Eight months old!

Oh, Ben. We are having so much fun with you! These last four weeks have been action-packed, both on the calendar and in your development, and through it all, you are just such a joy to be around.

Every day seems to be marked with a new skill, expression, noise, or discovery. First, the big one: you are now on the move! Right at 7 1/2 months, you started a modified crawl (or "creep", as my Physical Therapist friend designated while observing your development) where your left leg stays tucked under your belly, letting your right leg and arms do all the work! This video is from a couple of weekends ago when you were just figuring things out. It's a gimpy little crawl, but it gets you where you need to go...with ever-increasing speed and accuracy. Daddy just shakes his head as he watches you head for cords, the fireplace and other dangerously intriguing things. "He's trouble."

You've always loved to stand up, even as an infant, but now you can do so with very little assistance. Just today you pushed yourself up on my knees to standing, and I nearly dropped Daddy's homemade lasagna on your head in shock!

Big Ben!

Like all babies, you love to play with your toys...and the packaging they came in. Books are especially fun to chew on right now; Baby Einstein's Mirror Me is still your favorite, followed closely by Bye Bye Bear, from Aunt Jess. I love walking into your classroom at the end of the day to find you happily entertaining yourself in a sea of toys or with one of your new friends. Your first art project, finger painting, is currently hanging on the classroom bulletin board, and my heart swells with pride looking at that mess of green paint!

Still, the most fun activity is climbing on us. We love being your favorite playmates and are happy to hold that title as long as we can.

"Yeah Dad, I'm putting the smackdown on ya!"

I can't believe I haven't mentioned this yet, because you've done it your whole life, but your hands and feet are in a state of continuous motion. In the same way that we don't understand why Zoe fervently licks the air, we're not sure exactly what the whirling and twirling means, because you do it while you eat, while you ride in the car seat and stroller, sometimes when you're happy, other times when you're frustrated... It's your first little idiosyncrasy and provides lots of entertainment for those around you.

Your next dr.'s appointment is at the end of October, but we think that you're about 19 pounds and your legs seem to get longer overnight. Grandma also commented that your head got big...but I'm sure she meant in size only. ;) No teeth yet, but we think you're getting closer, and you like to practice biting...on all sorts of things! You are quite a babbler this month, giving us a running commentary from your carseat on our morning and evening commutes...when you're not passed out that is. Bathtime has fallen several rungs on your favorite-things ladder and now sits just above getting dressed.

"Well, this is a funny feeling rug!"
(Yes, you sat in grass for the first time just this month.
It's itchy, you know.)

We love you, Ben. Thanks for the big wet kisses, playing with my hair while you eat, not holding a grudge when we let you cry at night, and lighting up when I pick you up at school. Even when you're clingy, as separation anxiety is starting to set in, I remember that there will come a time when I will wish that I could carry you around all day and be all the comfort you need.

love,
Mommy