Eight Months!

Ok, I know I promised a bunch of non-baby stuff, and it's coming, really! But I need to post this, if nothing else, as a journal entry.
Today Gabriel is 8 months old. The time has really flown by! It's amazing that he is only 4 months away from being 1 year old.

Gabe has had a few minor illnesses etc. the past month or so (cold/ cough, then an ear infection) and has been teething which has been no fun for any of us, but other than that, he has been a smiley, happy, cheerful, curious boy. (Also, his plugged tear duct seems to have finally cleared itself as of this week.) He sits and plays with toys without falling backwards, and he tries to army crawl- usually ending up going backwards or in a circle.
He is much more interested in "grown up" stuff- he wants to stand up (with help) and take steps, drink from a regular cup instead of a bottle or sippy cup, and eat table food. He loves vegetables, especially carrots, sweet potatoes, and peas, and if there is chicken or beef mixed in, he likes that too. He will eat other vegetables and fruits (although he's not too fond of many fruits- interesting, eh?) and rice cereal occasionally. He loves yogurt, and also Cheerios, bread, and cheese.

Gabe pretty reliably sleeps 8-10 hours at a time at night, but he is waking up earlier and earlier in the morning- as the sun rises earlier now that it is almost spring. Favorite times are still bath time, meal times, and going on walks outside. Also tickle time and peekaboo time! (On a side note, this week I dreamed that Gabe's first word was "peekaboo" and I was totally proud that he said such a difficult word! Then I woke up and realized that his first word was probably "dada"... :P ) Gabe does look at his daddy and say "dad" or "dada", but he says it other times too. He likes to say "ha" and "hiya", "dis" or "dith", "yayaya" and a variety of other syllables. He also loves to play a game where he growls back and forth with anyone who is interested! He enjoys being an "airplane" that his daddy zooms through the air, and he apparently thinks the things we do to entertain him are hilarious- a real confidence booster!
I weighed and measured him at the clinic where I work, and he is about 27 1/2 inches long and 19 pounds. He sure feels a lot heavier than that! He can technically stay in his infant carrier car seat until he reaches 20 pounds, but it's so hard to carry him in it that we are going to start using his regular car seat this week (still rear- facing of course, as all babies must do until 12 months of age).
Gabriel loves to play with his toys, but if none are readily available, he will grab your nose, ears, hands, necklace, hair, or anything that looks interesting to him. He often reaches down and pulls off one of his socks and chews on it- especially in the car.

I tried to take a little video of some of the funny stuff Gabe was doing the other day, but of course as soon as I got out the camera, he stopped. I did get some cute smiles, though, and a little bit of "talking".
We sure do love our "Gabey-Baby". He brings so much joy and laughter into our home. I'll be honest and say that it is not always easy, but being a mom is so rewarding, and those rewards are becoming a little more tangible all the time, as Gabe interacts with us and learns to express love. We couldn't be happier.