Eight Months

Sweet Baby Boy,

What a month you have had, my little man. You are growing and changing by leaps and bounds, seemingly each and every day. I think that your observant little self takes in much, much more than I was giving you credit for - a few of our grown up friends have been saying that you seem like an 'old soul' ever since you were born, and I cannot agree more. As fun loving and happy a baby as you are, you just seem to know so much more than you are letting on right now.

I fear that I won't be able to keep you in this chair much longer for these monthly photos, but we will get to that. This month you have had a bunch of firsts. The biggest one hanging over us for the last few weeks has been your very first cold. You can thank your sister for bringing home some preschool germs that hit her, you and Mommy all pretty hard.

You have come through it like a champion, with the aid of many, many Mommy snuggles and cuddles - which has pretty much meant we got nothing else done for a while. These Mommy snuggles were usually following your new trick, a little sound you liek to make that sounds suspiciously like "Mama." Well, it really sounds like, "Mamamamamamamamama." Daddy and I are pretty tough on the word front, so we're not calling it your first word just yet - but you sure seem to say it when you are sad and looking at me with the most pitiful eyes, wanting me to snuggle you.

I think you are working on those top two teeth right now, as though your sickiness has passed - you have seemed a little extra fussy the last few days, and again, the hands are constantly in your mouth. You exhibit the signs and symptoms well before a tooth cuts though, if your first two were any indication, so we will just hope these come a teensy bit faster.

You are eating so.much.food. I can hardly believe it. I honestly thought that boys were supposed to wait until they were teenagers before they began eating you out of house and home, but if your appetite now is any indication....we are in trouble. You eat *at least* a one egg spinach omelette (sometimes two), some sort of fruit, a waffle or toast, some snacky baby food item while your eggs are cooking, and usually anything else I can scrounge up from dinner the night before when you are STILL hungry after all the rest of that.

You have started showing a whole lot more interest in books this month, which warms this book ner Momma's heart. To be fair, you haven't really had a chance, as your sister is very very very concerned that every time you pick up a book you will rip it or wreck it. "No, no, no baby! Too little!" she can often be heard yelling. Daddy and I have been more stern lately making sure that she knows the books in your room are just fine for you to play with, and lo and behold, you do!

Your absolute favorite bedtime book this month has been your two Little Blue Truck books, which are admittedly, adorable. I think you like hearing Momma make all of the crazy animal, truck, car and city sounds.

And now in movement news. You are scaring me, my dear moving and shaking son. You are just so.darn.mobile! You are leaps and bounds ahead of where your sister was at eight months, and truth be told, I think it is because you want to keep up with her so badly.

You are officially cruising the furniture, and within a day of figuring that out, you were reaching out to cross over to different pieces of furniture. So, you now cruise from the ottoman to the couch, to the bouncer, to the arm chair and back again. And you look so darn proud of yourself. I can hardly believe it when I watch you do these things and look at me like, "Oh yeah, I do this now."

Along with all this movement though, have come a few really, really hard falls. You go all out, my boy, that is for sure. Your Dad and I like to theorize that because everyone else around you is walking, you just forget that you can't quite do it yet and continue cruising past the end of the furniture sometimes - though...you can't walk, so then you fall. And man, do you fall. You never did like sitting a whole lot, and so you do not do the toddler fall into a sit, thing. Nope, you completely trust fall yourself over. Your poor little head. Your Daddy and I try to catch you, but we have been just short a few times and whew. Those tumbles are real ones.

But, you keep trying. And just recently, as you can see in these photos, you have started pushing things and walking behind them. Like, in the last few days. Let's just slow it down a little bit, m'kay? Mommy can't handle all this business. You just started doing a legitimate crawl all the time! Let's take it one stpe at a time.

But, I am beginning to wonder if this just isn't going to be your personality. Running headlong into what you want, with just enough passion and perseverance to get you through...usually. But, the good news is, when it isn't quite enough - you are never too far behind with another try. You are definitely a "get back on the horse" kind of kid, so far, and should that continue I think you may be the cause of more than a few more gray hairs on your Momma's head.

I love you and that flirty faced mischief making smirk you give me more than I could ever describe. And, as your shirt says, you are indeed "Seriously Handsome." I think I'm in trouble.

All my love,

Momma.


Evelyn Rae is two years old, Liam is eight months old

...and this post is brought to you by a super long day, two rainy drizzly forecasts and almost no natural light for these photos. With the windows open. At noon. Gah. Summer, come back!