Month 8

My dearest Clark,

You are now 8 months old! You may have noticed that according to these letters you never turned 7 months. Sorry about that. I was telling your father what a bad mother I am for not writing your letter last month and he said no, it means I was a good mother because I was too busy taking care of you. Isn’t that sweet?

You are such a big boy all of a sudden. Here you are enjoying the pool with your Grandma and Grandpa. She heats it to a bazillion degrees for your precious little tootsies, nevermind the rest of us and our desires to COOL DOWN in the swimming pool.

It’s been hot this month, and you’ve spent a good deal of time just lounging about in your diaper. Here you are out on the lawn, under your tree, scooting about. You aren’t crawling yet, but you do get up on all fours and rock back and forth, and you make pretty good progress just rolling.

Speaking of rolling, this month marked your first big fall. Early one morning when your Dad was changing you, you rolled right off the changing table, about 4 feet down to the hardwoods. Oh. My. God. You were OK, but sweet baby jebus, your mouth was bloody where you bit your lip. You got blood all over both if us while I calmed you. Please never hurt yourself ever again, all right? I can’t handle it. In other changing news, you are suddenly ALL DONE with diaper changes. I find myself dreading changing your diaper because it’s become such a wrestling match. It’s really hard to diaper a thrashing baby alligator.

You’re still eating like a champ. I love making your food and I love feeding you.

We spent a week in the woods with special friends this month and you had many new adventures. You went hiking, sat around a campfire, and watched the bigger kids and their goings on with great interest. You even took a snooze under some trees while everyone else was swimming.

My dear Clarkie, you bring so much joy to my life. Sometimes I get all stressed out thinking of the things I’m NOT getting done, but actually, each moment I spend with you is so full. I’m not saying I don’t love moments like now when your grandma has you, but I enjoy myself so much with you. You’re getting so entertaining. I love watching you figure things out, the way you turn an object over and over, carefully studying it. You’re becoming such a pleasant little companion, and I’m so very proud to be your mommy.