8 Months

It's hard to believe that another month has passed already! Allen is growing up so fast and is a busy little man. He is babbling like crazy..."dada" is his favorite and he often says "hi dada" (though not necessarily at the proper moment!). I've been pushing for "mama" but it usually only comes out when he's really upset and crying hard...oh well!
He finally mastered rolling back to front, but it has caused all sorts of issues with sleep. He'll get turned over on his side and then his tummy when he's trying to get comfy to sleep and then he just gets angry because he's face down and can't get anywhere! Yesterday he rolled all the way over (back to front and then kept going until he was on his back again) so I'm hoping he will start flipping himself around in bed as he needs to. He will scoot on his bottom when he's sitting up and wants to get somewhere and when he's on his tummy he can scoot backwards. Again, that causes issues in bed when he gets himself all the way to the side of the crib and those fat little legs go through the slats! By far his favorite activity is still the jumper seat - he will go for at least 20 minutes, non-stop. The best part of it is the laughter and perma-smile while he is doing it!
He is eating well - cereal and fruit for breakfast, cereal and vegetable for dinner, 4 bottles a day at other times. I'm trying to drop a bottle and add a cereal feeding in its place, but finding a good time in the day to make the switch has proved daunting! Oh - we finally have 2 teeth! The bottom 2 came in about the same time with much screaming and sleepless nights to make sure I was aware of the event. Now I'm just hoping the top ones will make their appearance soon and we can start some finger foods in the near future. It is sad how much the kid watches you eat and moves his mouth as if to say "Come on, seriously? Can't I have some of that?!"
Allen LOVES his big brother. He laughs at Drew all the time and loves to watch him play. If Drew comes close enough, Allen lunges for him and tries to latch on, like he is trying to keep him close. On our drive home from the beach yesterday, Drew was sleeping in the third row and Allen could see him perfectly from his rear facing car seat. He was trying so hard to talk to him and wake him up - babbling and laughing and cooing at him. It was so cute! Allen still loves Maddie, though Maddie can be a bit stingy returning the love. She will lay just out of his reach, but he will dive forward if he thinks he can get to her. She will sit next to his rocking chair at night when I'm giving him his last bottle and let him pet her head. I love it - it is so fun to have my boys grow up with a sweet dog!