Things Are Clicking.

So at almost 8 months, I think I'm getting the hang of this parenting thing, and I think Henry is getting the hang of this Being a Baby Thing. He's a lot more predictable and a lot more fun now.

His personality is starting to emerge. He'll laugh at Daddy in the evening now, even if it used to be his Fussy Time. He'll sit for more than hour I'd say and just be content to play with his little toys. He still teethes quite a bit on anything he can get his gums on, but that makes for a pretty comical watch. He'll freak out at noises, but will become very curious of them if I hold him while the noise happens. When I was making John's birthday cake, he was scared of the mixer, but when I held him close to it, he'd reach out his hand and touch the top of the mixer while it was on. He still hasn't had any sign of Stranger Anxiety and thank God for that because a lot of random, scary people who think he's just the cutest thing ever reeaaalllyyyy want him to smile for them in the grocery store.

No, he isn't Sleeping Through The Night. It's OK though. As many of you know, I'm not particularly attatched to sleep ( I know, I know, I'm crazy) so I do alright with the minimal sleepage I've been getting. He takes three regular naps a day and I get the option of sleeping during that time, too. He's still exclusively breastfed and I am pretty darn proud of that. With such a rough start at one month, I am so thankful of being able to still breastfeed him. We're trying to go one full year of just breastmilk, but we'll see. I mean, I am aiming for that. He just seems REALLY INTERESTED IN FOOD. He'll make "mouth-watering" noises with his tongue and lips when he sees us eating. So far, he's pretty pacified by us "pretending" to feed him with a spoon and bowl and cup. He loves spoons and cups. Loves. Also, he seems ultimately very satisfied by the milk alone so I don't feel guilty not feeding him solids yet. He eats many times a day and at night, and he is growing like a weed!

Anyway, it's a good place to be in. I have taken up running again (only a mile at first, and even then I'm struggling) and John has taken up walking to work (almost 4 miles) and it is starting to feel, as I mentioned this to John last night, that we are reclaiming ourselves. NOT that being a mom or a dad isn't what we are or are meant to be. I firmly hold in my heart that womanhood culminates in bearing children and raising them and it makes you more complete, not less. What I meant is more of a shallow concept of reclaiming. Just that we're returning to what we were before we met, before we got Crazy In Love and Crazy Engaged in Three Months and Crazy Married a Year Later and Crazy Giving Birth To a Baby 11 Months After That.

Haha! It's been a crazy, fun ride! It's not over either! We hope for more children soon and to that, we look forward to with great hope and wonder. Until then we're just getting back to basics in this household (less internet, more prayer, more family time), enjoying Henry, enjoying our hobbies we once had time to pursue and can now return to them (though perhaps in little spurts rather than aggressively), and being content....

For now. :)