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.