Happy 8 Month Birthday!

Dear Jackson –

Today you are 8 months old. You are becoming such a big boy and are ready to be treated like one. You now prefer to sit in high chairs at restaurants and inside grocery carts at stores. You think you might miss something if you are in your car seat instead.

This month was very special. Not only was it the first time to experience Mommy’s birthday, Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, etc, but we also got to spend two straight weeks with you. No school for you or for us! Of course your routines are all off. You barely nap with us and you have decided 4am seems like a great time to wake up, but it’s worth it. Hopefully, you will get back into your routines soon.

You now weigh over 21 pounds. We haven’t weighed you in a while, so we don’t know how much exactly. You are also extremely long for your age. Last time we measured, your length was 30 inches. Aunt Penny and Uncle Stephen were generous enough to let us use William and Neil’s car seat that goes up to 30 pounds so that we can keep you contained a little longer. Although we have a while before you max it out as far as the weight goes, we realized yesterday you’re looking a little long in it. Unfortunately, it’s only safe for babies up to 32 inches. Now we really need to measure you. We’re also growing through your pjs with feet like crazy because of your height.

You are pulling yourself up on some things, especially the ball pit at school. On the ball pit you like to let go, but you haven’t really tried that one at home yet. You also like crawling everywhere. If we turn around for one minute you are suddenly in the kitchen crawling to the dog food or headed down the hallway. Also, in the mornings, you like to let the dogs out of their home. Oh yes, and you still love to smile and laugh all the time. Our living room now looks like a toy store exploded in here and about 75% of the toys make noise. Although you love those toys, you can also still entertain yourself for half an hour by banging shapes or cups together.

Jackson, you are the highlight of our days. Even though December contained some tough days, you were always able to make us smile. We love you more and more every day.