Samuel: 8 Months

Dear Sam,

The past month has been a whirlwind as you have quickly changed from a baby content to sit and play to a bona fide explorer boy. You are an expert army crawler, an efficient crawler, and you can pull to a stand pretty much anywhere. Let's just say the past month has been a painful reminder of what happens when little heads meet large, hard objects. Lots of hard-earned bumps, bruises and even a bloody nose!

You have reached that wonderful, interactive, playful stage that has made your Daddy fall in love with you all over again. He delights in your frequent vocalizations, the occasional wave hello or bye-bye, the joy in which you greet him at the end of the day, and your enthusiasm for wrestling on the living room rug. It is so fun to watch the two of you enjoy each other's zest for life.

You are curious and adventurous, much like your sister. Not content to sit and let the world go on around you, but ready to take on anything in your path. I can hardly take a picture without you chasing me and my camera down. Upon hearing the dishwasher open, you are there faster than I can ever prepare for, up on your feet or face first onto the open door, exploring, mouthing, removing silverware and making my housework altogether more work. Any open door is an invitation and I've even lost you for minutes at a time, only to find you crammed beneath some small space, sitting or lying on your belly, legs flapping wildly up and down. Once I even found you in the garage beneath the car. True story.

You are easily the sweetest and most mild-mannered baby in the nursery. The church ladies coo with delight when recounting what a good baby you were while in their care. 'Tween volunteers fight over who gets to rock you to sleep because you are just that much of a love. And at the end of each day, it is your lucky Mama who gets to rock you to sleep, twirling my hair or cradling my face.

You and your sister have another desirable trait in common: an enthusiasm for eating. You have reached that delightful self-feeding stage where I can plop you down in a high chair for long stretches of time. You will sit and eat and eat and eat until I think you cannot possibly fit any more food in your stomach, at which point you will squeal "Mmmm," which is Samuel-speak for "gimme more food, Mama!" You especially love toast, blueberries (like your sister), cheerios, and any orange vegetable.

You are constantly "talking," and whereas your sister loved to repeat syllables and babble, you are usually doing one of two things: squealing in a very, very high octave or grunting way down low. But you keep us on our toes, as you will break out with the occasional "jahbahmagzzy," sounding like a perfectly normal word, making us all laugh.

Maddie is the most amazing big sister, but you are every bit as much in love with her. The second you start to fuss or complain, she will break out in "Get up on it! Get up on it!" and have you smiling or laughing. One day I heard her yelling "No! No! NOOOOO!" and as I rushed in to see what was going on, you were sitting there, looking up at her, laughing your little head off. "He loves it when I say 'No!' Mama. It's so silly!" You love to follow Maddie, join her in her play, and nothing makes you smile like when she greets you in the morning in your crib, brimming with excitement that you are up and ready to play.

Not that it is all easy these days. In just one month we've endured three plugged ducts and mastitis. The previous handful of months were spent passing thrush back and forth, back and forth. Now that you are getting your top teeth, the pulling and thrashing and biting are starting to take their toll on your poor Mama. I so desire to breastfeed you as long as possible, but I admit my body is growing weary despite my heart's constancy. Our moments in the early morning or late at night are so special, and I know that once I am done nursing I will miss that intimacy dearly.

Yet at eight months you are beginning to show signs of differentiating. You amaze me with your desire to investigate your world and feed yourself, the ease with which you go to any person, all gummy smiles and happy coos, and the ability to self-entertain in pretty much any environment. You need me less and less, which is a good thing. I am watching my baby become a person right before my eyes! It is with great joy and love and maybe just a hint of sadness that I welcome you to eight months. Congrats on being two-thirds of the way to one!

Love,

Mama