Anlon is 8 months old!!!!

Anlon turned 8 months old on March 26th! I'm a bit behind but I didn't want this month to pass without doing an 8 month post. He's so much fun and his smile is the most wonderful thing I've ever seen. He loves people, animals, books, music, and ceiling fans! Yep, his fascination with ceiling fans has not diminished and he continues to stare in awe whenever a fan is on. He really loves books and has a growing collection (I can't seem to resist when I see one I think he will like). And he can still entertain himself for quite some time watching his hands. He always watches his hands when he nurses and is determined to figure out a way to suck his fingers and eat at the same time (much to my frustration :). We're trying to teach him to hit our hand with his and to clap his hands, although so far he's content to just watch us in amazement.

He began sitting independently for long periods of time about 4 weeks ago and it has opened up many new options for play. He enjoys sitting while removing the plastic, colored rings from his Rock-a-Stack toy, picking up wooden blocks and tasting each one before tossing them off to the side and playing with his new sound puzzle (well, he loves picking up the pieces and tasting each one). He's not crawling yet, but he can cover quite a bit of ground by rotating himself in all directions and rolling. Speaking of rolling, diaper and clothes changing has become challenging at times because he now tries very hard to roll over to his belly - and sometimes succeeds. I've put a onesie on him from behind more than once!

He loves looking at himself in the mirror, and Vipul has developed a routine of stopping to look at the mirror in our hallway on their way upstairs. He gets so excited when they stop and Vipul says "Who's that baby in the mirror?". And oh, does he love his daddy. His face lights up every time he sees Vipul, especially when he first sees him in the morning and when he comes home from work. He loves for Vipul to toss him up in the air and laughs SO hard, which is the most wonderful sound in the world! And he loves to snuggle on Vipul's chest as he rocks him and sings to him at bedtime. One of his favorite times with him is just sitting on his lap while kicking his legs and "talking". His favorite word is "guh-guh-guh". And he makes a lot of funny sounds. One thing we love is hearing him sing himself to sleep. He doesn't always do this, but he often will get in his favorite sleeping position (on his belly with his knees tucked up and bottom in the air - he's been loving this position for a long time) and will make "uhhhhhhhh" sounds until he falls asleep.

Recently he didn't want Vipul to leave on a business trip :)

This picture shows off his new camera smile well. For a long time we had to work so hard to get him to smile for the camera, but recently he's embraced our photo sessions!

Although Anlon continues to breastfeed well, but he hasn't decide if eating solid food is worth all of the effort. On a good day he will eat the equivalent of a jar and a half of food; on a bad day a bite or two. I recently discovered that he often eats better when we're out of the house, so we've been taking trips to the park and our favorite French bakery Amelie's (they have a great play area for little ones). We also sometimes sit on our front door step and look at the courtyard plants while eating. His favorite vegetable is sweet potato and his favorite fruit is prunes. He also loves oatmeal and I've recently started a mixed cereal of whole grain oats, barley and wheat which he likes. I introduced cooked egg yolk about a week ago and he didn't love it, but did enjoy playing with the pieces on his tray. I'm going to keep trying since this is so good for him. I also offered him small pieces of mushed banana the other day - he didn't seem to like the texture and spit it out, but was very focused as he attempted to pick up the pieces with his fingers (which was my point of offering it anyway).

We've had some more difficult weeks when teething has been extra rough, but we're very happy to report that Bitey 2 made his grand entrance last week, joining his partner Bitey 1. Thank goodness for infant ibuprofen. I really hope we have a little break before his top front teeth come in. But even during his fussiest moments, Anlon is a gift from God that we certainly don't deserve. The Lord continues to show me more about Himself and His unfathomable love for His children as I mature as a mother and I thank Him every day for the precious gift we've been entrusted with.