8 Months& Crawling

Yes, I said crawling! Wednesday afternoon Riley figured out how to keep both of his knees on the floor & do a real crawl. It just so happened that I caught it on video, too! Sorry it doesn't show up very well. It was recorded on my phone. Anyway, Riley's very good at getting around now that he has mastered his crawling technique. And I thought he was getting into things before...man! He is all over the place & grabbing anything & everything within reach. Time to really baby proof the house.

Riley turned 8 months old on Monday. I cannot believe how fast time has flown. He will be a year old before we know it!

Some of the things Riley does now:
Hugs on Mommy & Daddy super tight when strangers are around (starting to get a little shy).
"Dances" when his toys play music-The Number Song is his favorite.
Shakes vitamin bottles to hear them rattle.
Feeds himself crackers, cheerios, & such.
Gives kisses.
Hums himself to sleep (it's precious).
Crawls.
Pulls up on things.
Eats some table foods.
Sticks his whole hand in anything he, or I am eating.
Chases the vacuum around wanting so badly to touch it.
Pulls up on the couch & walks the front of it.
Grinds his teeth...aaah I can't stand to hear it. I'm hoping he will stop once he gets used to feeling all of those new teeth he's got.
Eats bananas without me having to cut it up into small pieces; he takes his own bites.
Plays Peek-A-Boo.
Smacks his lips after he's done eating as if he's saying "Yum, that was good!".
Walks all over the house with us holding him up under his arms. Once he gets his balance, he is going to be gone!

Loves:
Other babies.
Crackers.
Seeing Mommy & Daddy come home from work.
For me to hold & rock him to sleep.
Playing the drums with "PePaw".
Bath time.
Phones, remotes, cameras...anything with buttons.
Being outside.
Picking the leaves off of bushes & trees.
Petting dogs & cats.
Pulling anyone's hair that he can grab!
To see how many different sounds he can make & go from low to high.
Swinging.
Squeezing noses.
Going on walks.
Being held.
To close the refrigerator & microwave door.
Playing in his room & watching Zeke out the window.
Baby Einstein movies.
Whole green beans.
Emptying baskets/boxes by dumping them over--Easter baskets, toy boxes, baskets of magazines. Anything.
To have his feet rubbed. (Wonder who he got that from? ;0))

Hates:
Having his diaper changed.
Laying down, especially to have his diaper changed.
When Mommy leaves the room.
Waking up & not seeing a familiar face first thing.
Having his diaper changed.
The nose syringe...or as we call it, the booger puller.
Did I mention having his diaper changed?

Today has been a little rough. Riley woke up around 4:00 AM with a fever of 102.3. He has never had any fever, much less one this high. It scared me to death. I gave him some Tylenol & it really knocked it down. He was able to get a little more rest until the doctor's office opened at 8. I called right before they opened & made him an appointment with the first available doctor. When the nurse checked his temperature it was down to 97.5. After the doctor checked him, he said everything looks fine except the fever he had earlier--no ear infection, which was my fear. He believed it to be viral & said he should be over it in a couple of days at the most. For now we are just keeping Tylenol in him & trying to get him as much rest as possible. His temperature has been averaging around 99-100 for most of the day & this evening so far. So it has stayed down for the most part. He seems to be feeling a little better than this morning. I'm hoping that was just the temperature peaking & that it will be gone soon. Actually, I just took his temp while typing this & it was 101.9. Dang it. Poor baby. Well, I'm going to go take care of my sick little man some more.