Surviving in the Wilde: Beckett: 8 months

(These photos were taken on Beckett's 8 month birthday... Adding them to this blog has obviously taken a couple of weeks longer than that. ;)

Dear Beckett,

You have officially completed 2/3 of your first year! How did that happen? It seems like every day brings about something new that you can do and these little milestones make us both thrilled for the little toddler you're on your way to becoming and wistful for the baby that you were/are.

Some of the things you can do now include:

Crawling - This is still kind of an army crawl/inchworm/crawl, but you always begin up on all fours! Then when you want to move you kind of rock front to back and then just lunge forward, sprawling on your tummy (maybe you'll be a baseball player?). Then you immediately get back up on all fours.. It's so cute! And you definitely get to where you want to be most of the time. Any day you'll figure out how to properly coordinate your hands and knees to really crawl and then you'll be unstoppable! If desire to be mobile was the only requirement you'd be running up the stairs by now! :)

Babbling - Yep, you're a talker! You have a wide variety of sounds, but your favorite stand-by's are 'da-da', 'ba-ba', and lengthy variations of both. :)

Sitting - You're getting so close to being able to put yourself into a sitting position! For now you can tri-pod pretty well, but you love to be mobile so you always end up pulling yourself forward into a crawling position.

Eating - You love food! You're still eating whole grains, yogurt, fruits and vegetables. We've recently added Gerber fruit puffs, yogurt melts, and little fruit wheels to your diet and you love feeding yourself - even if your success rate (food to mouth) is only about 35% thus far. :) You are also still nursing about four times a day and are quite efficient! You're just so interested in all of the noise (i.e. Jack, Eddie and Norah) around you that you have a hard time keeping focused on the task at hand. This means you sometimes start chewing as opposed to nursing - which always makes Mommy jump just a little. Ouch! Thankfully you still don't have any teeth, yet or I might not be so understanding. :)

You are still quite the little finger sucker - and I just realized I need to get some pictures of this adorable habit! Thankfully, you remain an amazing sleeper! Your (current) daily routine is this (on average... Every day is different, but we try to stick to somewhat of a routine. :):

7:00 am - Wake up and nursing/snuggle session with Mommy commences. You are always so happy to see me when I come in the room... I love that it never gets 'old' for you - and you know what? It never gets old for me, either!

7:30 am -9:30 am - Play time on the floor or jumperoo while I get the other kiddos fed and dressed. Then you get to hang out in your bouncy seat and keep me company while I shower and get ready for the day. We then all load up and take the boys to preschool and then come home (usually).

9:30 am - Breakfast! Fruit and yogurt with oatmeal is your favorite.

10:00 am - 11:45 (ish) am - Either playing while I clean or out running errands with Norah and me. You usually squeeze in a nap either in your car seat (if we're driving), in the Ergo carrier (if we're shopping), or in your crib (if we're at home). You are so laid back and just content to follow along on whatever adventure we're up to.

11:45 (ish) am - Time to eat again! This is a pre-lunch nursing/snuggle session (that is often interrupted by Norah trying to kiss on you while you're eating).

12:00 pm - Leave to pick up the boys from preschool.

12:30 pm -2:00 pm - (depending on the car pool line) - We get home and I make lunch for the crew. You're always so patient to wait until the older kiddos are eating and then I feed you your lunch of a vegetable with mixed grains or rice.

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm (ish) - This is a broad range where sometimes I put you down for a nap around 2:00 (if you're tired) or sometimes you're good to stay up until around 3:00 pm. I can tell when you're tired because you start getting a little fussy and when I pick you up you pop your two fingers into your mouth and snuggle your head down into my chest.

5:00/5:30 pm - Wake up from your nap and have your pre-dinner nursing/snuggle session. Most of the time I come in to get you and you're already awake and either sucking on your fingers and just looking around or you're playing with your stuffed elephant or giraffe. As soon as you see me, though, you get excited and bury your head into the mattress and then peak up to look. It is SO adorable!

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm - Dinner time! Usually it's a veggie/fruit combo (i.e. sweet potatoes and pears or squash and apples) along with whole grain cereal or rice cereal. You also get a few snacks afterwards to keep you happy while the rest of the family eats (once Daddy gets home - around 6:45 pm).

7:00 pm - Bath time! You LOVE the water and are so patient to wait while I bathe the big kids first. Once they're in their jammies I send them all to the boys' room to play while I fill up your little tub (or if Daddy is home he'll bathe the big kids in their bathroom and I'll take your tub into our bathroom). As soon as I start undressing you you start squirming around with excitement and huge smiles because you know what time it is! I can't wait to take you swimming for the first time - which will be very soon! :) There is no better smell than that of a freshly washed baby (especially if that baby's Mommy uses Aveeno lavender calming bath bubbles!).

7:10 pm - Scriptures and family prayer in the boys' room! I will either nurse you while Daddy is reading or wait to nurse you in your room after we tuck-in the boys and Norah. This is more of a quick nursing night-cap as you've just had dinner - and truthfully I know you can sleep just fine without it, but I love the extra snuggles!

7:30 pm - Bedtime! As soon as I lay you down you start sucking on your fingers and snuggle into either the blanket that Nana made for you or the little silk lovie blanket you have. Then we'll smile at each other really big and I'll tell you how much I love you. Sometimes I'll do

peek-a-boo', sometimes I'll pick you back up for one more snuggle and kiss (or seven) and prayer before I lay you back down... Then you roll over onto your side and go to sleep. So sweet and beautiful!

We love you so very much, little B! Norah's favorite game to play with you is 'Kee-Poo' (which is her translation of 'Peek-a-boo') and the boys just love to try and wrestle with you or hold you or tickle you... Basically they can't keep their hands off of you. Yes, my little man, you are loved! And boy do you love your Daddy! Your face just lights up when he comes home and no matter where he's at in the house your eyes are tracking him and your smiling so big - like you're trying to get his attention by giving the biggest smile you can manage. And, of course, it works every time. :) Daddy loves you so much and even though your brothers and sister command much of his time, he always makes time to snuggle and play with you, too.

Love always,

Mommy, Daddy, Jackson, Eddison & Eleanor