Austin: 8 months

Austin,

Eight months.  How is the time passing so quickly?  You are growing so much, and those "baby" days seem so far behind us.

For example, you have teeth!  Two of them! 

Well, they've just started to poke through, but they are definitely there.  They've caused a little trouble, in that you've had a tough time sleeping (then again, when have you not had trouble sleeping?) and you've had a few moments of fussiness.   By that I mean, you had one day where you were clingy and a day or two where you fussed a little around dinner time.  I felt so bad for you because I knew you had to be in pain if you were fussing.  You are usually so happy and easy, it was hard to see you unhappy.  Thankfully, it only lasted for a little bit and those teeth are through. 

You can't quite figure out these new things in your mouth.  Lately, you've been playing with your mouth quite a bit: sticking out your tongue, sucking on your lip, and making chomping motions.  You know something is different, and it's quite funny watching you figure it out. 

Since you have these new chompers, I thought we'd try puffs and cheerios for the first time.  A few ugly faces and some gagging later (because you didn't like how they felt on your tongue, you weren't choking) I gave up.  We will try again later.  In the mean time, I still put them on your tray but only because you enjoy banging on them and trying to pick them up. 

You've always been good at picking things up and using your motor skills, but this month you've discovered the oh so fun game of throwing things.  You love to throw toys and wait for me to pick them up so you can throw them again.  I've started attaching things with links, just to make it a little easier. This new throwing skill has come in handy when you're playing on the floor though.  Once you've thrown all your toys out of your sitting reach, you've figured out how to fall backwards or sideways and roll onto your back.  Through various rolls and backwards scooting, your can usually get to whatever you need.  The crawling hasn't started yet, but you are still trying so hard!

I kinda feel like I don't have much to say this month.  I could go on (again) about how happy you are, and how much you love to smile, laugh and cuddle, but I feel like I keep saying that over and over again.  It's such a strange thing for two such cynical parents to witness, but it's the way your are and we're getting used to it.  It's actually kinda nice to have such a bright spot in our days.  This month has been stressful (we bought a house!) and I've had to spend a lot of time running errands and making phone calls, but you've been perfectly happy tagging along and playing on the floor of various places. 

You make it so easy to love you.  You truly are a wonderful addition to our family.

Love you,
Mommy

PS- This is will be my second to last mention about your eyes, seeing as next month is that 9month mark the doctor talked to me about.  It would be some really weird genetic twist if your baby blues suddenly changed at this point, but I feel I must mention it.  Though, if it did happen, you would have one sad Mommy.  Not that I wouldn't love your eyes regardless, but the bright blue fits your personality so well!

Abby, Minnie and Daisy-Mouse

Abby is very much like her Daddy.  She looks like him, she thinks like him, she acts like him.  Basically, she is a mini-Dan, just in the female version.  Often times this leads to the two bashing heads (I call them my two rams) but often this leads to them feeding off each other and it's quite funny. 

There's not much she got from me, except for her creativity.  Dan is missing this gene.  I, however, am quite creative and theatrical.  Abby is also quite imaginative.  But, back to me for a minute.  My brother and sister weren't born until I was 8 and 10, and it was just Mom and I until I was 6.  So I had to use my imagination a lot.  I never had an imaginary friend, but I did become one.  I had an old wooden step stool that I would put on my back, then crawl around the house on my hands and knees pretending to be a cat.  My name was Snowball.  When the step stool was on my back, I would only purr.  I rubbed my back on furniture and drank water from a bowl on the floor.  (I never really thought it was all that strange until I started typing this.  Oh well..  Full disclosure.)  This cat routine went on until I was 7 or so. 

So, on to Abby.  She's at that "imaginary friend" age, but just like her Momma, she's doing it with a twist.  Abby's imaginary friends are babies.  There's anywhere from one to three of them depending on the day (Abby, Minnie and Daisy-Mouse).  The twist?  They are in her belly.

Yep.  My daughter has imaginary babies in her belly.  They talk to her and kick her.  They even have food preferences.  (they don't like mexican pasta or pineapples or whatever else Abby doesn't want to eat)  She talks at length about how long they are going to be growing there and when they will be coming out.  She loves to talk about how she'll take care of them when they are out as well.*

While I don't necessarily encourage all this, I do ask her questions and talk to her about her babies when she brings them up.  I feel it's key to feed this imaginative play.  Though, it's a little strange when Abby tells random people at the grocery store and Target that Austin is my baby and her babies are still in her belly.  (Austin's smiles stop people in the aisles and they usually ask Abby about "her baby")

It's not the most conventional of imaginary friends, but then again her Mommy was a cat.

*My psycho-analysis says this ultimately why these babies are around.  Abby sees me taking care of Austin, and feeling left out, wants to take care of someone too.  She wants to help so bad, but is just too young to care for Austin.  She'll take care of "her babies" instead.
** I would also like to point out that a number of Abby's school friends and one of her favorite teachers are pregnant.  I assume that has also triggered all of this lately.