8 Months. Seriously.

8 months? Already?

Yep, it looks like time is refusing to slow down.  My tiny baby just keeps on growing, and he is just becoming more and more adorable every day.

Highlights from the past month:

• You are such a big boy - just a smidge over 22lbs.
• You nurse in the strangest position.  You try to loop your foot up by my armpit or try and hold your feet while you eat. 
• The army crawl is still your preferred mode of transportation.  You move from room to room SO quickly... I'm amazed at how efficient you are at it!
• You sit completely unassisted, but still can't get yourself into that position without help
• Your sleep is still pretty random.  You're waking up between 2-4 times a night. TOO OFTEN! 
• Naps are still nice and predictable: 2 naps a day, 1.5 hours each.
• You love your "people" food.  You've had nibbles of cupcake and donut (don't tell your dad) and like snacking on puffs, apple slices, and little bits of whatever momma is eating.
• You've been trying the occasional sippy cup with water, but you prefer to take sips out of mom's glass.
• Your favorite toys are wooden blocks, minuscule pieces of dirt and used kleenex from the trashcan.  We're working on baby-proofing a little better...
• You are wonderful at occupying yourself while momma and Carter have school-time in the mornings.  You try and play with all of your brother's school supplies, but never complain when we take them away.
• You have your official first word, "kee" - which totally means kiss.  You say it over and over and over again until you get your smooches from us.  You even stop nursing just to say it and get a kiss before you'll keep eating.  LOVE IT.
• You make the loudest clacking sounds.  Sometimes we think it means you're hungry or want our attention, and sometimes it just seems like you are trying to entertain yourself.
• We're trying really hard to get you to say momma and dada.  You are stubbornly refusing. 
• You aren't really interested in the jumperoo or exersaucer anymore.  You just like crawling around the floors (have I mentioned that I have to sweep 2x/day and vacuum almost every day?)
• When you wake up in the morning, you play and talk to yourself for at least 30 minutes.  Your momma thanks you for the extra sleep.
• You are so much like your brother - you even self-soothe by playing with your hair, just like him!
• You had visits from Nana and Papi, our friend Summer, and your lovely Aunt Kiki.  So nice to spend time with those special people!

We are looking forward to our Spring Break trip to see Aunt Melissa, Uncle Lazaro, and brand new cousin Camila the first week in April.  Charlie has been an awesome air traveler, so let's hope that he is just as fantastic on the car ride to San Francisco! 

Project Homeschool

If you know me at all, you will know that I never, ever, not even a tiny little bit, wanted to homeschool my children.  I am more than happy to send them off to public schools, expose them to multitudes of children, and have a "regular" school experience.  The added bonus is that I get a nice long break from answering nonstop questions and dealing with a teenager-like attitude for 6+ hours a day. Pure bliss.

Well, things have changed.

My busy, silly, and super sweet boy is just not doing well in school.  He needs more one-on-one instruction and attention than a teacher can give with class sizes so large. He needs to be challenged way past traditional kindergarten curriculum, and needs someone who will be patient with his need for a million "brain breaks" throughout the day.  He's one tough little cookie... and needs a lot of extra support, which is much easier to give when you only have one student.

Lucky for him, his momma is a pretty good teacher :) I spent yesterday setting up our "classroom" and organizing our curriculum materials. He is signed up for PE and art classes through the district's homeschool connections school and will also get a class all about learning math games.  The rest of the curriculum will be up to me.  I'm thankful that I'm well-trained in this area, and have so many resources that I've accumulated over the years.  The content should be easy.  The mom-as-my-teacher part will probably be much harder for him to adjust to.  Right now, he is super excited about it.  I'm pretty excited about it, too.  Even though I know it'll challenge me - I know it is truly what is best for him right now.

If you could, please say a little prayer for my sanity and a smooth adjustment for us both...

Simple Sunday: Birthday Lunch

Meet Elise and Brynn.  I am so lucky to call Elise one of my very best friends.  We met serendipitously 8 years ago, and have been through 5 pregnancies, lots of craft sessions, and endless hours on the phone together.  I've missed her dearly since our move.  I especially loved our morning coffee dates and birthday lunches - and we got to have one while I was in town last weekend!  Now, instead of just the two of us celebrating our January birthdays together, she is able to bring sweet Brynn with us.  Brynn was born on my birthday 2 years ago and I am so blessed to be her Godmother.  She is such a lively and bright little girl and I absolutely adore her.  How precious is this picture of Brynn and her beautiful momma?

I hope you were able to find some wonderful simple things to appreciate this week!