dear little prince | eight months
happy eight months, our charming lad. i am trying to keep my composure but that puts us at four months away from your FIRST BIRTHDAY. how can it be? just a few months shy of an entire year with you? time is flying by. and we are eating it up because you are as amazing as can be.
my oh my, are you daring and intense. i thought elinor was determined but this is a fresh realm of strength. we can see an idea flash behind your eyes and then you fix your mind like a laser and go. you are precise. you are methodical. you are dexterous. you are tenacious. you are nimble. you are intrepid. you are inventive. you are perspicacious. this is a stage where you are exploring everything, amused by everything, distracted and excited by sounds and shapes and colors and textures. the tactile world is exploding for you. and you are discovering so many things, all at once. you pinch at tiny items. you pluck objects and bring them close for further inspection. you explore nooks and crannies as you learn. you squint and stick out the tip of your tongue while you take it all in. storing new information. understanding what things are, what they can do, how they feel, the sounds they make, and their relationship to you. you bear crawl over obstacles. you army crawl your way under tables and couches and adults. you are always looking and observing and absorbing. you are learning how to get places and get things done. and you already have strong opinions and preferences and your little list of bête noires.
at this very moment, you are in the thick of your eight month developmental leap. it's a doozy. i am exhausted for you! your body is trying to catch up to your mind and your mind is trying to catch up to your body. things are busy for your brain. expanding and growing and making connections. hang in there. all your frustration will soon dissipate and you will emerge from this brief moment with a whole new set of skills. i am hoping that one of those skills is not walking. eek. i can tell you are trying to do that. crawling just isn't good enough anymore. you want to climb up for a new vantage point. up the stairs. pulling yourself up on papa's legs. or onto the couch so you can cruise along and get to your target. you want to move across the room in a split second. you want to run!
and in addition to your developmental leap, you are teething. pearly whites are just about to pop through. you are handling it so well but i can tell it is getting to you. you actually nuzzled and snuggled for a few minutes last night which NEVER EVER happens. you aren't the cuddling kind - too much to see and do! AND as if all that weren't enough, we just dropped a nap. down to two naps a day. like a proper little man. it seems surreal that we are here already. but you are ready. and you are adjusting quite well especially considering everything you have going on. sheesh. being a baby is a tough business. and you are dealing with the trifecta of tough stuff right now. kudos, ridley man. you are brave and strong. and we can't wait to see how you surprise and delight us next!
and speaking of delightful things, your personality is bursting out all over the place and it is such a hoot. you love to swat at mama's mouth when you eat. you boogie and bop and jump when you hear music. you wave. you babble (da-da-da and ba-ba-ba and bo-bo-bo and pa-pa-pa and ma-ma-ma) all the time, especially when your sister is around. and we are so proud of what we are considering your first word: boeuf. you have been saying that for a few weeks now and papa couldn't be more impressed and pleased with his boy saying the french word for beef as his first "word". you adorable bilingual carnivore, you. you like to "make jokes" and silly sounds to make us laugh. you flirt like the dickens. you copycat our sounds. you like to pull on papa's beard. you pet the dogs. you push your sister away and yell when she's in your face and you've had enough. you bellow and growl. you pull up and put your arms up when you would like to be picked up and move around. you are sneaky-sneaky and try to move in stealth mode when you know you are about to do something naughty. you LOVE to try to wrap yourself in the drapes and laugh maniacally. you are obstinate and test limits. you KNOW when you are doing something that you shouldn't and you give me such a proud and cheeky expression when you are caught. you love your sleep and when you are done and ready to sleep, you let us know. you crawl like a tiny gorilla. you have the biggest forearms and strongest hands. you are going to eat us out of house and home (current favorites: butter, bananas, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, peas, egg yolk, quinoa, beans, avocado). you love family dinnertime. and it is teaching us patience, to slow down and enjoy the time more because your mealtime can last for a full hour. you just sit in your chair and eat and add your two cents and entertain us. and toward the end of the meal, you lean back and put one hand in the front of your diaper and one foot up on the side of the chair. such a funny boy.
we are over the moon for you. and we pray that God will use you in mighty ways.
all our love,
mama + papa + elinor
