Eight Months Old

Dearest Owen,

You are remarkable my boy. I have spent the last eight months in absolute awe of you and everything you do. This past month has been no different. Your personality is shining through more everyday. Each new day brings a glimpse of the little boy you are growing to be.

Three new teeth came in this month to make four total. You are doing better with teething pain and we only know you are uncomfortable when we go an entire day without seeing your beautiful smile. You are becoming more inquisitive about your surroundings and noticed the cat for the first time this month, now you watch her intently whenever she is in the room. You lunge for your toys and play with them with much more purpose than before - continuing to explore anything and everything with your mouth. This month brought three little freckles to your soft white skin. The first one appeared on your neck, just under your right earlobe. Your Daddy saw it first because it is right in the sweet spot where he likes to smooch you. You have one inside your ear and one on your kneecap nestled in between your little knee rolls. Three precious freckles and new three teeth all in one month.
 
You are doing much better with solids and we have your diapers as evidence. You weren't too fond of having mush shoveled into your mouth but now that I give you food you can grab and "chew" you are a much happier boy. The chewing is one of the most adorable things I've ever seen! You love yogurt and noodles and enjoy eating your peas one at a time. I like the challenge of finding new and healthy things for you to eat and its been so nice to have you as a meal companion!

We're still going strong with breastfeeding, I wanted to exclusively breastfeed you for six months - and now that we've reached eight months and you're just now eating solids, I am so proud of us. Nursing you has different challenges than when you were tiny and I'm trying to be flexible and cater to your needs. Your emerging teeth have been quite the obstacle for us and we're both learning how to deal with those sharp little additions to your mouth. You have discovered that there is a big wide world away from the comforts of my chest and you don't want to miss a single minute of it. I have to take advantage of quiet and sleepy moments when you nuzzle close to me and take in a full meal. I love nursing you so much, and I will do it for as long as you'll let me.

You are becoming quite vocal, testing out lots of various octaves of yelling. You began making a razzing sound with your mouth last week, which only quadruples the amount of drool on both of us. Probably our greatest joy this month was the sound of your giggles. You don't offer them up for just anyone but when you do - I can hardly keep my heart from exploding. A few nights ago, you were sitting on my lap on the couch and I was hugging you - great BIG bear hugs. Each time I would squeeeeeeeeze -  you would let out a huge giggle  - just like the Pillsbury dough boy. I did this over and over again until you burst into uncontrollable giggles and I burst into tears! You made me so incredibly happy with those giggles, I just couldn't contain myself.

So. Incredibly. Happy. That pretty much sums up how your Daddy and I feel every time we look at you.

I love your giggles, I love your freckles and most of all - I love you.

BIG bear hugs,

Mama