The Squirt:: 8 months

Oh, what to say about this boy?

I truly am at a loss for words.

The snuggle bunny of Summer 2009 is no more. You Chicker, are a mover and a shaker. You have opinions, opinions, and opinions.

You no longer are interested in drinking a bottle during the day (only at night) and prefer juice out of a sippy cup.

You climb on everything, much to my dismay, and your brother and I wrote up a song for you. It goes like this:

Climb and Crash,
Climb and Crash,
All Day Long you Climb and Crash.

We sing this song to you often. Because that seems to be your thing.

Speaking of your brother - you absolutely adore him. No one can make you laugh harder or move faster. You must be with him all the time and when he isn't around - you seem a little bit lost. If you could talk, I know you'd ask me where he was, and when we're going to pick him up.

I hope that the two of you are the best of friends, like I am with my sister and brother.

My favorite time of day with you is in the morning, when you have a bath. I love to watch you splash and scream and laugh. It's contagious and lately, the best part of my day to be certain.

Your mouth hurts - which has turned you into a super grump the last few days, but hopefully the next round of teeth will come in soon. We've started experimenting and feeding you real food - some stuff you like and some you don't. The Monkey shoved a little puffy star thing into your mouth on Saturday morning and it made you puke and choke. I'll be sure to supervise even more closely from now on.

Like your brother at this age, you've also developed a love affair with the washer and dryer. I make sure to do a load a day so that we can sit and watch it spin and spin. Well, I sit. You stand and give the dryer hugs. Who knew those machines would be some of the best entertainment in the house.

You survived your first Christmas and New Year and are already on the homeward stretch to turning ONE! Holy cow, I cannot believe it.

You love everyone - especially your dad. I should take offense to how excited you get every evening when he gets home from work but I don't. Watching you nestle your head onto his shoulder and smile is enough to melt even this Grinch's heart.

We love you, Chickie!