8 Months Old

Yet another month has passed and once again I am asking myself where did the time go? I feel like it was just yesterday that I picked up Eli from Mammy's for the last time so we could spend our summer together, and now we only have one month left together before I go back to work. (F.Y.I. Teachers no longer get 3 months of summer vacation. It's about 2 months now.) I have to say that this summer has been the best summer of my life. I have enjoyed spending each and every day with my little man. We have had so many experiences together-first VBS, first time in the pool, first taste of watermelon, first taste of a popsicle, and so many more. If there was a way that I could freeze time right now I would. I love this little boy more than life itself. He can just look at me and my whole world lights up. He is my own personal sunbeam :) It's so hard to believe that in four short months, he's going to be a year old. How did this happen? It makes me want to rush into his bedroom right now, snatch him out of his crib, and sit and hold him, because I know that all too soon there will come a time when he won't fit just perfectly in my arms anymore and his head won't nestle into my chest the way it does now. I say this every month, but every month, I am reminded of just how incredibly blessed Josh and I are. Eli has added so much joy to our lives. We are forever changed as people because of this little boy with his infectious smile, contagious giggle, chubby legs, precious voice, beautiful eyes, and so much more. Now on to the lists :)

Sleeping: Eli is still doing great at night. Josh has now taken over the last feeding of the day. It gives him some Daddy/Eli bonding time, which they both LOVE, and it gives Mommy time to take a nice, relaxing bath. Eli will still go down anywhere between 7:30 and 8:00 and will usually sleep until 5:30 or 6:00. I'll usually go get him and bring him in bed with us for some snuggling, but more times than not, Eli is not interested in snuggling, he's ready to play!

Eating: Eating has gotten SO much better. I think I may have been a little too proactive in feeding him and he just wasn't getting hungry as soon as I thought. I now feed him a bottle about 4 times a day, sometimes 5 depending on what time he wakes up, and on average he'll take about 5-6 ounces each time. He loves baby food and I love that we can start trying some new textures. Gerber Puffs are a must anytime we leave the house now and he loves snacking on them while he sits in his highchair. He's gotten very good about putting his hand in his mouth to get the puff; albeit, he's using all his fingers and not the pincer grasp, but he's getting there :)

Naps: Today was a great day for naps. He took a 1 1/2 hour nap this morning and a little over a 2 hour nap this afternoon. Most days, he'll take about 3 naps ranging from 30-90 minutes in length. It really just depends on the day.

Likes:
-Mommy and Daddy still top the list
-Looking at Maggie through the window
-Being outside
-Being thrown in the air
-Wrestling with Daddy or any willing person
-Sitting on top of Daddy's shoulders
-baby food (we haven't found a flavor he doesn't enjoy)
-Gerber Puffs
-ice cubes (not only are these a great distraction for when Mommy is cooking-put one down on the kitchen floor and let him "chase"it- but they help soothe all of his bumps and bruises. Baby falls, you get an ice cube, baby sucks on the ice cube, baby feels better!)
-crawling
-playing with cords, cell phones, computers, DVD players, stereo systems, remote controls, air conditioner vents, cameras...basically anything he's not supposed to have he LOVES!
-pulling up on anything and everything, especially the coffee table, entertainment center, and Mommy's legs.
-dancing with Mommy and Daddy
-listening to Mommy's silly songs
-Popsicles (I gave him a few tastes of a Popsicle fruit bar-100% fruit sweetened with Splenda-and he LOVED it!)
-being tickled
-tackling pillows

Dislikes:
-having to go to sleep
-having his diaper changed
-having to put on clothes
-confinement of any kind
(Have you noticed that these pretty much stay the same month after month?)

New Accomplishments:
-much more confident when pulling up, will even let go with one hand and continue to stand
-bending down from a standing position (while holding onto something) and then standing back up
-trying to go from one piece of furniture to the other
-crawling much much faster...he cruises now!
-cutting tooth #7
-said "ma-ma"...not directly to me but I heard it and so did Josh :)
-drinking out of his sippy cup

My life is so incredibly blessed. I can't wait to see what these next four months are going to bring!