Shame on you, when I was your age I was 10 months old!

Today River is 8 months old. I still can't believe he is really that old, but I better get used to it because I will probably never believe how old he is. In honor of his crazy 8 months of life here are his top 8 likes and dislikes.

Likes

1. Mommy and Daddy. And I'm not just tooting our own horn (see Dislike #3). He is definitely shy around others. But when he is at home with us he is a moving, talking, giggling, snuggly, comfortable little bug.
2. Baby Dill Pickles. We've started giving him baby carrots, baby pickles, teething biscuits, licorice and other food items that he can hold in his hand and chew on but that don't present a choking hazard. Pickles are by far his favorite. Funny considering how sour they taste.
3. Tummy Time. When he was little I couldn't get him to put up with tummy time for more than 30 seconds without melting into a fit. Now, he sleeps on his tummy and prefers to play on his tummy as well now that he is preparing to move into the crawling phase... dun, dun, dun!
4. Making the motor boat sound. While playing with toys, crawling around, eating, bathing, whatever, he gets into moods where he will make the motor boat sound for five minutes straight only stopping to breathe in.
5. Playing the drums. He loves to pound on anything that makes a good sound. An empty cracker box, the books I read him, the table, the desk, the chest of whoever is holding him, and of course any of the official drums in the house. DH and I often will sit down and play the drums in our studio and River will pound on the bongos and "sing" (basically just making a constant string of sounds) along.
   
6. Louie our kitty. Despite the fact that cats are more independent and we have two dogs that are very loving and patient with River, he likes our cat Louie the best. All she has to do is walk by him to elicit a giggle and when she's around he doesn't take his eyes off of her. Sometimes he gets a devious gleam in his eyes when he sees her so I'm afraid DH may have partner in teasing her when River grows up.
7. Ma, ma, ma, ma, ma. To date this is the only recognizable sound that River makes. He is showing interest in moving on to "ba" but in the mean time he loves to say, "Ma, ma, ma, ma, ma." I'm soaking it in while I can because I know once he does move on to the next sound, "ma" may become a thing of the past.
8. Taking Walks. Whether in a sling or in a stroller walks both interest and relax him. Walks are always a good way to calm his fussy moods. He gets this far away look in his eyes when we are on a walk like he is deep in thought. Deep Thoughts, by River Preston...

Dislikes

1. Having his hands and face wiped after eating food. All babies are different in many ways, but some things, like this, are universal!
2. Getting buckled into the carseat. Again, some thing are just universal.
3. Being held by strangers. In general this is a good thing. We don't want him to be comfortable around real strangers. But when the "stranger" is just a family member that he hasn't seen in a while and he starts crying as soon as they hold him, that makes for some grandmas/grandpas, aunts/uncles with hurt feelings.
4. Sitting still long enough to have his diaper or clothes changed. You have to trick him into staying still. Toys are a great distraction, but even in a pinch the diaper I'm about to put on him will entertain him long enough.
5. Loud dog barks.
6. Loud sneezes or coughs.
7. Loud laughing. Dislikes 4-6 all startle him pretty bad and are almost always followed by tears :'(
8. Pacifiers as they are intended to be used. We knew the era of the pacifier had come to an end when we would put a pacifier into his mouth and he would turn around and try to put it in our mouths or just play with it like the rest of his toys :)

River, thank you for the 8 best months of my life!

Also thank you to everyone who voted on who River looks more like. Looks like it is a tie :)