Playing Around

Ethan's 8-month mark snuck up on us! Everyone says it, but you don't really understand it until you're a parent, but time really does fly!

Grandma Bernard got him this cute outfit for Christmas, so I decided to take his 8 month birthday picture after church one Sunday! It's a 9 month size, so you can tell that he's a BIG boy!

Overall, Ethan is just a smiley kid! He has started being able to entertain himself and I will hear him just giggling in the backseat while we're driving as he plays with a toy, or even just his sock!

He loves getting into baskets and boxes of things. The funny part is, that even with this basket (and others) of toys, he would still rather play with our "toys"!

He loves to pull himself up to a standing position...in fact, it's hard to keep him on the ground these days. As you can see, I finally had to just move the coffee table out of the living room, which makes Ethan happy because it just gives him more space to crawl, stand and play!
I think he really has a hard time understanding why he falls. It is very frustrating for him!

The 8 month mark was a big one for Ethan. He just seemed to take off! He started holding his own bottle full-time. Tristan was so patient at teaching him and helping him practice. I know I should miss doing it for him more, but I really appreciate having my hands free more often. He still eats several bottles a day and 3 solid-food meals a day. I have been enjoying making a lot of his baby food and he pretty much eats everything! He also really loves getting chunks of fruit in his mesh feeder and gumming it.

He also started flirting with the idea of crawling around 8 months...I was beginning to think that he would never learn how since he didn't really show an interest until then, but now I can't keep up with him! He loves being mobile and being able to get around to the places that he wants to!

He's still building up his endurance, so sometimes he slacks a little, but I guess we can look past that for now!
Look at that grin...you can just tell the wheels are turning while he formulates his plan of action!

Right around the same time he started clapping--he's thinks it's the greatest thing ever. He also thinks it's hilarious when I clap my hands and wants to do it for me...the things that entertain babies!

Our big boy is already 9 months old...it's so hard to believe!

He has started to recognize that Tristan isn't always here and shows excitement when he sees him again. About a month ago he started laughing when Tristan would walk in the door after his work-week. Lately it's been a little different since the extended daylight hours bring Tristan home a little bit later. Usually Tristan won't get to see him until the next morning, which I think confuses Ethan a little bit. I can't say I blame the kid...he goes to bed after a week of nothing but me and wakes up to Tristan. Needless to say, after his initial confusion, he's happy to see his dad. He loves playing with Tristan and gets plenty of playtime while Tristan's home!

We're not really sure we're going to be able to keep up with him, but we'll do our best! He sure is a lot of fun!