Some Things You Should Know About Tommy: Month Eight

Tommy was 8 months old yesterday. How can that possibly be?!

1. When Tommy eats he throws his arms out wide as in the picture below every time he takes a bite. I don't know if it's because he's so excited to have a bite or he just wants to enjoy the meal with every bit of his being. But it's really funny! When he doesn't like something the motion from his arms is much more subdued. He seems to like purees and chunks, but he's not a fan of pureed things with chunks. Those always give him the gags. I guess fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt is out for him.
2. Tommy sits like a pro, but has not started crawling yet, which is just fine with me. He's a really energetic and curious kid, so I am sure that once he starts moving I will never sit still again.3. Tommy has super arms, which I think is part of the reason he doesn't crawl yet. He can fold himself completely in half and then use his long arms to reach things that to me seem impossibly far away from him. And it feels like he is ALWAYS reaching for things. My hair, my water glass, Adam's ice cream, tiny chokable toys, etc. He hasn't quite learned "gentle" yet, so sometimes it kills when he gets a grip on my skin in his strong little fist. And he's fast. A few days ago he got his knuckles full of the jalapeno-raspberry cream cheese that was sitting minding its own business on my cracker. Oh boy! Did he think that was some tasty stuff! 4. Tommy is endlessly curious about the world around him. He loves to taste it, touch it and watch it. When we go outside he is completely entranced while watching his brothers or the dog play in the yard. He just loves observing the world that will be his to explore one day! I can see the wheels of his mind turning, going, "I want to do that!"5. Tommy loves to jibber jabber, and he's loud! From squeals to shrieks, from babbles to "yayas," it seems that Tommy is always making noise. Even when he's just sitting watching everyone or playing with toys he does this little hum, or soft "uhhhh" sound. And I'll say it again. The kid is loud! Plus, I think he really thinks he's talking! His face sure looks like whatever he's saying is very important.
6. Tommy has decided that being put down or being separated from people in any way is undesirable. He's just really social and loves to cuddle. My back is mostly killing me come morning from our sleep-time snuggles, but I don't mind too much. Sometimes it's kind of hard, but for the most part I know this will all pass too quickly.
7. Tommy is getting good at putting food into his mouth on his own. It's still mostly shoved in with the whole fist, but he's so happy when he gets it in there and then figures out how to actually let it go. His favorites: cheerios and graham crackers. Drooly graham cracker goo is pretty nasty but how can I deny him?!
8. Tommy still prefers to sleep with his arms swaddled down, but because he is so strong that he can pretty much bust out of any swaddle we usually don't wrap him up too tightly. But he still wakes up really easily and has a hard time going down to sleep when his arms are free. His need for swaddling makes sleeping in the summer heat kind of hard because he's always sweaty and hot which I think wakes him up as much as having his arms free!
9. Tommy is the Smile King of babies.
10. Things Tommy loves: splashing in the bath, his binky bear, Mom, playing with his brothers, drooling, laughing deep bubbly laughs, Mom.
Things we love: Tommy. We couldn't love you more, Tommy! Your presence in our lives blesses us richly.