Blake Louis: Eight Months

Well Silly Bean, you are EIGHT months old today!  I'm pretty sure I'll turn around, and tomorrow you'll be heading out the door to college.  Time flies.

Here's what you've been up to last month:

+ After waiting for what seemed like foooorever for you to roll over, you finally did it at about 6.5 months (more on that here).  You'd just roll off your belly anytime we tried a little tummy time.  Back then, you weren't really rolling back to belly, just doing these riiidiculous back bends until you could squirm to/reach for whatever it was you wanted.  Well, that's all changed now.  Just recently, you've started rolling back to belly and belly to back with purpose.  I wouldn't say you use it as a form of transportation (you are still our non-mobile little man) but you're a crazy little squirmier in your crib at night.  We put you down on your back, but you might end up on your tummy, turned 360 degrees around, with one foot hanging out through the slats.  So funny.  You are definitely a side/tummy sleeper and really want nothing to do with sleeping on your back anymore. 

+ You have FIVE, count 'em F-I-V-E, teeth!  Still just two on the bottom, but two new teeth poked through on top!  One of your front teeth, and your second 'canine' (which we've since decided is actually your bilateral incisor...aka the two next to your front teeth)

+ Daddy and I think you are really working on crawling.  You've stopped immediately rolling off your tummy when we put you down and will instead squirm around like you're trying to get somewhere.  You haven't figured how the propulsion yet on your own, but if I hold you heels and let you push off on me, you'll use your arms to pull yourself across the floor. 

+ Along those same lines, sometimes you'll let me put you up on all fours and then you'll rock back and forth.  Sometimes you will have none of it and collapse onto your tummy as though I have just done you a huge injustice. 

+ You are such a content little boy.  You are happy to sit and play by yourself while I work around the house.  I'll just put a tub of toys in front of you and you'll pull them out of the tub as you want them.  You loooove to reach and stretch for your toys, but where you used to lose your balance and face plant, you now do not.  You are so good at sitting and balancing.  I can count on one hand the number of times you've toppled over in the last month...usually it's when you're looking behind you at something and can't quite catch yourself in time. 

+ You love to stand!  You can stand by yourself for about 10 seconds, but when you start to fall you fall like a tree.  You don't even attempt to put out your hands to catch yourself or bend at the waist to fall into a seated position.  So funny. 

+ You stand at play at your activity table or against the couch, but you aren't cruising yet.  I think you really really want to be mobile, but you just can't quite figure out how it all works.  We'll get there!

+ You have developed this funny little habit of 'roaring' at people we pass by in the store.  If daddy or I are holding you, you'll throw your body across ours or whip your head around so you can see a passerby and will then proceed to literally roar at them.  You have also taken to doing this to the little boys who like to play outside our house on the street.  I find it absolutely hiiilarious.

+ You're a self-feeder!  You figured out how to get those tiny bits of food into your mouth using your pincer grab, and now you are literally unstoppable.  You've had toast, broccoli, carrots, bananas, pancakes....little bits of whatever daddy or I have....basically whatever you can get your hands on.  You love food. 

+  Along those same lines, you've started becoming quite insistent with your food.  If we aren't quite fast enough, you'll slam your hand down on your high chair tray letting us know you mean business.

+  You've been saying 'da' and 'ma' and, most recently, what sounds like 'bla'....clearly, you are trying to say your own name! :)

+ You are the sweetest little boy on the planet.  Your smile lights up a room and your giggle is the most precious thing I have ever heard.  Daddy and I discovered that you're ticklish on the sides of your back, and will just squeal and squirm when we tickle you there. 

+ Lately, because you're teething, I've been rocking you to sleep at night and for some naps.  This is such a sweet time in my day.  Yesterday, I was rocking you and singing with my head back and eyes closed, when all of a sudden I felt a tiny hand reach up a grab my nose....followed by an adorable little giggle.  You thought you were so funny, and we sat and laughed at each other instead of getting you to sleep.  Worth it.

+ This past month, you took your first trip to the zoo for daddy's birthday and LOVED it!  You were fascinated by all the animals, and you also got to sit on grass for the first time and get your hands dirty.  Such a boy!

+  You also had your first sleepover with grandma and grandpa this month.  You did so well!  Daddy and I had a date night planned that we knew would run late, and since grandma and grandpa were babysitting at their house and had already put you down in the crib there, we decided to let you keep sleeping.  The first of many, I'm sure!

+ You're drinking three bottles a day, for a total of about 20 ounces of formula.  Yep, we're done with the breastmilk.  We've had some trials with getting you to drink bottles...you're kind of a drama queen about it and will flat-out refuse some days....but I think we finally found our groove (and I say that having just put you down for the night without a bedtime bottle, which you refused to drink...oy).  You also eat 6 ounces of baby food 3x a day, in addition to finger foods.   

+ You are so inquisitive.  You'll take a toy in your hands and turn them around and around in your hands, examining them from every angle.  I love to watch you learn that way.  So amazing. 

Little man, earlier this month I was rocking you to sleep in your room, softly singing Jesus Loves Me as I looked down into your face that was relaxed in peaceful sleep.  I snuggled you close and bent my head down low until I could smell the soft scent that is so wholly you, and as my nose brushed your forehead you stirred slightly and nestled your head deeper into the crook of my shoulder.  It was at that very moment that I realized I had just sung the line of the song that says 'Jesus loves me, this I know'...but all of a sudden, this time, those words caught in my throat and hot tears welled in the corners of my eyes.  In that moment, I was struck with the realization that I wasn't singing the song to you anymore, and instead, I was singing it with the realization that it was for me.  Jesus loves me, this I know....because He gave me you.  I spent the next few moments in quiet, grateful, prayer as I stared into your precious face and thanked God for the love He has showered on me through the gift of you.  You are all the best parts of your daddy and I, the little boy we prayed for and love more than anything on this earth. 

It's been another incredible month, precious boy.  Thank you for the memories....I'll cherish them my whole life through.  

Love,
Your Mama