We've got a couple big things in the works this month and I wasn't sure if I'd even have time to get Ben's 8-month post up. But it's Friday night and everyone is sleeping (except me) so I thought it would be the perfect time to whip together a little write up. After all, I know I'll appreciate keeping up with these posts even more in the future when I look back and reminisce. Its so easy to forget each stage as we're continually adjusting to the new ones.
Ben's advancing mobility has been the biggest change this month. Four weeks ago he was just learning to get up on all fours and could almost sit by himself unassisted. Seems like ages ago now. Kid is sitting up for 20+ minutes at a time and is crawling around like mad (it started off as inch-worming at the beginning but is now full on crawling). He'll pull himself up to a standing position and work his way around the furniture. He only needs to hold onto our fingers when walking or running around the house. Lots of tumbling over as a result but fortunately he doesn't seem to be affected too much. I like to think it has something to do with me not giving him a big reaction when bumps and falls happen (something my brother taught me) and so far it has worked pretty good. Or maybe he's just a tough kid...who knows?
You'd think with all this moving around he'd be thinning out a bit but I think he's actually packing on the weight instead. He's still a great eater and enjoys feeding himself for most meals. We give him water from time to time which he's happy to drink and, like every typical baby this age, he explores absolutely everything with his mouth.
Speaking of which, I am so happy to announce that he has cut his first tooth! Oh how I waited and waited for this moment (and finally gave up talking about it after 4 months of excessive drooling and so-called teething signs). But there's definitely a sharp little tooth making an appearance and I can feel some more little buds nearing the surface.
Ben and I took our first big road trip this month - visiting family and friends in my hometown. The car trip itself was waaaaaay less stressful than I had anticipated and he did a marvellous job entertaining himself most of the time with the random toys I'd launch back to him every few minutes. I didn't even have to pull over once! We had our first official beach day and rode in a motor boat (he fell asleep). He met his three cousins in person for the first time as well as many out of town guests who had traveled to see us. We strolled around our new neighbourhood a few times and learned how to wave/say 'hi'...realizing that it is more of a high pitched 'hhhhhiiiiiiiii' squeal than an actual verbal expression but I'll take what I can get.
Danny and I went on our first ever date since Ben was born this month to celebrate my birthday. It's kind of sad that we hadn't done it earlier but we didn't have any babysitters until we moved back out west. Truly enjoyed our dinner and movie despite the running commentary from the random 3 year old sitting behind us. Seriously, we left our kid at home for a reason. But I digress. I also left Ben with Danny one night while I had a mountain weekend escape with some of my closest girlfriends. Figured the boys made out okay when I came home and everything was pretty much how I'd left it apart from a shirt that had been put on backwards.
Yup, lots of new milestones reached and more fun stages to come. I'd better sign off soon, however, as the little guy is an early riser despite how many Zzzzs I get.
But first, an obligatory photo dump.
