042709:DEAR AUGUST : EIGHT MONTHS.
dear august,
there have been the months (every month) that i have written that time has flown. this month really has. and not in just all of the ways in which you’ve grown but in all of the things that have happened in just a matter of 30 days. or at least all of the things that seem to have happened.
after about your sixth or so month i started cheating and writing little notes of things that happened throughout the month to refer to when writing your letter. i just knew that the day that i’d sit to write it, my mind would draw a blank. as it often does.
but yes. i find myself sitting here without my notebook scrambling for memories. and all i can really wrap my head around is that you’re a month older, a month more amazing, and that your daddy and i love you even more than last month.
however, there really was more to the month of march than just that. and for that, i rummaged through the many bags i have sitting around the house to find the notebook to refresh my memory.
this month has gone by so fast that i worried that i didn’t write much and found myself panicking at the idea of having to rely on my memory but, as i look at it now, i find relief in the small things i took the time to scribble down.
this past month you’ve gotten even stronger than the month before. you haven’t started crawling but we can feel your strength in the way that you push off of us or bounce up and down when we hold you. you’ll be sitting in our laps and something excites you and you giggle and bounce up and down. sometimes, it feels like you’re about to jump right off of our laps. i can’t say that i am ready for that just yet.
thinking about that and the way you are now, i am not exactly sure when you’re going to be moving around like that. you. are. lazy. you just really love to be held and cuddled. i leave you on your tummy for some time to see what you do. it’s really hit or miss. there are times that you are fine with it and you’ll lay there pushing yourself up. i know that you are strong because you’re holding yourself up all the way down to your waist and for extended periods, however, you aren’t really interested in going anywhere.
you’re sitting up pretty confidently for long periods of time and balancing yourself really well. sometimes i’ll watch you sort of sway and then catch and steady yourself from falling. it’s really cool to see you’re realizing what you can do.
you’re able to stand for short periods of time. but only if there’s something in front of you to support you. after about 15 seconds, your knees give and you fall or you’ll start crying because i think you’re probably really weirded out by the whole bearing your own weight thing.
there’s no rush, though. there’s no doubt that you’ll be getting around on your own in no time and then i’ll be longing for these days when i could set you down in one spot and know that you weren’t going anywhere.
you love being outside. whenever we go outside and i say, “outside! it’s so bright and sunny!,” you smile big and look around excitedly. one time when daddy and i were strolling you out of a store, the wind hit your face as soon as we walked out and you shrieked and smiled big, gasping as the wind hit your face. it was SO. GREAT watching and hearing you experience a friendly breeze that way. it was almost as if you were “officially” meeting one for the first time. 
you have been “talking” a whole lot more, too. especially when by yourself. you’ll just go on and on and on. sometimes, you even replicate the sound of something. whether it be the text message chime on my phone or the sound of the way i say something simple like, “hel-lo!” of course, you do this when i least expect it and pretty much NEVER when i try to get you to. 
you’ve become quite a fan of taking your socks off of your feet. one afternoon, i had set you down on a blanket after getting you ready and left the room to get something. less than a minute later, i was back and both of your socks were off. one of them lay next to your foot and the other was in your mouth…like a little bone. i definitely laughed…and you grinned big with the sock in your mouth like you knew you made a funny.
you have been teething lots and have four teeth to show for it! yes. FOUR. for awhile there, you had just the two bottom front teeth, but by the end of the month, your top, front, left tooth had come in, and then a day before your eight month birthday, the right front tooth came in– your fourth!
while it’s absolutely crazy and wonderful seeing your little boy toothy smile, it has been rough on you…and me at times. this month you’ve been needing extra, extra love and attention and while i have a limitless supply of love to give, it has been a little rough because when you would normally be fine entertaining yourself for longer, you are irritated and groan-ey and just want to be held and cuddled. even while holding you, you are still groan-ey at times…and that’s how i know that you are uncomfortable and really going through something.
however, even while fussy and needy, you are still such a good, fun, and sweet baby. and the really rough days are few and far between. while it’s been challenging, i think it’s been necessary for us to experience days like this. you know, to let us know you’re a normal baby.
you’re still perfect to us and there’s no other place i’d rather be than sitting with my arms around you and comforting you.
not sure if i wrote about this last month but you LOVE drinking water and especially prefer it straight from a glass. no bottle, no sippy cup even (we’ve tried)…you want it straight from a glass. of course you can’t hold the glass up by yourself– we hold it for you. but your little hand holds onto the glass as if you’re holding it up for yourself. and if we pull the glass away for too long you get mad and start crying. you love it! you also sometimes do this thing and chomp on the glass with your little teeth. we can hear the tiny clanking of your teeth on the glass. it’s hysterical.
you’re still not eating any solids. we try every once in awhile to see if you’re open to it and while there are times you’re open to trying, there really hasn’t been a time that you have come back for a second taste. you are still pretty strictly being breast fed. and it seems to be working out just fine. you’re growing just as you should and everyone is still talking about how much of a chunker you are.
it’s so neat to watch people react to you. i am not sure if i wrote about this in a previous month but you stop people dead in their tracks to comment on you and baby talk at you like a silly. it’s kind of interesting what a little baby brings out of people– i’ve seen some of the most stone faced looking people turn soft within a millisecond of seeing you. it’s pretty great. the catch here is that more than 80% of the people that comment on you are still thinking you’re a little girl. tons of blue does nothing for you. your curls are currently ruining your manhood. of course, aside from the curls, i cannot understand where people are making the mistake. thankfully, we have friends and family that feel the same way.
this has been such a crazy month of development. so much has happened so fast. it’s been such a blur.
but a beautiful one.
your daddy and i are so crazy about you.
love,
momma