8 month update

Things happen so fast. I know it's cliche, and you get soooo sick of hearing it when you're pregnant or in the two weeks after birth, but they really DO grow up so fast. Ely is now 8 months old, and he's about 22 pounds of sheer joy. His personality is starting to show now, and it's fun to get to know the little person that is my son. He is very determined, goal-oriented, and seriously observant when he's focused on an object or when he's outside watching the trees and the birds (and if you know his dad at all, you know why!). He's also very active and happy most of the time. I think he has a good mix of us both - serious and focused from his mom, and full of wiggles from his dad.

It seems like everything all happened at once: he sprouted 2 teeth about 2 weeks ago, he now crawls quite quickly, pulls himself up to stand on the furniture, cruises around the furniture, and can stand for just a few seconds without holding onto anything. He has also started babbling quite a bit more, lots of squealing, says dadadadada alot, and keee-keee-keee, which we think might be for "kitty" since he chases Battle Cat around alot. His small motor development seems pretty advanced, since he is quite the perfectionist and won't eat a Cheerio if it's buried in his fist, only if it's grasped perfectly between thumb and forefinger. He's also learned to drop blocks into slots in his toys and put a ball through a hoop. He reaches out for people to hold him, and is going through a little separation anxiety (he starts to wail when you put him on the floor or in his jumper and walk away).

He will be going to a new daycare on October 19, which will definitely be harder on me than it will be on him. It's with a nice family right down the road from our house, and they have three licensed people who take care of 8 kids (Ely will be #9). I'm sure he will enjoy playing with the other kids, and it sounds like they have all sorts of fun activities for all ages.

These videos were just taken this morning so you can see how he's doing!