Month Eight

Dear Henry,

You're eight months, kiddo! There are so many noteworthy moments to write about - your first road trip to Canada, eh?, learning to crawl, closely followed by figuring out how to pull yourself up to stand, your baby babbling that leads me to believe you will be very social in the future, sleeping consistently in your crib at night (although truth be told we are having an issue with naps, as in you don't take them), and, perhaps best of all, hugging. You hug now. I originally thought the sound of your laughter was the absolute cutest thing in the entire universe but getting a hug from you is even better. I am fairly certain combining the hugging with the laughter would cause our heads to explode from adorableness overload.You are still a rather skinny fellow. Probably we won't ever see you sporting the chubby baby cheeks many of your friends have, and that's okay. On the food front you disliked broccoli until we combined it with sweet potatoes. Just this morning you voraciously consumed an entire mango for breakfast. It's a close second to your absolute favorite of mashed bananas and blueberries. So far you willingly try everything once. But if your initial reaction is less than favorable it's a bit of a challenge to get you to try something twice at the same sitting. Case in point, peas. You were not as enamored with peas as we thought you'd be. We are still working to get you signing. When I attempt to practice signs with you while eating I receive the "Stop signing and feed me, woman!" look from you. It's very clear the message you are conveying. Perhaps we won't need signs after all. Or maybe you are just using the Jedi mind trick. Hard to say...You move frighteningly fast and it is somewhat scary as we have yet to baby proof the house to protect you from all of the stuff lurking in the cabinets and drawers. The first night you stood up on your own you were in your crib being a bit of a pill (to borrow an adjective from your great grandma Glynn) and not sleeping when I heard you rustling about - we knew you could pull yourself up on your knees. I went in to check on you and there you were triumphantly standing, hanging on the bars of your sleep prison, smiling at me. I had to call your pops in to see that you were, indeed, standing on your own two feet. We promptly dropped the bottom of the crib to keep you from using your head weight to fling yourself over the side. You have a penchant for bonking your head and don't require any assistance in acquiring further head traumas. Crawling is nearly mastered. You can convert from a sitting position into a crawl and head out on your own. So, unless we decide to use straps, there's really no stopping you now. Two of the three animals in the house are less than excited about this new development.Yesterday, we had our first pool experience. The initial toe dip was not appreciated but you performed well once the other moms and babies showed up. It was touch and go the few times I handed you over to the swimming instructor so he could show me the proper holds for various entries into the water but you quieted down quickly once you were returned to me. By the end of our first class you had gone under water three times. While hanging in the pool with the other classmates, you chatted. A lot. I'm hoping this is a sign you'll have the kind of charismatic nature that helped Bill Clinton get elected to the White House. It'd be pretty cool to have a president for a son but no pressure, kid.You have spent two days in daycare, trial runs to see how you'd do and what we can expect from you as parents. In another month you'll start full time. (I have recommended summer reading to begin and finish before school starts in August.) You were so absorbed in meeting your peers when I dropped you off in the morning you hardly noticed when I left or when I peeked in at you one last time before heading out. While I enjoyed having a few hours to myself I missed you terribly. I imagine I'll be the clingy one once fall is here and I have fewer hours to spend with you each day.We're currently working on establishing a daily routine. We had one when you were a wee bit younger but somehow we've strayed away from that schedule. As a result, you are sometimes crankier than we'd expect given your usual pleasant demeanor. The cool thing is, though, sometimes you are so exhausted when we return from doing chores or running errands, that I can twist and bend and pull and heave you out of the back of the Mini and you'll stay asleep through all of it. And you'll continue to sleep as we trek indoors and keep sleeping all the way until I lie you down in your crib. That's when you choose to wake up. If I'm speedy with the soothing and binky application, you will oft fall back asleep. You need your sleep, son. I promise to wake you if something truly amazing happens so you don't miss it.
Life with you is so much better than life before you. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Love,
Mom