8 months old today...

My little bugger is 8 months old today. Sniff. We went to get David's car washed and de-crudded today, and as I stood there, my chin in his soft hair as we watched cars go swish-swishing past the window, I glanced at my watch. I thought, "He was born 15 minutes ago, 8 months ago." And I took a minute to marvel at the grace of God, given to me in this tiny baby that I longed and longed for... He's such a big boy now. I'm realizing that it's soo easy to just let the day go by without playing enough or interacting enough with him. I get busy with the piddly, unimportant things that I have to do, and I shouldn't. Things go so much better if I just stop and sit and make silly faces at him while I eat my lunch. The simplest attention from me just lights him up like a firecracker. If I put a green plastic ring on my head and let it fall on his lap, he grins like he just won the Powerball. So why don't I do that more? Sometimes I forget that he's old enough now to enjoy being played with more and more. I don't want to forget that, and I want to make the extra effort to be super silly with him. Oh, and Sarah, I can tell you why moms in grocery stores point out everything to their kids and talk in baby voice. They're not doing it to be sickeningly cute or to impress us with their mad parenting skills. They're doing it because that's how they talk all day, and they have ceased caring whether anyone hears them or not, as long as their child isn't screaming and throwing boxes of crackers into the aisles.

Some of Seth's favorite things at 8 months:
- When we suck on his hands and feet
- Playing with the baby in the mirror
- Any food, really. He eats everything well right now, but he seems to have a slight preference for veggies. Maybe it worked... =)
- Having Mommy or Daddy sing to him.
- Reading books. He'll sit still for 17 board books at one time. David did it last night. I swear.
- Being left in nursery with new people to charm. He especially loves the older ladies at Community Bible Study because they'll hold him for the entire 2 hours.
- Being outside on the porch. When nothing else will calm him at night, wrapping him in a blanket and swinging on the porch swing with him will do the trick.
- Explaining the mystery of the Trinity to his stuffed animals. I think he's already converted Mr. Elephant. Or maybe he's just babbling...