8 months

I don't even know how it happened... but I have an 8 month old baby now. These past several months have gone by so quickly. It seems like just yesterday that I had this tiny baby who was dependent on me for everything and now I have this big baby boy who is becoming more and more independent with each passing day. Watching him grow has truly been amazing to me. He is such a curious baby and he studies things very closely. I wonder if he'll be the same as he gets older. He's very sweet and so smart. We feel so blessed to have him as a part of our family. He has truly been a light in our lives. :)

This month-
* He has learned to pull himself up into a standing position using furniture, toys and people.
* He has become much more proficient at crawling.
* Though he had done it before, he can sit up on his own with ease now.
* He just started "talking" a whole lot more, using more consonants just on Thursday- it's like he suddenly realized that he could talk. He says "dadadadada", "ah ta ah ta", "datadata", "nannanana", "gaga", "ka", "ng", "ya", but no "ma" yet. (even though we've practiced everyday for as long as I can remember- I'm not bitter... nope, not at all).
* He suddenly became frightened of the bathtub in the past couple of weeks.
* Daddy's gotten very good at getting him to sleep.
* He's been going to bed again with ease lately, especially if we stick with our routine.
* He seems to enjoy scripture reading.
* He loves the song "Angels We Have Heard on High" and will stop crying if we sing the Glorias.
* He's had butternut squash, cantaloupe, peaches, and avocado (again- he wouldn't eat it the first time we tried) this month and has loved it all.
* He loves crawling into the bathroom.
* He loves to count.
* Changing his diaper has become more and more difficult as he becomes more and more mobile. He's quick and laughs as you try to get his diaper on him.
* He recognizes the sign for "milk". If you ask him if he wants "milk" while signing it, he'll usually give a little smile/giggle and then immediately try to nurse. It's the cutest thing ever.
* He's started scrunching up his nose lately when he smiles and laughs. So adorable. I'll have to get a picture of it soon.
* He continues to love being outside, he loves walks, he loves being out in his stroller, he loves looking out the window or door. He just loves it.
* He has learned how to fake cough and fake cry.

He weighs about 22 lbs. I think he may be going through a growth spurt because he's been eating so much lately. His servings of solid foods have really increased in the past week.

Now for some pictures:

Such a sweet face.

Snowing at the temple!!

Mama and her boy on Valentine's day. :)

He's so big!!! I can't believe how easily he can pull himself up onto things now. 

Baby boy at 8 months. 

Stay at home mom

So, I am officially a stay-at-home mom. Friday was my last day of work. It was strange. I got to work early, no one else was in yet and so it was very quiet. It felt like my last day- much like the last day before summer of my senior year of high school. Bitter sweet. I felt two completely opposite but equally strong feelings pulling at me. It was the strangest feeling I've ever had. Sadness to leave my students, but excitement and sheer delight to get to stay home with the wee one. I had a really busy day trying to get things ready and finished for the new teacher. There was so much to get done that I stayed long after everyone else had left. I was there until nearly 9pm. It was such a long day. My class had a party for me, which was nice. We had cake from Ukrops. I love Ukrop's cakes. :) Some of the parents of my students came. It was so nice. My students all made cards for me and the staff at Faison signed cards for me. I couldn't look at the cards before I left. I tried, and started tearing up, but decided to save my tears for later. It was a stressful afternoon, and so I am afraid I did not get to mourn the resignation of my job. Instead I kept very busy until I left for home. When I arrived home, with all of these beautiful flowers, it was then that I thought about how the flowers reminded me of a funeral. It was the death of my job on Friday that was "celebrated" and the start of a new life. It reminded me of Spring- new life, new beginnings. I am really looking forward to this new chapter of my life. I have lots of goals and dreams and desires. I hesitate to write about everything that I want to do here- though I'm sure you'll find some hint of it in earlier posts- because I keep hearing negative feedback when I mention all of the things that I would like to do. ("Oh good luck with that!" "You'll never have time to get that stuff done!" "Keep dreaming!" "I wish I could've done that stuff when my kids were young!", you get the gist). So, instead, as I accomplish things I will try to document it here.

For now, please enjoy the beautiful flowers that I received from work. The pictures don't do them justice. They truly are beautiful and they smell wonderful! I love fresh flowers. :)

Cinnamon!!

The little fella had his first spice this morning... cinnamon!! It's my favorite! And, he loved it, too. I put some cinnamon and applesauce into his oatmeal for breakfast. He's really been enjoying food these past couple of weeks. We took a break from solids for a little while and then reintroduced them again and this time we're having much greater success. He's been eating more and seems more interested. He really seems to be enjoying it. He gets so excited about food. :) He is also starting to eat bigger portions as well. Up to this point, he has had: applesauce, peas, carrots, green beans, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, bananas, and a taste of blueberries and grapes. Suggestions on what we should try next?

I gave him a bath before eating- I'll never do that again.

Also new this week: We got a "bumper jumper". Caleb enjoys it. It took him a little while to figure out he could jump, but once he figured it out, he got it.