8 Months

Time is flying by and we are truly having so much fun! Caden continues to amaze us with all he is learning every day. It seems like everyday I pick him up from mom and dad's and he has learned something new. Their first question every Monday morning, is "What new tricks did he learn this weekend?!" Although sometimes I wish he was still a tiny 8 lb baby doll, each stage has its own joys and is so fun! 
So we have a HUGE mama's boy on our hands here. If I set him down and leave the room, he will usually follow with a "mamamamama!" and come crawling after me (melts my heart)... 

We love our daddy too, but would rather have mama hold me and let daddy make me laugh :) He loves it when Cameron drums with him or tickles him real good. It gets a good hearty laugh from him. He loves to look at me nose to nose.. it gets both of us laughing pretty hard. 

 This month we are crawling faster, however mostly with one leg straight though. So it's more of a peg leg crawl! It works... He would really just rather walk, which we have said all along. He's beginning to pull up on anything and everything and is starting to hold on with just one hand and start to move away. Good thing he wears cushy diapers, because he has lots of abrupt landings on that cute toosh of his. 

 His smile is really contagious and I can't help but just do silly things all the time to make him laugh or smile. I told Cameron at the store yesterday (right after a spontaneous break into song and dance) that I used to sort of care what others thought about me and tried not to make a fool of myself in public. Yeah... I don't care at all anymore. At the store we sing about paper towels, cheese, fruit, etc. Luckily Caden is not real picky about the lyrics just yet :) 

 He's learning to play more independently now which means we can set him down for a few minutes while we fix meals or get ready in the morning and he can entertain himself. His favorite toys right now are the drumsticks that came with the toy drum Garrett and Meghan got him for Christmas, mommy's phone (just bought a new case for it to make it Caden friendly), the TV remote (when mom and dad aren't looking), the walker toy Aunt Trish got him for Christmas, and a set of wooden stacking blocks. His crawling abilities seem to soar whenever there are electronics or chords available to pull and investigate. This little guy is very curious. He loves to turn things over and examine them from all sides. He also likes to "help" me load and unload the dishwasher. 

Have I mentioned we have the BEST photographer? Our friend, Lesley Rackley, takes pictures of Caden once a month for us. She took the picture below at the park for his 7 month photo session (we haven't picked up his 8 month pictures from her yet). If you need a photographer, check her out - she's awesome! 

Other random things this month: We have our first tooth! It's his bottom front right tooth. We've thought he was teething since he was 4 months old - but we just now got one to poke through. He's eating a bigger variety of things now and is starting to prefer baby foods with meat, pasta, or rice mixed in - makes it thicker. I still buy the Gerber baby food and I'm not gonna lie, it grosses me out from time to time and I wish I had the time/patience to make our own food. But I am thankful for the convenience of pre made baby food right now! He is still on "mama's milk" for now and we are hoping to make that last for as long as possible. He doesn't seem to like his bouncer as much anymore because he can't get to where he wants to be in there! We still like bath time and are more interested in playing with toys while in the tub. 

Caden, you are the BEST baby ever. I love every minute we get to spend together. We are so blessed to have such a laid back baby that is flexible with parents that are still learning. Every where we go, people we know as well as strangers comment on how cute you are and what a good baby you are. You make friends with everyone! We love you!