8 months old

Today Logan turned 8 months old. And, a lot has happened in the past month, that it feels like so much longer! I would say the biggest turning point, of course, is how MOBILE he has now become.

And, he truly does love his new found independence. Exploring the house in ways he never knew he could before. Like, why go around the stroller like Mom does, when you can go under it?

At first, he started sitting up on his own, which was so great! We felt like that brought on a whole new independence for our little guy and we didn't have to worry that if he tumbled over after setting him down, that we'd have to be there to right him back up.

I know what you're thinking and YES, I set him down on his own without watching him. Quite often. So I can run over and feed the dogs and cats, run to the bathroom, switch over the load of laundry, start dinner, wash the dishes, make a bottle for Logan. You name it, time is precious and any little second I can steal to get a chore done while Logan entertains himself is GOLD in this here house.

Within a week, literally, Logan started crawling. How these guys learn the skills on their own (usually overnight) is just amazing to me. We were, of course, ecstatic. And a little nervous too. With more independence and mobility means we've got to be on our toes much more!! Long ago were the days where I could set Logan down and know that he'd still be in the same spot on the living room rug, playing with his toys and laughing at the dogs.

Now, he crawls out into the foyer to peek around the corner at me in the kitchen and say HI MOM!

Or, perhaps it's crawling down the step over our threshold and onto our porch.

Just this weekend, I was running out to the car to load it up with all our gear, getting ready to make a run to the store with Logan, and apparently I left the front door wide open. Lola runs out, as usual, to race in circles around the front lawn. So, naturally, Logan wants to see what all the commotion is about, and crawls from the living room to the front door in a matter of seconds. I'm walking back up the walkway toward our front door and am greeted by my son grunting, balancing in mid-air, trying to figure out how to get his legs to follow his hands, down the step. He made it, without any face plants or help from me. No fear.

He's also quickly learning how to pull himself up onto things. He doesn't yet use anything tall like furniture or tables. Yet. Usually it's something lower to the ground and his height. Like my own body - since I'm laying right next to him as we play on the floor and he sees something on the other side of me THAT HE HAS TO HAVE NOW and proceeds to use my body as leverage to push his legs straight and half stand up, peering over me, to calculate how far the toy is and how much effort is going to be involved in GETTING that toy. He makes it every time of course.

His hand-eye coordination is getting better and better every day. He's recently started clapping and smiles when his hands make a noise. Although, I'm not sure he associates HIS clapping to MY clapping, since he hasn't yet learned to mimic me, but seems to be content clapping on his own nonetheless.

You've probably noticed I've stopped announcing the new foods we're trying with him because basically I try ANYTHING that he'll eat. Just this past weekend I got a food grinder so we tried out some of my spaghetti for his dinner too - he seemed to like it (duh Mom. They're carbs!) :) He's eating a lot more food now - usually two solids a day (one veggie, one fruit) and a TON of cheerios, puffs, crackers, you name it. These are all in addition to his bottle, which he loves and has taken on a horrible habit of throwing a FIT anytime he sees it and realizes he's hungry.

He's taken to BITING me too, whenever he's hungry. My legs, my knees, my arms, my chest, my face. Usually they are little nips, but sometimes he'll get a good grip with those two razor sharp teeth of his and I jump and yell. Of course, that's just the more funny to him.

He sorta does a half ass attempt at reaching his arms out at me. I'm really trying to get him to learn that one since it's a lot easier on my back if he helps me. But, we're not 100% there yet. He does get EXTREMELY excited when he wants up or down and bounces like a madman tho. Very entertaining.

Luckily his "separation anxiety" the other day seems to have been a one time fluke. However, he will still throw a fit if he's not quite in the mood to play, and you put him down to play. Or not quite in the mood to eat, and you put him in the booster seat to eat. Or, not quite in the mood to sleep, and you lay him down to nap. You get the picture.

I keep reminding myself patience is a virtue.

I'm sure I will be chanting that for the rest of my life.

Whoever said babies shouldn't play with plastic bags obviously didn't know what they were talking about. Especially when they are super big Toys R Us bags sitting in the hallway to discover, and crinkle and swish and make all sorts of neat new sounds to play with.

He loves playing with his teeth and sticks his tongue down to scrape across the tops of them. He continues to growl, he's just a lot louder now. Ahh, if only we could have the first days back where his little cry was so little. Now he has some lungs and he's not afraid to use them. In fact, he believes I must be deaf, so the louder the better. Yelling, laughing, squealing, crying, banging, clapping, pounding.

Oh, and he's discovered his penis.