8 Months Old

We are celebrating another month of Eli - Month 8!

It is hard to recall all the new and exciting things that Eli is doing. I will do my best! His newest habit is sniffing in and out very quickly, and he mostly does it to express that he is excited. Emmy has started to mimic him, and when we were riding in the car this week, I asked her what they were doing, and she said "We're smelling each other!" Even though they were separated by the middle seat, she went on to explain that it was kinda like smiling. Eli does a lot of that, too! Sometimes Eli will smile so big that his eyes will close. 

 Eli is wearing "6-9 month" and "9 month" clothing and size 2 diapers. In addition to his two bottom teeth, he now has four top teeth that are all coming in at the same time. Poor guy! It won't be long before his gummy grin is completely replaced with a mouthful of teeth. Despite the visible evidence of teething, you wouldn't know it from his personality. He continues to be pretty pleasant and laidback. He hasn't started officially crawling yet, but he will often roll or inch backwards to get to wherever he wants to go. Tummy time is no longer a forced exercise. He will switch to his belly all by himself. 

His balance is really improving. He is very sturdy when sitting on carpet, in the Bumbo, or even in the grass. 

Eli loves clapping...

...and looking at himself in selfie mode on the phone or in the mirror....

...but his favorite form of entertainment continues to be his sister. He loves his jumper, and he loves kicking around under his rainforest; but nothing quite holds his attention like Emmy. He watches her all throughout the day. In the morning or after naptime, I'll ask if he wants to go see his "sis-er-iss" and he gets so excited as we open the door to her room. As you can see in these photos, he doesn't quite know what to think of his silly sister!