Our Life in Focus: Milestones & Mr. Monkey: 8 Months

A few days after Christmas Palmer turned 8 months old & we weren't prepared! We feel like he is growing up too fast (especially for mommy- he kinda blew thru too many milestones at once!) Palmer & I stayed in Vidalia the week after Christmas and I felt like I brought back a completely different child. We Skyped with Daddy every night, but Palmer was camera shy & didn't want to perform any new tricks, but he made up for it the minute we got home. We've been chasing him ever since. Our days are different every day, but are oh so fun!

Milestones:

Weighs 18 pounds 14 ounces & is 28.3 inches long
If it were up to Palmer, he would only eat what we eat- it's harder & harder to eat in front of him. Over Christmas, he did get to try grits, brocoli, field peas, stewed squash & zucchini and he LOVED it all.
His appetite has continued to slow down & at times is a down-right struggle. He's much more opinionated about his likes & dislikes. Some days I feel like we just get done eating & it's already nap time! So, we're transitioning to more solid food.
Palmer has started to push our hands away when he 'all done' eating.
He still loves to feed himself fingerfoods- he's got a built in magnet in his hand & mouth.
His rash is much better & we finally got a diagnosis of nummular eczema.
Everyday Palmer gets closer & closer to crawling forward, but still goes backwards most of the time.
He has started pulling up to to his knees & trys to stand, but then he acts like he's in his jumper, starts to jump, & he's toast.
Daddys' new nickname for Palmer is 'tornado' because he can flat-out make a mess while he's playing & it doesn't take long!
He loves to switch toys back and forth between hands & turns toys over; we just love his little chubby hands as they explore.
Palmer has started to give a litte protest when we take something away that he shouldn't have- especially car keys!
Probably one of my favorite new things... he'll reach out for us & it melts this mommy's heart.
His favorite 'word' is dadadadadadadada. He babbles it over & over & over & over;)
Sometimes he'll give us sugar when we ask for it- he'll lean over to our mouth with his mouth wide open- it's just precious.
He got his first major 'boo boo'- the day we took our Christmas pictures nonetheless, but it was just the first of many. He was playing in his Johnny Jump Up & crashed into the door jam- he wasn't too happy about it.
Palmer has a slow meltdown when he's suddenly scared- sudden barking or if a stranger gets in his face. I've never seen a bottom lip take that long to pucker.
His favorite song is the Itsy Bitsy Spider, especially when the rain washes the spider out:)
Some days he loves the Exersaucer & other's not-so-much; he doesn't like to feel contained!
So many firsts this month: Rode first horse at our Finley Christmas Celebration, sat in restaurant highchair, saw his first snow, and the biggest one of all... got his first TOOTH!