8 Months

Dear Kyle-

You are full of personality these days! I love seeing the little person you are becoming. You are very interested in the world around you. You are very detailed oriented and will just sit and explore a single toy for long periods of time trying to figure out how it works. Maybe you will be an engineer like your Grandpa Bill.

You are still very content to sit on your play mat and explore your toys. I have moved them farther from your reach to motivate you to crawl to them and instead you have found ways to scoot closer to them on your bottom or pull the mat with your toys on it closer to you. Needless to say, crawling is still not a high priority on your list of things to do. We practice tummy time every day and each week you get stronger and have started scooching yourself around a little bit on your stomach but have not got up on your hands and knees yet. We looked at your dad's baby book and he did not crawl until 9 months, and your Grandpa Mike and I never crawled so maybe you will skip this milestone all together and go straight to walking. You can pull yourself up if I give you my hand and can stand for short periods of time if you have something to lean up against. I love seeing your little body standing upright and can't believe that sooner than later you will be walking.

Baths and playing with your puppy are still some of your favorite activities. You love playing with your bath toys and splashing in the tub. You are still very verbal and say mama all the time. I think you associate it with me. Whenever you want to be picked up you say mama so I am assuming you are calling for me. We are still working on dada. Whenever I say "dada" you just get a big smile on your face and start saying "mama". You also figured out how to squeal and you get quite a kick out of yourself when you do it. Your tongue is also always moving in and out of your mouth. You love to curl it, especially when you are thinking about something.

Another favorite part of your day is chow time. You are still a great eater and will try anything. You tried your first "puff cereal" and really enjoyed the snack. I was worried you might not know what do with it when I put it in your mouth, but your gummed it until it got soft and then swallowed it. You are also pretty good at feeding them to yourself if you can get them in your mouth before they get stuck on your hands and face.

We took our first trip to the park and you got to swing and try the slide. You loved swinging but were a little unsure about the slide experience. I am excited for summer when we can go to the park regularly to play. You love to be outside too! We also had our first Skype date with daddy. He was so excited to see his little boy and you were excited to see him. It was fun to watch you interacting with the computer. You definitely recognized him and gave him lots of big smiles. I am so thankful for technology! I think Skyping will help you remember your daddy while he is gone and make reintegrating with him when he gets home that much easier.

Another not so exciting first was your first round of antibiotics for pink eye and a double ear infection. You and I both caught nasty colds this month. You took your medicine like a champ and were very patient while Grandma Shannon and I while we put your eye ointment in your eyes. I hated seeing you so miserable and am happy you are back to your normal healthy, happy self. I am also happy you are sleeping through the night again. We had a few rough weeks of sleep and I was getting up with you ever few hours! It made me thankful that you are generally a pretty good sleeper when you are healthy.

I want you to know that you are being a very brave and understanding boy and already learning sacrifice at a very young age. Not having your daddy home is hard and it means mommy only has one set of hands most of the time so you have to learn to be patient. While most little babies get to have play time with their dad when they get home from work, you get to play with a mommy who is pretty tired and counting down the hours till bed time. I do my best to keep life exciting in the evenings, but I know I am not nearly as much fun as your dad would be. Hang in there though, you are being such a good boy and you don't know it, but your smiles and laugh are what keep me going when I am really missing your dad. I see glimmers of him in your facial expressions and hope you grow up to be just like him. He is a pretty awesome guy! :)

I love you so very much! I can't wait to see what new and exciting things you learn next month.

Xo-

Mommy