Jillian's Eighth Month

Jill.  This little girl cannot be held back.  She will wiggle herself all the way across a room to get what she wants, and she'll look cute doing it too.  At bedtime, we like to read books and then cuddle a little bit while I sing to her.  To Jill, "cuddling" means smushing her face against mine so that we are cheek to cheek and eye to eye and my mouth is right next to her ear.  She pops her thumb in her mouth and reaches around with her other hand to grab a big handful of my hair and pull me as close as possible.  It's a pretty comical embrace, leaving me smeared with slobber and usually minus a few hairs that Jill has pulled out entirely by the roots.  But the fact that she wants to be that close to me is so sweet it almost breaks my heart.  I'll cherish these memories when she's 16 and wants nothing to do with me!

Aaron.  Our little man is growing up rapidly before our eyes.  These days, I am struck by an almost panicked desire to record everything he says or does.  He is so smart and funny and silly that I am always reaching for my camera to try to capture the moment.  And then I have to take a deep breath and remind myself that it's impossible to preserve everything, and that time will keep marching steadily on no matter what I do.  Sigh.  He got a lot of new books for Christmas and his birthday, so we are enjoying classics like Caps for Sale, Ferdinand, and May I Bring A Friend.  He loves reading so much that even when it's past bedtime, he always tries to get me to read one "last more" book (a combo of "last one" and "one more").  He's also getting tall.  Our pediatrician estimates that he'll be around the same height as his Daddy.  It's weird and wonderful to think that someday I'll look up to him!

12/26: Underwhelmed by the lunch menu

12/28: Sweet Jilly bean

12/28: Aunt Marie lovin' on her niece

12/29: Rosy cheeked babies

12/30: Sipping "coffee" with their buddy Joseph

1/1: Zom-baby apocalypse

1/4: Lemme in, coach!

1/4: Checking out the holiday train exhibit at the LP conservatory

1/4: Jurassic Broyles

1/4: Drinks at the baby bar

1/5: "We'll be friends forever, won't we, Pooh?" asked Piglet.  

"Even longer," Pooh answered.

1/5: Lap nap

1/5: Aaron usually hears the word "blow" when we're holding a tissue up to his nose.  So naturally when we said "blow" and placed a candle in front of him, he did it through his nose!

1/8: Batbaby!

1/11: Oma, you scared me!

1/11: Little flirt

1/12: She can even make our trash can look cute

1/12: Yes, Oma is always this happy when she's with the kids!

1/12: The kids aren't so interested in posing for another family shot

1/14: Helping Mom blow out her birthday candles

1/19: Whipping up some Sunday morning waffles

1/20: Oh how quickly things can go downhill...

1/25: Hey Dad, check out Aaron's hair!  Ha ha!

1/26: Happy eight-month birthday, baby doll!  

And yes, we will love you forever.

QUOTE WALL/MEMORABLE MOMENTS
-A few days before Aaron's birthday, our extended family on Chris's side got together for dinner, and when dinner was over, we ordered an ice cream dessert with a candle for Aaron.  When it arrived, everyone sang "Happy Birthday" and our little man dug into to his dessert happily.  When he finished it, he announced sadly to the table, "My birthday is all gone!"

-Dora and I were chatting over breakfast when suddenly we got a whiff of something awful.  We checked the two obvious culprits and it turns out Aaron was responsible.  When I got up to change his diaper, he ran into a corner of the living room and protested, "No, I'm not done!"  Dora said, "Ok, you let us know when you're done and then we'll change your diaper."  Of course, I couldn't resist pulling faces to make him laugh and screwing up his concentration until finally he shouted in exasperation, "I need some privacy!" and turned his back to me.

-Jill started crying in the car because she was sick of driving, and Aaron reached out toward her from her carseat and said, "It's ok, Jill!  I'm right here.  Don't cry.  I'm right here."  Chris and I both had tears in our eyes.