Month 11

You are an absolute turkey.  You have such a personality, it's incredible. You have this sparkle in your eye when you're trying to make us smile, or trying to get away with something.  You are mischevious, and full of joy.
When we come to get you out of your crib in the morning, you're not only standing up, but you're jumping up and down on your mattress in excitement of being taken out and starting your day.
You are seriously adorable during the day...but at night .... oh at night. You and I have had some epic battles in the middle of the night.  You start wailing the minute I step across the threshold of your room and out into the hallway.
You love playing with blocks, and have taken to throwing them across the room, chasing them, and repeating the process ad nauseum. We're pretty lucky with your ability to entertain yourself!
You are climbing and cruising all our furniture, appliances, doors, stairs.  Since the first day you pulled yourself up on the ottoman, you haven't stopped.
You are becoming quite the food coniseur early in life -- you couldn't get enough of our coconut curry, or the chicken out of my pad thai, and have shown an early love for artichokes, asparagus, and chinese noodles.  Regular baby food is chopped liver now.
We are having an absolute riot with you and can't wait to celebrate your first birthday next month!

Month 8

• 8 months old....really?! We have no idea where all this time is going!
• You travelled to Houston and New Orleans this month and were such a champ -- 3 out of 4 days we were travelling for more than 6 hours.  We won't lie, you had your outbursts, and we had our moments of frustration with your restlessness, but all things considered, you did exceptionally well. 
• You loved being toted around in the ergo carrier around the French Quarter, and were a charmer when you met Chloe.
• You're starting to lift your belly off the ground when you're on your tummy. You can scoot from side to side.  Crawling is definitely not far off!
• You've started to eat mum mums - those crazy oval rice crackers.  I think you're pretty pleased with yourself when you eat them, something tells me you're going to want to be an independent boy really early in life. 
• Whenever you discover that you can do something yourself -- ie, move yourself across a room, feed yourself, you get this big goofy grin on your face that's absolutely priceless
• You're perfecting the pincer grip -- we're almost at the point where I can shake cheerios in front of you to keep you occupied!
• You're babbling up a storm and making all kinds of noises
• We are having a ball with you, you make us laugh multiple times daily, so much so that we wonder what occupied our time before you came along

Month 7

You rolled from your back to front on Feb 13 - and you took off like a rocket. You rolled across the living room and back many times. We're frightened!

You look up at me with your big brown eyes when we're sitting in our rocking chair reading bedtime stories and you put your little hand on my cheek as if to prompt me to keep reading. I just melt every time. It's these moments that I wish I could bottle up and preserve forever.

You are messy when you eat -- you think its pretty hilarious to put your hands in your mouth, get food all over them, and then rub that said hand all over your face and in your hair. I have a feeling we're just experiencing the tip of the iceberg here.

You weighed in at 21lb and measured 70cm in length at your 6 month appointment. You got your last 2 needles for this year .. next round is when you're 1...a little reprieve is definitely welcome.
You're getting better and better at sitting on your own. You've had a few face plants into the floor, but seem to be a pretty resilient kid -- if we don't react, you don't cry
You love to buzz your lips ... and you think its especially funny when you do this whilst we feed you.  Time to train ourselves and our reactions ... don't think we want to encourage this one!
You tried spaghetti for the first time and absolutely loved it .. you are your fathers son, no doubt about that!
We feel that your little personality is starting to show .. you seem like a pretty laid back kid, but definitely get frustrated when you can't reach something or are done with eating. We can't wait to see what the next month brings!

You are starting to wake up again through the night -- I forgot how tiring this was! You must be going through a growth spurt

You got baptized this month! It was an amazing day and a lot of your family and friends came out to celebrate with you!

You are starting to bust out of your 3-6 month sleepers -- I'm starting to understand the rule that you wear double your age as you fit into 6 and even 9 month sleepers already

You giggle and it warms our heart -- you love being changed and think that its the funniest thing.

You love your exersaucer -- you don't quite fit into it yet, but we stuff towels and blankets around you to make it work. You haven't quite figured out how to turn yourself around yet, but you love to put the rattles and toys in your mouth.

You got visited by Sarah and Zach -- and Zach started preparing you for Team Canada by buying you your first hockey stick

Your naps are getting shorter ... less than an hour, which leaves me running around the house like a madwoman trying to get things done ... quite a sight to see

You're trying to roll over -- your legs are going, but you haven't quite figured out how to flip your whole body over. I'm enjoying every last minute of you being stationary....every last minute.

You cannot sit still - you need to see what's going on every minute of the day -- we're in serious trouble when you start to walk!

You are totally and completely integrated into our lives.  We can't imagine life without you.

Month 3

(click on the collage to make it bigger)

You are starting to give us stretches of 7 hours -- not consistent yet, but those stretches make your mom feel like a new woman
We're still struggling to figure out your schedule, nap times and bed times...you're starting to form a rhythm, but it still changes everyday based on when you wake up ...
You are developing a nice little temper ... when you're mad ... you are stinking mad, and nothing but rocking, jiggling and sshushing will stop you
You seem to love soft fuzzy blankets -- if we put them up around your face you calm down
You are starting to grab at things, but haven't quite figured out how to let go ... which is pretty fun to watch
You have officially grown out of your newborn sleepers ... unreal that we're packing up clothes already
You weigh 13lb 3oz at your 3 month mark
You get read the Going to Bed Book every night at bedtime (Thanks Sarah!)
You made your first trip to the United States -- to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa O's 30th wedding anniversary. You were loved on the entire weekend by your aunties, uncles and grandparents!
You're starting to like baths a bit more ... big screams stop after a few seconds, and now you just whimper ... but you're definitely not loving it yet
You're letting out tiny little giggles - especially when we change you. Sometimes you sound like a foghorn instead of a baby

And you had your first halloween experience -- Cohen the bear