A Happy 8 Months

Well, sweet boy, you are now a bustling, squealing, strong 8-month little boy. I can’t believe how much you’ve grown up already. I know, I say that every month, but it’s true! I have to choose to focus on the memories we’re making and not how fast time is going by and how big you’re getting. Otherwise, I get so sad!

But really, you are so much fun! You are still army crawling all over though you are getting up on your hands and knees like you’re ready to do a real crawl. You crawl under and over things, and you pull up on anything within reach, which has caused me to have to really pay attention to what you’re doing. You have already climbed onto the island shelf and nosedived off of it and put yourself in some precarious situations that have caused me to run and jump over things to make sure you don’t fall backwards. You still jump a mile a minute in your Johnny Jump Up and are getting over the (formerly fun) Exersaucer. It’s not so fun when you can’t jump or stand and move around.

You love your bath time with Mary-Michael, and it’s such a nice way to end the day with you two. I love to see y’all playing together. She dumps water on you, gives you toys and you chew on whatever she gives you and don’t seem to mind the water dumping.

Everything is going into your mouth these days, including dog food, puzzle pieces and other small things that make my heart leap when I see them in your hands. What is NOT going into your mouth (willingly) is green vegetables. We’ve attempted homemade zucchini, peas and green beans (all from our garden!), and you haven’t appreciated any of our hard labor! I attempt to mix them with applesauce or bananas, which sometimes will fool you, but it usually only lasts for a few bites before you’re clamping your mouth shut and turning your head. So, we’ll keep trying (I think I read it can take up to 17 tries for a baby to decide if they like a food or not – seventeen – jeesh!!). And now that your top 2 teeth have come in, maybe we can move on to some other, more exciting foods soon.

I have moved you to breastfeeding 4 times a day, and you’re taking 2 pretty good naps. I am storing up milk like its gold since your Daddy and I will leave for Niger, Africa in less than a month! And because of the yellow fever vaccine I need to get for my visa I won’t be able to breastfeed you for a total of 3 weeks. It may seem crazy, but I have cried over this a few times. I love our sweet moments and love being able to give you such good nutritious stuff.  

You are really getting vocal with mimicking squeals and certain sounds, and you could have a conversation of squeals back and forth with me for a good minute. It’s quite entertaining!

You continue to be such a happy baby, and you certainly hold a special place in my and your Daddy’s hearts. We love you dearly baby boy!