8 months of Jay Wheeler

At 8 months old Jay:

-has given up on the whole crawling thing. I can never get him to stay on his tummy long enough to even try it, so rather he has adopted butt scooting. Backwards is a lot easier than forwards, but he is working on both directions. He is excited to finally have a means to move around. But heaven help this mama--I will never be able to keep up with him again!

-cut 2 chompers! Both bottom central incisors finally pushed they way through those gums after what seems like month of incessant drooling and many very sad days for my sweet boy. But with frozen teethers, tylenol, lots of cool foods, and extra snuggles he was brave and survived.

-continues to be BFFs with his daddy. Besides in the middle of the night when he only wants mommy (aka boobs), JJ LOOOOOVES his dad. He literally explodes with happiness when Justin walks through the door. It might be because daddy is the designated bath giver (which is Jay's favorite half hour of the day) or because daddy lets JJ do every possible daredevil trick--but these two are inseparable. No one can make JJ laugh like daddy!

-loves exploring the new summer season. I constantly have to remind myself that everything in this wide world is new for him and never before has he experienced summer. We are taking full advantage! So far we have been to the zoo (many many many times), joined the summer reading program at the library, made a water park in our backyard, had lots of playdates with our fellow baby friends, gone on early morning walks around the lake, and taken a trip to the Aquarium. Not to mention this little guy is the perfect yard work buddy. He is so content to sit on a blanket and eat grass watch mama work!

-is 19 pounds and is busting out of his 9 month clothing so we finally pulled out all of his 12 month attire. I love summer because I now have unlimited access to his juicy thighs at all times of the day!

-his chubbiness makes perfect sense because this kid has caught hold of the eating thing and never looked back. This month he tried TONS of new things-- whole milk yogurt (and you better believe her eats the whole dang cup), almond butter, salmon, tilapia, asparagus, egg yolk, cauliflower, hummus, zucchini. And of course he has had a bite or two of things like french fries and donuts....

-continues to be resilient with his helmet. His grammy has been an  expert at finding ways to keep him cool as the temperatures rise. She hooked us up 2 types of stroller fans, a misting bottle, cooling towels, and tank top onesies. #bestgrammyoftheyearaward Hopefully he just has a few more weeks before he busts out of that thing for good!

-is developing more control of his voice! He now makes a wide range of consonant sounds (my favorite of which is ma ma ma ma) and tones of voice. He understand his name (and his many nicknames--baby bizler, biz, mouse, JJ) and a few other simple words. We have been practicing our sign language and although the only sign he seems to care about is milk, I am sure he will catch on to the rest in no time.

-is getting so excited to head to California in August! This month we booked tickets to see his grandma great and grandpa great! He loves watching airplanes in the sky, so hopefully he is as thrilled about riding one....

-has started this habit of kicking his legs in an alternating pattern whenever he is really happy or excited. This makes it hard to get a good pictures because his legs literally move so fast. My sweet little cricket baby!

Man I love this little rascal! The mom life is a HARD life, but it is the BEST life. I know I am biased, but I just think JJ is the best baby ever.