Ian is 8 months old!

Another month has come and gone, and once again I am baffled at how quickly time passes. One minute, this sweet boy is a cuddly, squishy, lump of newborn baby... then suddenly, I look again and he's got long legs and big feet and is SO big:

Look at you, sweet Ian Michael! You're eight whole months old! That's 2/3 of a full year! This month has brought a lot of sweet and funny moments, but I'm not going to lie, it's also been one of your fussier months so far. 

Which you'd never guess looking at this face:

You cut another 2 teeth this month, putting your total tooth count up to SEVEN teeth. You have 4 on top and 3 on the bottom. I think a large amount of your fussing over the past month was due to the fact that you cut 5 teeth in 4 weeks. Isaac also cut his teeth fast and early, which is an awesome alternative to slow and steady. Get 'em in. Get 'em done.

You've put those new teeth to good use by eating anything I'll offer you. I think hunger was the other fussiness culprit. We added another solid feeding around lunch time and you've been much less fussy throughout the day. That means you're eating 3 solid meals and nursing 4 times each day. That feels excessive, but you're definitely starting to wean off of your mid-morning feeding. It wouldn't surprise me if by your next monthly update, you would be down to 3 nursing sessions/day.

I haven't done a great job keeping track of the new foods we introduced this month, mostly because you're eating anything I can mush up or grab and gnaw on. You've had avocado, peanut butter, rice, chicken, noodles, potato, yogurt, cheese, pears, oatmeal, ...and there may have been a few desperate mommy moments where you got french fries and pizza crust. Haha! We introduced a sippy cup of water this month as well.

Check out ^this^ sweet brother moment. Isaac is giving Ian a drink of water. Apparently, in the nursery, Isaac transforms from the big brother who steals toys into the great protector. Yesterday, I overheard him say,  "No Chase! Don't run over Ian!! That's MY Ian!" Maybe they do love each other just a little bit.

And speaking of sweet moments, it's rare that I ever get a sleeping baby on my chest anymore-- especially in the middle of the day, so this selfie was obviously warranted:

Ian, you've grown leaps and bounds in the mobility department this month! Just as predicted during your 7 month blog report, you are officially crawling! You can also push yourself up to a sitting position when you're laying on your tummy, AND pull yourself up to standing. You have always been a very active baby, but now you're really moving. You are not content to sit in one place... which is why those cuddly moments are few and far between. 

You're wearing size 3 diapers and mostly 12m clothes or bigger. We don't have an updated weight or length this month, but I assume you're floating around the 21 pound mark. On the rare occasion that you wear shoes, I'll put a size 4 on. There's still very little hair on the top of your head (your brother was bald way past his first birthday) and your eyes are ridiculously blue.

Even though this month had its ups and lots of downs, my love for you, sweet boy, is and will always be unwavering. You are such a joy and a blessing to me! I pray you will grow into a great man of God, full of courage and wisdom. I love you dearly.