Nicholas at 8 months, 5 days

I have read that development after 6-months is really incredible and fast...I am a true believer.

Here are a few of the things Nicholas has been up to:

1- Nicholas now delights in turning on/off the light or turning on the fan using the pull chain on our ceiling fans. We think he is impressed with his ability to create cause and effect. When he notices a ceiling fan, he'll reach up to it and doesn't even get upset if we tell him it's not time to turn it on or off. We're working on getting him to associate the phrase "do you want to turn off/on the light/fan with the action." I think he's getting the hang of it.

2- Nicholas likes climbing. With daddy's help, he will climb onto the love seat over and over again until he gets distracted by the cat or some other interesting object.

3- Still in the process of mastering crawling, Nicholas gets around just fine. He is starting to lift his hiney and use his legs more, but still does the soldier belly crawl quite a bit. Just yesterday, Tony saw Nicholas pull himself up on the coffee table. He really has some good strength in his legs! He also understands the phrase "I'm gonna get you" when he is crawling - to which he responds with a faster pace and some giggles. He's so much fun to play with now! The cat is a little less impressed with Nicholas's crawling skills. While she is very tolerant, one thing that will give Nicholas a boost is seeing the cat. He'll crawl after her, squealing in delight. Gato almost teases him by not moving until the last moment - but she almost always moves. We're trying to teach Nicholas to "pet" the cat but he still prefers to pull her fur.

4- Eating...Nicholas is interested in ANYthing you have on your plate and can get a bit annoyed if you're not willing to share. Tony and I try to have at least 1 Nic-friendly item we can share with him while we eat (even though Nic has had his dinner first). He doesn't seem to be too picky about food. We discovered he loves grapes, watermelon and "baby" yogurt. He still mainly eats veggies but has now been introduced to minced bits of chicken. Tony may deny it - but I think Nic has even been introduced to twizzlers!

5- Nicholas is curious about his teeth and we see him smacking his mouth (especially when eating food) or making funny faces that we can only assume are part of the teeth curiousity.

6- He's been uttering it for a few weeks now, but I am particularly happy to know he has mastered the mmm's. In addition to his long-loved phrase "da da" - we now hear the occassional "ma ma." While we're pretty sure he's not associating the sounds he makes with the actual word, he does seem to recognize the phrase "where's mama or where's dada" by locating the appropriate person. Who wouldn't dig that? On one long night when Nicholas was not sleeping well and was crying somewhat inconsolably, he stopped for a few minutes and almost whispered "ma ma." Suddenly, sleep deprivation wasn't as bad as it was when I first got up to get him.

It seems like every day brings a new skill or new look. We're obviously crazy about our Nicholas and are having fun witnessing and participating in his development. I am sorry I don't have a photo for this post - I know I don't take enough pictures of the little man *ha ha*