Pinterest = Crack

Hi, my name is Erica, and I am addicted to Pinterest.  If you haven't already checked it out, I strongly suggest you do.  Browser beware because soon it will be three hours later and you'll wonder where your day went.  I know you're probably thinking "just what I need, another waste of time," but I promise you pinterest is so much more than that.  It took a few weeks (of crazed anticipation) to get an invitation after I requested an account.  (I have some invites left, so message me if you're interested).  It sounded up my alley, but I had no idea how quickly I would become obsessed with it.  Back in the old days, I had to actually cut out pictures in magazines that inspired me to cook, redecorate, or make a project.  These scraps of paper would sit in various corners of my house until they mysteriously disappeared my husband threw them away.  (Needless to say none of those things were ever created or cooked).  With pinterest you can do this with a click of the mouse.  Anything that strikes your fancy (as you're surfing the web) can be added to a board for you to reference later.  Or, you can repin any of the amazing ideas that are being shared every second.  You can create as many boards as you like of anything that interests you!  Some of my boards include home decor, recipes, DIY projects, and gift ideas.  I have to admit that my boards are quite scattered as I'm learning how best to organize all of my pins.  Nevertheless, I have been cooking and crafting way more than usual.  (Which isn't really saying much, since I didn't do either very often in my pre-pinterest life).  Now, I have a whole slew of DIY projects that I have been meaning to blog about.  Ironically, I haven't found the time since I have been crafting so much (oh, and taking care of my baby boy).  Just this weekend I made these cute little wintery decorations in about 2 minutes!

Plus, I found all the materials (mason jars, epson salt, and candles) around the house so it didn't cost a thing!  Thank you pinterest!

I will do my best to add some of my other projects in the coming weeks- stay tuned!

8 months!

What a fun month we've had!  It seems like you are doing something new practically every other day.  As a matter of fact, you pulled yourself up for the first time during our photo shoot today!

You have just reached 20 pounds and are about 30 inches long.  You only have another two inches to go before you grow out of your car seat.  We registered for one that had a higher weight limit, but we failed to notice that they also have a height limit.  I decided to take a closer look at the manual when a friend commented on how far your little feet were hanging off the end of the car seat and found that it's max height is 32 inches.  Needless to say, we are now shopping for a bigger one...  Speaking of long legs, all of your 6-12 months pants are starting to look like capris, so we've had to buy a couple pairs of 12-18 month pants!  It's hard to believe that you were swimming in newborn sizes just seven months ago.  You're even big enough to sit in the cart at Target!

Much to our delight, we made some huge progress with your sleeping "schedule" this month.  Your sleep began to unravel to when you got your helmet, then you started teething, which was followed by a growth spurt (at least these were the excuses I was coming up with).  Your daddy kept telling me that we should let you "cry it out" but I wasn't ready for that yet.  However, it got to the point where you would scream at the sight of your sleep sack and wouldn't even allow me to rock you to sleep because you were so upset that it was bedtime.  During this time you also developed an aversion to your pacifier.  As soon as we would put it in your mouth you would take it out and literally throw it across the room (we got the hint and have stopped giving them to you).  About two weeks ago, the sleep deprivation had really gotten to me and I was willing to try anything including "cry it out."  The first night we tried it you cried for exactly 12 minutes (during which I practically had to be restrained not to go in and comfort you).  However, after 12 minutes you were fast asleep and you slept ten hours!!  I was sold!  (Score one for daddy).  The next night, you only cried about 5 minutes and then slept through the night.  Now, when we lay you down you only cry momentarily (if at all) before drifting off to sleep.  You typically sleep from about 8pm to 6am.  (Although, thanks to day light savings time, you have been waking up at 4:30 or 5am the past few days).

You practice crawling every chance you get and it's paying off.  You can get up on all fours now and you've started to move a little forwards and backwards like this, but usually you lunge forward and then collapse to the floor (which makes you really frustrated).  In the meantime, you have developed a very efficient army crawl and are happiest when you're exploring your surroundings freely. 

 This is you in the center of the room at Rolly Pollies.  You have toys all around you, a scarf on your belly, and (obviously) a bowl on your head.

You have also figured out how to pick things up with your thumb and pointer finger.  Couple this with your curiosity and intense desire to put anything and everything in your mouth and you have a very nervous mommy.  I now vacuum at least once a day and you still manage to find little things on the floor that you want to eat!

You don't like to snuggle very much anymore (or be restrained in any way).  The only time you allow me to cuddle with you is when I'm feeding you.  The problem with this is that you can now suck down a bottle in about 8 minutes.  When I want a little extra cuddle time I switch to a medium flow nipple.  Sometimes you notice and get mad, but usually it buys me at least another 5-10 minutes...  Changing your diaper and getting you dressed have also become quite challenging because it's very hard for you to sit still for more than a minute!  (I think you may have gotten that from me, so I understand.)  The other day when I was changing a particularly dirty diaper you decided that you wanted to roll over.  I was holding your ankles, trying desperately to wipe you clean, but your very full diaper started to fall, so I grabbed it and got a handful of nasty.  When I realized what I had just done, I immediately let go and your diaper hit the floor face down.  There was shit everywhere, literally!!

In other news, you have officially graduated from physical therapy!  We just need to keep an eye on you to make sure the torticollis doesn't come back.  Supposedly, it often reappears when babies start crawling and walking.  You've continued to make good progress with your helmet, but it's getting really tight.  We have an appointment with your othotist this week to see if he can adjust it a little because it doesn't seem very comfortable, although it doesn't seem to bother you.  You're such an easy going, happy litle guy- at least when you're not being restrained!  (In fact, according to a baby personality inventory I took in one of our baby classes, you're as easy as they come!)

 Look at how straight you can hold your head up!  (And also note the high waters).

We celebrated Halloween all month long.  Because I was a little over eager on the costume front, you ended up with two.  Back in July, while shopping online, I came across a puppy costume that looked just like KG.  I was so excited about it that I ordered it immediately guessing that you would be in the 12 month size by then.  Well, when it came it was way to big for you and I couldn't imagine that you'd ever grow into it.  So, I bought a back up dinosaur costume that was a size smaller.  Fast forward three months and the dino costume was a little too small and the puppy costume fit perfectly!!

Luckily, you had several opportunities to dress up!  Earlier in the month we had a dress rehearsal at the Donnay's.

You as KG, Luke as Uncle Fester, and Caroline the caterpillar

You had another costume party at our Rolly Polly class:

We also went to parties at the Edina Community Center and at Amma Maternity where you reunited with some of the girls from our very first class.  It was so much fun to see how much you've all grown!

And, of course, I had to get a picture of you with the real KG:

Happy eight months peanut!
Love, Mom