8 Months

Little Man turned 8 months on Sunday! I can't believe he is 8 months already and growing so much.
When you're pregnant people constantly give you two pieces of advice -
1) Get your sleep now
2) Enjoy every minute of it, it goes so quickly
Although I hated hearing those while pregnant, I now see why everyone says them and would use them as my top two pieces of advice now too. It seems like just yesterday he was content laying in his play mat and batting at toys, now toys are no fun and game to play is "catch me if you can."

Some of the things the last month has brought us:
1) The word "no" is a joke. We're reaching the point where it is no longer just playing all the time, but time to parent now and Jacob finds it hilarious. As soon as he hears the "no" he turns his head to face you and gives the biggest, full face encompassing smile, then returns to what he wants to do. We haven't quite figured out how to get over this one.
2) Everyone who sees him eat is amazed by his love of food. Jacob cries the loudest when there is no more food on his tray in front of him, or when we're eating and he isn't (which has made it much harder to go out to eat). If we're out to eat he's quick to reach for what I'm eating, even if it is a giant chicken sandwich...looks good to him.
3) He eats what we eat. Buying and making pureed food is almost a complete thing of the past. For breakfast Jacob loves yogurt, cottage cheese, pancakes, toast and fruits. Lunch and dinner bring pretty much everything else. He hasn't found anything he can pick up that he doesn't like.
4) The pincer grab is starting to evolve, but his favorite way to stuff his face is to grab a handful and jam whatever he can into his mouth. Once a little is swallowed he's quick to replace it with more food.
5) The boy can move - and quickly! I can't turn my head now without Jacob being on the opposite side of the room. He knows how to do a real crawl, but still loves the army crawl because it is just so much faster.
6) All our tables are cleared now. Anything on the table is fair game for Jacob to grab, there's just no getting around that.
7) He started the month starting to pull up but crying because he couldn't get down, within a week or so that problem was gone and he easily goes up and down now whenever he pleases, but now that he's mastered it, he doesn't see the need to stand as much anymore.
8) Laughing - whether he is crawling down the hall with us chasing him or we're tickling him Jacob's laugh is contagious. The best laugh is the one he now does with food he likes. With each bite he takes he gives a long goofy laugh to show how much he likes it and the pattern lasts through the whole meal.
9) In his carseat he knows if I say up it means he is about to get out and raises his hands and arches his back to make it easier.
10) High Fives and Kisses - Mainly the high fives are for Michael and me, but he has been known to give out a few. However, the kisses have been reserved only for his monkey blanket. If I have the blanket near him and say kisses he moves his head closer to it and closes his eyes, but if I say it near me or anyone else he looks at me and smiles.
11) For most of the month the babbling was gone and replaced with clicks and clacks. I've never heard a baby make these noises before and the only thing we could come up with is that he was repeating the kiss noises we normally give him. Thankfully he has moved on to watching our mouths and trying to imitate what we say and I no longer have to worry.

Before I know it he'll be 1!