8 months

Buster Brown, 

Another miraculous month.  You have begun to see and interact with your world in the most astounding ways.  It is hard to get you to sleep at night because you are always so curious about everything.  The shadows on the wall, my unused alarm clock, the glass of water, and the sound of the heat turning on are all very intriguing at 3am.  I have begun talking to you at night so you turn your focus to me and I can bore you back to sleep.  Usually, I am proclaiming the benefits of sleeping through the night or how cuddly and warm your bed would be if you were in it but sometimes I resort to stories about chipmunks or badgers.     

You are a second away from crawling.  You get on your hands and knees and go backward usually cornering yourself between furniture.  Sometimes you rock back and forth, then inch forward and then fall on your tummy.  I don't know if I am excited about this monumental development or terrified.  Right now, I can sit you on the floor surrounded by toys, run to get a glass of water, and be confident that you will be right where I left you on my return.  Once you get independently mobile its a whole new ball game.  You will be everywhere and into everything.   

Basically, I am terrified about baby-proofing.  Sometimes, I crawl around on the floor to look at things from your angle.  All I see are wires that can wrap around you, electrical sockets, books that you will slobber on, cat food to eat, ceramic things that could fall on your head, and lots and lots of choking hazards.  So, please for my sanity, hold off on crawling and walking.  It can wait.  You are doing just fine in your walker zipping around the house and terrorizing the cats.  You get into lots of trouble in that thing.  I can't image what you will do without the bumper barrier on the walker.

Now that the weather is beautiful we spend most of our time outside on the lawn.  I set up camp out front so you can watch the cars go by.  I grab a blanket, some toys, and we sit for hours taking in each blade of grass.  We have also been taking a lot of outings.  This weekend we went to the Apple Festival and last weekend to Harvest Day and to see Otto the Ghost.  You have taken 2 hay rides and became quite enamored with the big horse.  Daddy and I took you to the Central Park Zoo.  You liked the animals but you LOVED the carpeting on the walls in the penguin exhibit, the little British girl at the Polar Bears, and the pigeons all over the park.  I think the Aquarium is next.  I love taking you out and watching strangers bend to look at you and ask questions.  You attract all sorts of people.  The other day this elderly gentlemen actually did a jig in the grocery store to get you to smile.  You didn't but I sure did.   

I love you everyday.

Mommmmmmm (thats how you say it)