Happy 8 Months, Collier!

My sweet little baby turned 8 months old this week (on Wednesday, the 22nd)!  Yet again, another month has blown right before my eyes.  Collier is so much fun and has become quite the wild man!  He has lots of energy and if his little eyes are open, he's going non-stop.  He crawls from one end of the room to the other just looking for something to get into.  He loves to head off down the hallway and if I say, "Collier, no no no" or ask him to come back, he'll turn around and give me the biggest smile, then head off!  He's a MESS.  If Noah is ever laying in the floor, Collier will literally attack him, crawling all over him, planting kisses on his face, just about anything to get some attention from his big brother.  It's so funny and sweet at the same time.  Collier has began pulling up to standing.  Already (I kind of wish he would slow down a tad bit; he's still supposed to be my baby!)  This new skill combined with the crawling equals LOTS of bumps on the head!  There are days where he'll bump his head almost hourly!  He loves to crawl under, between and behind furniture. I've had to use pillows to block him from getting behind the end tables in the den because he loves playing with the cords.  He and Noah are beginning to play together some but Collier also entertains himself very well! 

He still doesn't have a single tooth although he chews on everything and is drooling like crazy.  I check his mouth daily, because I expect one to come through any day now.  He is still just the friendliest little guy!  Last week, we ate lunch at Sweet Basil and had several different tables of women come up to talk with him because he kept smiling at them.  If he ever hears anyone laughing, then he'll join in and laugh right along with them.  It's hilarious!  It's as though he thinks he's participating in the conversation.  He babbles constantly and his favorites sounds are "hee" and "gee gee gee" and the occasional 'm' and 'b' sounds but still no words.  He has also begun making this clucking sound with his tongue.  He is now feeding himself puffs and drinking juice and water from a sippy cup.  We've attempted real food (mushed up of course) but he's not quite ready for that yet.  We are still on the same schedule except that we cut out the late afternoon nap about 2 weeks ago.  He began waking up around 5am for a week solid so I decided to cut down to just two naps and see if that made a difference.. it did, thank goodness.  Although the early evenings are sometimes his "fussy" period because he starts getting tired but it's too early to put him down for bed.  Instead, we just distract him with toys, dinner, anything that works! 

Collier is our little angel.  I'm in love with his happy, joyful personality and his eagerness and curiosity for well, everything!  He's so much fun and such an enjoyable baby.  As bittersweet as it is that his 1st birthday is swiftly approaching, I look forward to watching him grow and learn even more in these next few months.  I'm especially excited about this upcoming month because we have a lot to look forward to... a trip to the zoo, as well as a week-long vacation in Sandestin!