Eight Months Old

Eli was eight months old last week!

Eli is loving exploring his voice- he's learning so many new sounds at all volumes. His favorite thing to say is dada. "Ah da da da da da" is his jam. He's eating food. Before, he kind of dabbled in some flavors, but now he's actually eating food 2-3 times a day on top of the usual nursing. He got a cool new highchair for Christmas and has been eating big boy food ever since. Also, eating is a breeze with two extra new teeth. Both teeth on either side of his top front two are out, making a grand total of six pearly whites. The additional nutritious diet has Eli growing. He's in 6-9 size clothes now and size 3 diapers. Eli is waking up one-- sometimes two-- times a night, but is a great sleeper otherwise. He is a terrible napper when teething, but typically takes two naps a day for a couple of hours each. { Disclaimer: I write these posts throughout the month and save them as drafts so that I remember what happened. This whole sleeping thing is currently a load of crap this past week. No naps. Not sleeping at night. }

Eli has reached a couple of pretty big milestones. He is crawling and pulling up! I'm so happy I was able to get a little bit of his first crawling on video for his dad to see that day. This guy is on the move and holding onto many things: all the furniture, his crib, me. Anything that he can reach, he tries to stand up with its assistance. He's reaching up for us when we walk toward him and say "up". It's pretty cute. I am also hyperaware of the importance of finalizing all baby-proofing in the house…yikes! He is typically surrounded by his own toys but must make a beeline for Jessie's when I'm not looking. He also seems particularly drawn to plastic bags and electrical wires. Eli loves playing peek-a-boo and seeing friends and family on FaceTime. He loves his dvd that teaches him his colors and shapes. He is also loving his swing again for some reason. He is just now figuring out how to get around in his walker. Teething toys are essential these days, and he loves his handy manny flashlight that talks to him in Spanish. He is fascinated with Jessie (and Jessie, with him) and loves playdates with friends.

Our little man is super cool. But being a parent is hard. I try to remember the cuteness through the haze of exhaustion and crying and smells and nursing and chasing and consoling and cleaning. A good friend stole my baby a couple of days ago to keep me sane after getting less than two hours of sleep the night before. She doesn't think she did much, but she may have saved a couple of lives that day. A true American Hero. Another friend came by and shoveled my snowy driveway. Let's just say, other mom-friends that tell me our normal is their normal are priceless. They help celebrate the fact that we've successfully kept our kids alive another month, and they are the reason why I'm still kind of capable of putting a sentence together. Happy 8 months little man!