8 Months

Dear Madison and Jackson,

I feel like a lot has happened in the last month. Your first Halloween was a lot of fun. Madison looked so adorable as a monkey. I even put a purple bow in the monkey’s hair so it looked like a girl monkey. The stomach was all padded so you looked chunky. It was funny. Jackson’s astronaut suit was so cute! Your little face in the helmet was just priceless.

You’re getting better at eating food. I’m trying to change our feeding schedule but Daddy is fighting me. I think he likes having to wake you up at 11pm and feed you and hold you when you’re all sleepy and you fall back asleep in his arms. He said that last week he went in your room to put Madison in her crib and he ended up lying down on the floor while Madison slept on his chest. There is nothing like snuggling with you when you’re sleeping.

I had been making food for you to eat and freezing it but so far you prefer food from the jar. I had hoped to not feed you unhealthy preservatives and simple carbs but it turns out the fruits and veggies in the jar are just fruits and veggies and water. So far you're both bigt fans of bananas and blueberries and applesauce and sweet potatoes

You both wear size 4 diapers. Mostly because of Jackson. Madison could probably get away with a 2 but it’s just easier to go with one size.

It's official, you both have brown eyes! The color is very apparent now. I can't tell you how shocked I am that Madison doesn't have blue eyes.

One thing you have yet to have is diaper rash. Hopefully we’ll continue to avoid that.

Changing the clocks back an hour has been hard on me. You had started getting up earlier BEFORE we changed the clocks. You were getting up around 7 or 8. Now with the clocks back you’re up at 6 or 7. It’s really hard for me to take care of you all day and work until midnight on 5 or 6 hours of sleep. I’ve been spending more time napping during the day with you but then I have no time to get anything done that needs to get done. I’ve heard that babies can sleep for 12 hours at night. I would LOVE to get you to sleep from 9-9 or 10-10. That way Daddy gets to spend time with you at night and I get to sleep a little later in the morning.

We have rearranged the living room furniture. The room is so small that with the coffee table and big ottoman there was no room for Madison to crawl around.

So far the only time you cry when we leave the room is if you’re already upset about something else. Neither of you show any person preference. You’re not clingy to one particular person and will let anyone hold you even if you don’t know them.

I am looking forward to our first Thanksgiving as a family next week and can’t believe that Christmas is just around the corner!

Dear Jackson,

You are such a good boy. You constantly make me smile.

This month you finally started to get up on all fours and rock back and forth. You also started sitting up with (almost) no risk of falling over. It’s great because we just plop you on the floor with some toys in front of you and you’re happy as a clam. Even after you’ve managed to get all the toys out of your reach you’ll just sit there and look around. You are so content and mellow

You wear size 9-12 month clothes. You’re very thick around the middle which is why you are in such big diapers. Auntie Brenda said that 22 month old Kyle is in size 3 diapers!!

Your unofficial weigh in today was 19 pounds!! I just can't believe you are 1 pound away from quadrupling your birth weight.

No teeth yet! One must be on the way though because your cheeks are very red sometimes and you’re chowing on your fingers and seem to be more sleepy than normal.

Your hair is contuing to grow in but pretty slowly. It's dark brown with flecks of gold.

Injuries this month: One time you were sitting and somehow fell straight forward and landed pretty hard on your chin. You cried so hard and it just broke my heart. I tried to hold you to make it better but it didn’t work.

Dear Madison,

I can’t get over how mobile you are. It just blows my mind that you are pulling yourself up to standing. I wasn’t prepared for you to do all of this so soon. It’s amazing to think of you just a few months ago when all you could do was lay there and realize how much you’ve accomplished. We had to lower your crib mattress so that you don’t fall out when you’re standing in it. You’ve gotten harder to get to go down for a nap because as soon as I put you down you stand up! You’ll just stand there looking like you’re in jail and cry until I pick you up. You're already getting more careful about what you pull up on. I think you're already learning from your many tumbles that you need to test items out to make sure they're sturdy enough to support your weight. I just did an unofficial weigh in with you and you are 15 pounds...still my baby peanut.

You are so chatty and smiley. You are much more energetic than your brother and seem to need to be in motion constantly. You crawl all over the house now. It’s so funny to go into another room and see you following me. You will crawl over pillows, other toys, and even your brother to get to something you want.

Sometimes when we go for a walk in the mall you are constantly kicking your feet in a joyous way and yelling “A-BA-BA-BA” in the most adorable voice. You do this at home too or in the car.

You wear size 6-9 month clothes. Some are 6-12 but just because that’s the way they’re sized.

Your hair is still a deep red color with a wave to it. Your bangs are really growing in now and cover most of your forehead. Now the fun begins with little clips and bows.

Your tooth is really showing now when you smile. The second one in the bottom just started showing a few days ago!

Any “injuries” you’ve had this month have all been falling related (unless you count Jackson pulling your hair so hard you cry bloody murder). I try to asses the damage before I run to you and scoop you up. Most of the time you stop crying within seconds.