8 Months Old

It's hard to believe, but 8 months ago today I was suffering more pain than I had ever experienced. 8 months ago today we made Brody into a big brother. 8 months ago today a new little love came into our lives. 8 months ago today our 9lb. 1oz. Ryder Joel Waite was born.

So much has changed about our little dude since then. He seems SO big. Probably because he IS so big. Its been a while since we've been to the dr. and had him weighed but I would guess he's somewhere between 18 and 20 pounds.

Ryder thoroughly enjoys eating. He just recently quit nursing. Poor boy loved it, but Mommy just runs dry about this time. So we're on to bottles, and although its nice on the pocketbook and for health reasons to nurse, its like a whole new sense of freedom has come over me. Yay! Ryder doesn't discriminate when it comes to baby foods...he likes them all! If we seem to be taking too long between bites of food Ryder will let out some loud man yells at us...meal time is serious business around here! I don't think he seems to favor any baby food over others, but he cannot have carrots because it makes him have serious digestion problems. Because of these issues Ryder gets apple juice everyday....something Brody never had this early on.

Most babies have begun to crawl at this point. Not our little guy. He refuses. Its all about rolling anywhere he wants to be or just sitting up in the middle of the floor. I'm not too worried about it. I guess he'll crawl when he is good and ready to crawl.

Ryder continues to be a rocker/shaker/bouncer, whatever you want to call it. He just doesn't sit still. If you are holding him, you better make sure you have a pretty good grip because at some point (even if you're standing) he will begin to move.

No words yet. Just yelling somedays, and sounds like bah-bah-bah. There's always giggling and smiling going on, and if you are lucky you'll get to hear the sweetest little cooing noises.

Ryder love, love, LOVES his brother. If Brody makes crazy noises or is jumping around it makes Ryder laugh. Before I put Ryder down for bed at night Brody insists on giving 'loves and kisses.' Ryder smiles through the whole process. Every morning when Ryder's cheerful little self wakes up his brother loves to run in the room and peek through the crib and say 'good morning baby Ryder!!!' And yes, he is still BABY Ryder to Brody. We wonder how long it will take before he stops calling him this and just says Ryder.

Ryder I would say is slightly more challenging as a baby then Brody was, but everyday gets better as he seems to gain more personality, more independence, and just becoming all around more fun. He is a joy to have in our home and we couldn't imagine our lives without our two little boys!