what you see behind him are his toys). The baby can get out to explore. He's not in danger of falling out of the crib while trying to climb out. He isn't dependent on his parents to decide what he's going to do. To be really super-Montessori, we should put a mirror beside it, but I never got around to that. Maybe for the next baby! It's also nice because I can nurse him to sleep and then just roll away--I don't have to move him, which is precarious and always wakes him up.
All this Montessori stuff has to do with developing the ability to focus on things for long amounts of time, to participate in the real world like a real person, to think deeply.
Well, we'll see if it works.
One last thing, which is total bragging.
I made a sweater!
It has cable knit down the front.
SO CUTE.
To see more photos, check out the whole album