Gabriel is 8 Months Old Today

Dear Gabriel,

Today you turn 8 months old. Wow how time flies! I honestly can't remember what it was like when you were a newborn. The more you grow, the more your personality comes out. I love it when you see me and get a big smile on your face. You do the same thing when daddy comes home from work.

Things to note:
- You still have a bald spot on the back of your head, but it's smaller and hair is starting to grow in
- You've been "crawling" for a month, but it's the army crawl, where you pull forward on your elbows and slide on your tummy. You can get on your hands and knees, but when you want to go somewhere, it's always the army crawl.
- You're able to help us put your clothes on. You push your arms through the sleeves and your head through the neck hole.
- You've been introduced to a variety of new foods. You have even had chicken and top sirloin! Pureed, of course. You love the chicken, and I can't get it into your mouth fast enough.
- You're talking more these days. You always say "ma ma ma", "ba ba ba" and "da da da". Or you just slur a bunch of vowels together.
- You still sleep 12 hours each night (amen!) and take 2 naps during the day.
- You focus a lot more during story time. You'll sit there quietly on my lap and look at each page while I read. You especially like the stories that rhyme, so we mostly stick to those. We just started going to the library regularly, so you can have a variety of books.
- We just got back from a little vacation in Palm Springs, where you LOVED the pool. Daddy held you in the water and moved around just like you were swimming. Boy, you giggled and got a kick out of it! Once in a while you tried to put your face in the water, and started to cough. After a couple of those, you decided that wasn't so much fun.
- At the doctors office last week, you weighed 18.2 pounds! Daddy says mommy's got some guns from toting you around.

Everywhere we go, people give us compliments on how handsome you are, and we definitely agree. You like to flirt with strangers by smiling and kicking your feet. Sometimes, you'll show off some dance moves by swaying back and forth. People love this.

Happy 8 month birthday Gabriel! We love you!