I’ve lumped months 8 & 9 together on this post mainly because I was so behind on the 8 month post, but also so much has gone on that I’ve forgotten when each thing happened. So here’s the condensed version of the update and I’m not going to list which month it happened, because at this point I don’t remember.

Yeah, that happens when you’ve had a child, your brain goes to mush! LOL. I need to start working again so that I can actually use my brain. I thought I’d have so much time during my maternity leave to do things I wanted to get done like, finish decorating the house, pick up my Swedish language studies, finish the photo-book I start earlier this year, or read a book! I haven’t had time to do any of those things. I never knew such a little person could suck all the energy out of me, but he does!

The past summer in Sweden has been abnormally hot. I mean, in the 4 years I’ve lived here I’ve never seen summer temperatures that I saw this year. And apparently it hasn’t been this warm for over 200 something years. Nuts right? Well. The warm temperatures may have been great, but Theodore and I were melting. We didn’t install A/C because Daniel said it never got that warm. Well, this year was unbearably warm. Los Angeles has the same warm temperatures year round, but I never realized that everywhere we went had A/C so I never felt the heat the way I did this year. It was definitely uncomfortable. I made Daniel pick up a portable A/C unit and Theodore and I spent our days standing in front of it!

Okay so some major milestones happened these past months! Because I love lists, here are Theodore’s milestones:

1. Crawling: That’s right! This little guy is now crawling! He was stuck in downward dog position for a few weeks, not quite understanding that he needed to use both his arms and legs to move. But then one day he just started dragging is body across the hardwood floors! I was in shock one because I wasn’t sure if he was really crawling and two because it was such a funny technique! I call his form of crawling the crawl-drag where he uses all his upper body strength to pull his body forward while one leg pushes off and the other just lays there like dead weight. It’s the most hilarious thing. He’s not the most efficient crawler, but to me he’s the cutest!
2. 2 bottom teeth: He’s got 2 little bottom chompers now! It’s soooooo cute to see these two little pearly whites peeping out of his gums. He’s drooling like a monster now and biting everything,… including me! But I love that he’s able to chew some of his foods!
3. Standing up (assisted): Another thing that seemed to happen overnight was his ability to stand up. One day he was very clingy to me, he would crawl or sit right in from of me and he kept pulling at my shirt and arms trying to get my attention. So I grabbed both his arms and just held him there. He then went from one knee to one leg standing and then the other. He used me as leverage to stand up! I was so shocked! It wasn’t long ago that he learned to crawl so for him to now use me as leverage to stand was so quick. How did he know to do that? I certainly didn’t teach him that!
4. His first international flight: Theodore is officially a jetsetter! His first flight was to Paris of all places, what a bougie baby right?! He did so well on both flights only cried a little bit during the landings because of the ear pressure. Hey I don’t blame him, my ears were hurting too! We tried to keep him on schedule as much as possible with naps and feedings during the trip and although we were in a different place and bed, it wasn’t a problem for him. He went to sleep comfortably every night.
5. Sitting up on his own: This big boy is now able to pull him up to a seated position. Before he would just be doing what looked like ab crunches, but now he can actually sit up! It’s amazing this new development that seems to just happen overnight.
6. Christening: So this isn’t a developmental milestone, but it was important. Theodore was christened! And let me tell you, the planning and size of the party could have been a small wedding. LOL. I’ll have a separate post about the christening since there is just too much to share!

As for me, since these updates are supposed to be from my point of view, things are moving along. Things with Theodore are going well for the moment and I’m able to feel more independent and free. I also am able to leave him with other people without being afraid, which was a big step for me. So every now and then I’ll leave him at his grandparents while I run errands. It’s a win-win for everyone since they love him so much.

Oh I cut off my hair! Post pregnancy hair is gross. I have millions of tiny baby hairs that I never had before. My hair has fallen out and I really needed a change. So I cut it off and I feel sooooo much better. I also love the cut my girl did. This might be the best hair cut of my life! Luckily, Daniel likes me with both short or long hair!

Everyone told me to try to live in the moment when he was a newborn and though our first couple of months were hard, they were right. Looking back I was so stressed and worried I wasn’t doing the right things that it took away from the time I should have been enjoying with him. Now that he’s older and growing so fast I look back at his baby pictures and it makes me so sad to think I spent that time complaining. I guess it’s easier to say now that I’ve past it, but those moments were so intense that I didn’t know how to handle it. It was life changing and hard and sometimes painful. I’m glad I know that now and I’m not letting a second go by without enjoying every bit him. He’s only technically a baby for a few more months, but he’ll always be my baby boy.