No Teeth, No Crawling, but a Little Bit of Walking

So many times I have started this blog with a "WOW" or a "Times Flies By", but it really does. It's hard to believe that my little man is now 8 months old. When I think about the first few moments I shared with him, it completely blows my mind to think that midnight feedings have been replaced my midnight snores and non-stop breastfeeding has been replaced with him feeding himself (every once and awhile anyway). His cries for a nap still exist, but he now will cry himself to sleep in about 5-10 minutes at nap time. Yep, Jackson is 8 months old and is definitely growing into a personality. People have told me that around 6-8 months, babies go through a time of anxiety and will cry if they don't see their parents. Jackson is definitely going through this phase right now. Sometimes we'll just walk out of the room to go to the bathroom for 5 minutes and he'll look up and see us gone and he'll just ball hysterically. Then he'll be totally fine when we come back in the room. He hasn't thrown too many fits when we give him to other people, but he definitely pouts or whimpers if we're not within eyesight. He's still very good though when we go out in public and is a total flirt with all the ladies. He's definitely a ladies man. I hope this phase doesn't last forever...the ladies man/needing momma and daddy in sight phase :0)

At 8 months old, he still has no teeth. I swear they are playing hide-and-seek with us. Somedays they look right on the edge and then I'll blink and the next day they'll be out of sight. His drooling has picked up again and he's starting to chew on things a lot more, but still not teethers! Luckily, he hasn't been too fussy and still sleeps through the night (knock on wood). His hair growing and becoming more and more crazy. He has cowlicks all over and just lots and lots of waves. I love it, but it always looks a mess. Hopefully soon, I'll be able to throw it in a mohawk :0) He's growing too like a weed...length and width. Jackson always wants to stand up now and he's taller than my knees and what seems like almost up to my hip bones. He's very very heavy now...he's a little poundcake. He's not overweight or anything (at least not that I know of), but he's got a his baby rolls and he's big old baby belly. Oh goodness, he's just too cute...at least I think he is!

As for development, the only crawling he's still doing is the kind where he goes backward or turns in a 360 degree circle. He's getting stronger though and will stay on his stomache a lot longer! He used to HATE being on his stomache, but now I think he has fun...mostly because he will just roll over and over and over again until he gets to what he wants or to the position he wants to be in. It's pretty funny to watch. He's walking more and more with some assistance and will pull himself up on certain things like his crib or the coffee table. He can also stand by himself for a few seconds before he falls on his toosh. He also can recognize his momma and dadda when you ask him where they are. He's also clapping like a champ! He giggles and smiles almost non-stop and just loves life! He's such a happy little clam! More than anything, he still loves his books. He can sit for an hour plus just with some of his books, flipping the pages back and forth. It makes me so proud! I'm also so proud because he's such a great sleeper. We're actually trying to get him ready for bed even earlier b/c his normal 8pm bedtime is almost too late for him. We're trying to get him in bed at 7:30 or 7:15pm. He's such a good little bug!

Well, there is his 8 month update. He'll go to the doctor next month and we'll know more about his heighth and weighth and whether or not he's on track developmentally. We've been doing this 8 months now and it's definitley gotten easier, but the hardest thing is the eating thing. Am I feeding him enough? Am I feeding him too much? Am I feeding him the right things? When do I start giving him pieces of meat? When can I start giving him...? So many questions about the eating thing...I hope with time I'll be able to just know that I'm doing the right thing and trust that. I pray someday my instincts will help steer me in the right direction on this particular subject!

In other news, Justin still hasn't found a job. I'm definitely having moments of sadness and depression over the whole situation. We have 4 months until he's done with school and I'm a planner. I have to have a plan on how I want things to go, but not knowing where we'll be going is just really really freakin' hard on me. I had finally gotten a little used to the idea of New Mexico and we're still waiting for an answer! It is so incredibly frustrating. I just want to call these people myself and scream, "MAKE A STINKIN' DECISION ALREADY! Don't interview someone and then wait 3 months to let them know if they have a job!" GRRRRR...sorry sore subject. Trying to have a little faith and I'm praying daily, but if I've learned anything from the unexpectedness of Jackson's birth, I've learned that God will give you things when he's ready..not when I'm ready :0) Just gotta be patient and that's really really hard for me. I can do it though...gonna have to. Just pray for us!