Deacon is Eight Months!

My sweet sweet boy.

Weight/Length- I will give my best guess here- 19/20 pounds and 29 inches? I have no idea. We go for the nine month appointment in August.

Eating- Deacon is our sweet foodie. Little boy loves anything he can get his hands on. I would say favorites this month are yogurt drops, apple sauce, chicken nuggets (Chick-fil-a to be exact), sweet potato pieces, banana, blueberries, and the list could really go on. There hasn’t been much he doesn’t- he just prefers finger foods over purees. He will do purees for a hot second and then quickly shut his mouth and wait for the finger foods- preferably what’s on mommy’s plate. What is the weirdest thing he likes? We tried a puree with raspberry, pear, and asparagus made by Beechnut- homeboy loved it. This has been the puree that has kept his attention longest! Sounds like an odd combination to me, but I’ll take it. He has milk around 5 times a day- still all b milk.

Bedtime/Awake- Deacon sleeps 11 hours at night (7:30-6:30). He takes a small hour nap from 9:00-10:00 and then a 3 hour nap from 1:00-4:00. He sleeps with two breathable blankets and has become a belly sleeper.

Diapers- He is in 2’s. Once these are gone, we will break into our 3’s.

Clothes-6-9 and 9 month clothes.

Dislikes- Deacon doesn’t like to be left alone. This boy is used to lots of people and lots of noise. There is no “I’ll sit by myself and play for a while”. He wants to be right in the midst of everything. The mommy separation issues have started- if he hears my voice but can’t see me, the squawk immediately follows. This is normal for his age, so I know it’s just a phase.  Deacon doesn’t like his mouth wiped but will gladly agree to having his nose suctioned (weird, right?).  If he is hungry and food isn’t coming to his mouth fast enough, he will be sure to let you know.

Likes- Deacon loves his brother Noah. The giggles and laughs these two give each other are enough to melt my heart into mush. Noah can instantly calm Deacon if he is upset by singing the ABC’s, and Deacon loves to “play” with Noah in the bathtub or in the playroom. I’m bracing myself for when Deacon starts to crawl; these two will be into everything together. My sweet second child loves to be held, eat, sit up, ride in the stroller, play on his tummy (yes this is new…hence the bracing for the crawl- I think by next month we will be there), chew on anything he can get his grubby hands on, talk, mimic noises, sit outside, swing at the park, swim in the pool, and so much more. We are really starting to learn his personality and it is precious. Deacon Matthew provides so much joy. We laugh at him constantly. Recently we caught him reaching for his swing mobile and pulling it as it tries to rotate, it just makes this clicking noise until he lets it go. This morning, he reached for it with both hands so it wouldn’t go anywhere. He thought he was so clever.   

Hi mama.

Favorite memories of the month- There are too many to count. We had a great visit with my folks a couple weeks ago and both boys loved all the attention.  My favorite memories this month with Deacon are watching all his new milestones. It’s incredible- every day he has some type of new skill.  Matt was gone for 5 days and came back amazed at how much more Deacon was doing. Deacon is mimicking noises and trying to talk. Right now, he goes around saying “mmmm bahhhh” all day long. Noah says it back, and they have this little conversation together-I love it. Deacon will click his mouth and expects you to click yours back. We are starting some sign language with him and he thinks it’s hilarious. Noah likes to help with it too, so we will see how it goes. I figure just a couple basic ones that we did with Noah will help Deacon voice some of his “concerns” (mostly about food). Home boy is an expert food pincher and understands how to turn book pages. He holds his own bottle, feeds himself, and if you try to put it back in once he’s done, he will bat it away.

Deacon is our second child that doesn’t want to get lost in the midst of chaos and has a very strong opinion. Deacon snuggles with the best of them and wants to be with his mommy at all times. He is the perfect addition, and I can’t imagine life without him. Christ has taught me so much through this second child and expanded my love more than I thought possible. There are days where I need grace and pray for patience because of all of the chaos, but I could not be more thankful to be a mommy.

8 months down! Penguin didn't stand a chance this photo shoot.