8 Months

Somehow, our sweet Blake is 8 months old today.

I can hardly believe that the big baby who now takes up my entire lap is the same teeny baby I held in one arm last fall. We don't know exactly how big he is, as his last well check was at 6 months, but he's well over 28" tall & more than 20 lbs. He still doesn't have any teeth!

Every day seems to bring new developments...

• Crawling for 6 weeks now, he's very fast & efficient.
• Just in the last week he's started pulling himself to his feet, on the table legs, the couch, my legs, the crib rails. He's now doing it consistently & is thrilled with his new skill.
• Understands the signs & words for "milk" & "eat." When you sign either to him, he makes eager little grunting sounds & wiggles in excitement.
• New sounds & pitches are coming out of his mouth constantly. He especially likes to say "da-da-da" right now (much to Levi's delight), while I am encouraging him to sound the occasional "ma-ma."  :)

He is still the most charming little boy around, sharing a smile with everyone he meets.  People (& animals) fascinate him & he wants to "say hello" to everyone he encounters -- just tonight he was craning his neck to get a glimpse of the solicitor at the door. Little people are especially interesting. He loves to spend time with his cousin Myles & the other babies in our PEPS group, though he has no concept of personal space & wants to pet & climb all over everyone. While he smiles without even thinking, his giggles are harder to come by.

He makes us laugh every day with his funny little antics  -- he especially likes to blow raspberries. Last week we were out driving & he was crying in the car. Levi blew raspberries to try to distract him -- he stopped crying long enough to blow a raspberry in response, then went back to crying.

Other favorites include:

• Helping unload the dishwasher
• Bouncing on your knee to the song "this is the way the cowboy rides"
• Banging his stacking cups on any available surface
• Green peas & black beans
• Rolling plastic containers across the wood floor
• When Grandma arrives on weekday mornings
• Playing in dirt or bark, taste testing select pieces

In case anyone thinks he's too wonderful...he still rarely sleeps through the night. While his wake ups are brief, for the most part, he is in a phase of not wanting to go to sleep unless he is being held & rocked. A people-person, even in sleep. :)

We love you, Blakey!