Happy 8 Months!

Dear Benjamin,

Big boy, you are 8 months old!  It was very difficult getting a picture of you for documentation, because all you want to do these days is crawl or climb... and to capture your sweet face without a blur is nearly impossible.  This will have to do!

 

 
I don't actually know what a true toddler is age-wise, but I'm pretty sure it's safe to say you are one.  You are getting so big, smart, and active, it's just crazy for us to watch!  You are on the move, so you've loved exploring all that life (and our house) has to offer.  You're still teething, so in between laughs and giggles we'll get bouts of fussiness/screaming (ok, lots of them). And now that you can understand things better, you are SO much fun to play and cuddle with.  (Except for the whole disobeying mom after five "NO, DON'T EAT THE ELECTRICAL CORD" screams from me... you just turn and give me a guilty little smirk!!)  You talk ALL the time, and I swear I feel like you're gonna get up and run at any moment.  For now, I'm thankful you're constrained a bit by your crawling... slow down little buddy!

Here are some of the things you do lately:

Take baths in the big tub, no more baby tub for you!  (You also prefer to eat the toys rather than play with them)  You still love the water and even dip your face in from time to time.
 

And of course, you loved the lake!

You still chew on any and everything - lately, you love crawling to any shoe lying around, picking it up, and shoving it in your mouth before I can run to grab it.  Yuck!

And your biggest adventure yet is crawling!!  You started officially crawling when we were in Michigan about two weeks ago, and ever since, you've made your way across every inch of this house.

Oh, and for some reason, you love squishing your nose and mouth up in this face all the time lately (it's very cute!):

You are understanding directions and games a bit more, and recently you've loved learning how to say "ba, ba, ba, ba" and listening to the funny sound I make when you say "ahh".  It keeps us highly entertained.  Here are short clips of those:

You LOVE to pull yourself up - and after finding you in your crib holding onto the rails (see proof below), we promptly lowered the mattress.  But you still stand up and rattle the crib slats before and after every nap.  And sometimes in the middle of the night. When not in your crib, you'll still pull yourself up on just about anything you can find.  It's rather amusing (and exhausting!).

 

Some of your favorite toys these include (amongst many others) your farm/letter house, your blow-up penguin, and your toothbrush :)

And we've allowed you to watch a little Winnie the Pooh here and there when you're super fussy.  This included on our flight out to Chicago!  :)  Silly Pooh Bear!

We can't even believe how big you are.  Before we know it you'll be off to college (ok, that's a little dramatic... but seriously!).  We love you Pooh Bear!!!

Love,
Mom & Dad