8 Months Development & Milestones

8 Months & Counting...

I think this has been one of the most significant months so far for mental development in terms of Asher starting to understand the things going on around him and what we are saying to him. His personality continues to emerge and his mind grows by the hour - or by the minute! He is having more and more "attached" moments. He is still a genuinely happy baby, eager to learn, generous with laughs, and sweet to the core. He's developed a crooked little smile, ripe with mischief. 

8 Month Milestones

• Still "dragging" himself along the floor, but now with Nascar speed!
• Can sit up on his own (and does so in his crib in protest of sleep)
• Can pick up and feed himself little snack puffs
• Responds to (and sometimes listens to) "no"
• Asher certainly has his preferences now and makes them known, i.e. favorite books and toys
• Likes to "share" his binky with both me and John. He'll take it out and offer it to us. We politely decline the sweet gesture but applaud his willingness to share!
• Mimics sounds
• Uses his fat little pointer finger all day long!

Fun Times

Asher loves to chase the vacuum if he is on the floor. He's fast enough to catch it, too! He's very good at spotting any missed specks on the tile and likes to announce when he's found one by pointing to it with his chubby little finger and yelling, "ugghhhhh ugghhhhh!". Thanks for lookin' out, little guy!

BABY SIGNING UPDATE

Asher still doesn't consistently use sign language, but I know he is absorbing it and understands much of what I sign to him. He even is on the lookout for new signs - i.e. I showed him a lion on his pajamas by pointing to the lion and saying "lion". He looked at me, then the lion, then to my hands waiting to see the sign, which to his disappointment, I didn't know! 

We've introduced lots of new signs throughout the past few weeks including "diaper change", "share", "brush teeth", "light", "airplane", "car", "bus", "duck" or "bird", "outside", "shoes", "socks", "friend", "hungry" and several more. Asher now signs "ball" when prompted for a game of rolling his ball around. We just work them into our everyday interaction with him.  I'm trying my best to stay consistent, which has been the hardest part of the baby sign language process.  I need to work on my sign language vocabulary so that I can show him new signs when he seems interested to learn them, such as the situation with the lion! 

TEETHING

We have 6 teeth! Six! Can you believe how quickly these little buggers just pop out of nowhere? The two top/front teeth are slowly making their way down and 3 front/bottom teeth are almost completely up with 1 more trailing behind. No more gummy smiles around here! We teefin!

Bros.

PLAY & SUCH

It's pretty much official now that our house is a baby house. By that I mean that the furniture is not aesthetically positioned anymore so that we could contain Asher in a specific area and allow for more space to play, the rug that I hated is now back because it's soft and bigger for more play area, no matter how often I pick up, it seems to remain a constant mess, we've added another baby gate to the picture... the perfectionist inside is a little unsettled but, hey, what are you going to do? I just keep reminding myself that what is important right now is not a perfectly coordinated living room or lack of clutter on our counters. What's important is our baby, our family, and our sanity, even if that means a messy house from time to time. Or all the time. 

SLEEP

I dream of the nights when Asher would sleep from 8pm-8am without so much as a peep from his cozy little bassinet, then I am awoken by the cries from his crib at 12am, 4am, 6am or 8am reminding me that those days indeed are gone. 

Even with the multiple wakings a night, we had a nice bedtime routine going on for awhile, but then Asher got sick from a brief stint with daycare and a sniffly little 10-month old named Andrew, and now our bedtime routine has been disrupted, smashed, broken, and crushed to smithereens. 

I'm not bitter about it at all, though. 

As always, we will get through!

8 Down, 4 To Go...

We had no idea 8 months ago just what we were in for. We didn't know that this warm little swaddled bundle would soon shift and consume our entire lives, our decisions, our thoughts, our plans, and our photo libraries. But it happened and we are (tickled blue?) to be immersed in this new world.

I guess this is when we start planning the first b-day bash, huh? Oh, goodness. Pinterest, here I come!

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Asher's Sensory Box - Activity for 7-9 Months

A few weeks ago, John and I made a "Sensory Box" for Asher. We went to Michael's Crafts in search of various things that we could include in this special collection of items.

The idea of the sensory box is to expose your baby to new and interesting textures, shapes, colors, etc. It can help with sensory processing, hand-eye coordination, fine motor development, and creative play.

We chose items from all over the spectrum including a textured rubber ducky, a feathered ball, a plastic cow, pig, and hermit crab, a foam koozie with glitter, a slinky, bells, textured fabrics, and a sea sponge, just to name a few of the treasures.

Most of these items are not baby toys, therefore the box is only to be played with under direct supervision. This means you shouldn't take your eyes off baby for even a few seconds while playing in the box! 

It's not uncommon for babies to be surprised and even scared of some of the new textures that they are exposed to during sensory play. Asher was terrified of the sea sponge. At the very first touch, he drew his hands back and held them over his head, looking around frantically for someone to take it away! He eventually warmed up to it and even held it up with a big grin! Then, when reintroduced to this mysterious sponge a few minutes later, he again DESPISED it and still will no longer give it a moment of his time. Maybe one day, sea sponge, maybe one day...

Watch Asher Experience.... THE SPONGE!!!!...

There are many different sensory bin ideas out there for kids of different ages. For babies who are still putting everything in their mouths, I would steer clear of small, choking hazards.

Here are some ideas to put in your own sensory box! Many things could probably be found at the dollar store or in sale bins at the craft store. It doesn't have to be fancy - just get creative!

• Bath Sponge (or Sea Sponge...if your baby will tolerate it :) )
• Slinky
• Rubber Ducky
• Feather
• Burlap
• Textured Felt
• Christmas Bell
• Hair Extension Clip
• Lace
• Mirror (careful of any sharp edges, plastic if you can)
• Shiny Cardstock

Have you made a sensory box for your baby? What kind of things did you put in it?

{ Don't forget to vote for our small business, Z Create Design, in the Small Business, Big Game Contest from Intuit! Click the button below to automatically cast your vote. Daily voting allowed! :) Thanks for your continued support! }

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We're Still Here!

I'm SO sorry that I've been MIA for the past 2 weeks! Business has been booming with our Etsy store. It's been absolutely crazy and has required a lot of my time, leaving very little for blog updates. :( So, while my posts may happen a little less frequently, I am determined to keep things going here, as well. 

So what have we been up to???

We have had so many things happening just within the past 2 weeks! Asher now has THREE teeth, all on the bottom. This is accompanied by lots of crankiness and discomfort. Thank goodness for our mesh feeders filled with frozen fruit, and good ol' Sophie the Giraffe.

good ol' Soph

Check out this hilarious jChew Chocolate Bar teether that has already caused a few second glances (and Asher loves!): 

Can't forget the chicken wing appe-teether, either! Yum!
(The wetness is water from the ice in his mesh feeder.)

Asher is now MOBILE - eeeek! - and has mastered his "army crawl". He can get up on all fours now, but hasn't quite figured out how to crawl with his tummy off of the floor. That certainly doesn't stop him, though! This little guy is determined to get from a to z as quickly as possible. He has a weakness for the remote, phones, and the window. If any of those three things are within a few feet of him - everyone, out of the way!

Watch as he pulls himself around:

We are also babbling away now and there is still a lot of "mama" and "dada" coming out. He's also added LOTS of "yaya". I still haven't figured out what that might be referring to - maybe just anything and everything. You have to admit, it is a fun word!

We are still having quite a few night meet-ups with this little guy. Sometimes it's only twice night, but most of the time it's three. We make do.

"It's 3am and I must be lonely..."

Asher has decided that he HATES being at the shop with us. Along with the homemade baby food, the cloth diapering, and the non-use of "cry-it-out", another well laid out plan goes out the window.

I checked into some child care options and not only are places booked with infants but they are so expensive!! And really, I only need about 3 days a week...

ENTER LITTLE SISTER TO SAVE THE DAY!!!!!

Thank goodness for miracles. My little sister is able and willing to babysit Asher 3 days a week AND help out with a few chores around our house for less than we would have paid a daycare. Hallelujah!

The amount of work that I get done in 3 days without Asher at our shop is the equivalent to 5+ days of work with him there. He is no longer missing naps, in fact, he is taking 2 naps a day again. He is SO much happier. While I miss not being at home with him, I honestly feel like myself again being out and about and working on my own. Now when I am home with him, I am refreshed. I wouldn't go as far as to say "stress-free", but I defintely feel like I can tolerate more without getting overwhelmed now that I have a little time away. 

This leads me to my next announcement...

We have entered our business, Z Create Design, into a contest and we made it into round 2! Intuit Quickbooks has partnered up with entrepreneur Bill Rancic and coach Jimmy Johnson to find a small business worthy of a truly life changing prize in the Small Business, Big Game Challenge. The prize? A Superbowl commercial! Could you imagine that kind of exposure?

I need your help everyone! Click here to see OUR PROFILE and VOTE. Oh and there is a video. Yes, we made a video. Yes, it may be corny, but you gotta do what you gotta do. :)

Or.. click the button below to cast your vote. You can vote once a day, so keep voting! Help us win! 

We couldn't be more excited to see what happens... 

Since I am not able to update you all as frequently here on my blog, be sure to follow me on twitter and on instagram for daily updates! I'm also pinning all the time, so follow my boards on pinterest!

Well, it's 8pm and Asher is bright-eyed and bushy tailed after about an hour of fighting sleep already under his belt for the evening. It's just might be another long one... 

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