Here are the latest stats:
Weight: 19lbs 9oz (around 30th percentile)
Height: 28 inches (around 35th percentile)
Dexter is still a great sleeper. He sleeps through the night without interruption from about 7:45pm - 7:45am. We dropped the dreamfeed at 11pm at around 7 months. He is now taking two solid 1.5-2 hour naps per day. We are very grateful that he sleeps well like his sister.
Dexter is now eating solid food quite efficiently. He eats three meals a day with about 8 ozs of purees and stews of one kind or another. He's liking chunkier stews. He loves Puffs and other dissolve in your mouth crunchy things. He's also still nursing 4 times a day.
At 8 months, Dexter began to crawl and now he is a very busy boy. He loves exploring the house and finding any wire, piece of dirt, or other unsuitable object and putting it in his mouth. He will find a little toy like a cup or a book and drag it around with one hand victoriously. He's lost interest in any stationery device like a the exersaucer as he is addicted to his mobility. He has also started clapping at random occasions and loves banging toys together. He's discovered Maya's drum set and he will try to hit the drums with a stick. Dexter loves exploring objects and understanding what they do. He hasn't really started to show much interest in books (although we do read to him). He sees the book as a fun object to play with and put in his mouth, but he doesn't seem to see the pictures yet.
Dexter is getting more excited about other people and other babies. He loves to grab other babies or sit on them. Maya and Dexter are becoming great friends. Maya loves asking her friends if they want to 'pet her baby.' Maya treats him like a treasured pet and she is a surprisingly good babysitter. He loves her and smiles every time she comes near. Dexter still loves taking walks and being outside. He loved going to the beach at Tahoe and getting his feet wet.
Dexter is making more and more distinctive sounds like 'da, da,' 'ma, ma,' and a sound which in tone sounds like 'all done' but come out more like 'a da.' He also grunts and practices making raspberries and other interesting sounds. He does make a 'hi' sound that he seems to say at the appropriate time, but nothing has been definitive enough to really be his first word.
Dexter is an easygoing, but very active little guy. He is now in the advanced stages of babyhood, but we know he will soon develop the precarious, willful characteristics of a toddler. For now, we will enjoy our little rug rat.
