Dear Riley,

Dear Riley,

You are now 8 months old and daily I find myself wondering where my little 6 pound baby went. There is no longer any sign of him, which makes me both sad and excited. You are learning so much these days. This month you got to the seated position on your own, pulled up to standing, and are now hands and knees rocking although you have yet to crawl. I am certain that next month will bring me a crawling little boy. I think you will be happier when you crawl too, although I might start losing my hair, because right now you are frustrated a lot when things are just out of reach.

You look like a little boy now too. Gone are the baby features I loved. Your hair is still soft your checks still rosie but they resemble those of a toddler now more than an infant. I am excited for what the futre holds for those looks of yours. You are a handsome little guy and people stop us every day to tell us how cute and beautiful you are.

In the last week you have gone from babilling a little to babbiling a LOT. You hold conversations with strangers, with us and even by yourself. It is adorable! You also have a little bit of stranger anxiety coming out. Your motto was once a smile for a smile but now you are more stingy with people you don't know. You still seem to have plenty of smiles for family, including grandparents and mom and dad.

You are officially to big for the infant car seat, which makes naps more difficult if you fall asleep in the car. You just don't transition well. You still aren't sleeping well. We had swine flu this month and it wasn't as bad as the hype. It did however bring a week straight of you getting up every 45 minutes all night long. To say we are exausted is an understatement. I can no longer tolerate anyone who tells me how tired they are because their child was up 2-3 times at night. Despite the lack of sleep we wouldn't trade you for any other baby in the world, but we do hope you sleep better this month. I threaten you weekly that I will buy the Ferber book. You just smile at me, I think you know I don't have the heart.

Your first tooth broke through the gums, giving us more challenges when it comes to breast feeding. I am still hanging in there though. You however need to learn 1) not to bite and 2) that you can't rub the tooth along my nipple. THAT HURTS KID! I am holding onto hope that we will get to breast feed till 18 months, even if it is just am and bed time.

My favorite memory from this month is when you stood for the first time. You were so proud of your self! You just beamed with delight! It was adorable and it warmed my heart.

I am looking forward to what this next month brings. I am sure it will be a ton of fun just as the last 8 months have been.

Love Your Mommy,
Ariel