I feel like just yesterday I was writing a post about Austin being 6 months old so it's hard to believe it has been an entire month since then. I told Austin this morning when he woke up that he needed to slow down a little bit because mommy thinks he's growing up way too fast! I mean, I sat down at Ryan's softball game last night with his buddy who has a 2 month old little girl and I seriously couldn't remember Austin being that small...EVER! Those newborn memories are starting to fade and everything is changing so quickly. I love to watch him grow up and learn new things, but I'm just so scared that by the time he's a year old, I won't be able to remember what all we went through to get there. I guess that is just another good reason to keep up the blog, so I can always look back! Just maybe this month will go by a little more slowly because 8 months old just sounds way too old for my little guy, it's 2/3 of a year!
Anyway, I feel like I say this every month, but boy what a busy month this has been! Austin has learned so many new things and made so many big changes that I can hardly believe it. Here's a list of his most recent accomplishments:
-He is sleeping 10-12 hours a night in his own room which is working out fabulously and he takes 2 (sometimes 3) good naps a day.
-He is eating 3 square meals everyday and is finally loving baby food. He can't get enough of his mashed bananas, but still won't eat those darn peas.
-Austin can drink from a sippy cup and enjoys drinking his water with a hint of white grape or pear juice. He can also hold and feed himself his bottle, but I still like to help, I don't want him to become Mr. Independent just yet!
-Just recently he has learned to push himself from his tummy into a sitting position and loves to sit up in his crib after a nap and turn on his Rainforest soother. (I laugh every time I hear those rainforest sounds coming over the monitor)
-Austin is slowly getting the hang of crawling but finds it much easier to just roll or army crawl his way around. He really enjoys exploring all the new places in the living room and especially loves to try and get my shoes.
-He has the ability to pull up on things but doesn't try to do it much. He's still too busy exploring his new found mobility on the floor to worry about what's in a chair or on top of the coffee table. He loves to stand in my lap, however, it's just the right height for him to get a fistful of my hair or the sunglasses on top of my head.
-He also has the ability to stand on his own for a few seconds as long as we place him just right. He likes to stand on his tippy toes a lot which makes it hard for him to balance sometimes. I did this as a child too, I wonder if it's hereditary?
-Austin can be very talkative when the mood strikes him and likes to say ma-ma, ah-gee, and to blow raspberries.
-Austin is 21 lbs. and 28.5 inches long (roughly 1/2 my size!)- both of which are in the 75th-95th percentiles for his age ( I will get exact numbers when he goes back to the doctor in July). He is wearing size 12 months or 12-18 months clothing and a size 3 diaper.
-Finally, as you can see, Austin LOVES Lucy (and she doesn't mind him too much). He smiles everytime he sees her and tries to pet her whenever she's close enough for him to get his hands on. He finds the kitties somewhat interesting but Lucy is his favorite by far. I wouldn't be surprised if the two of them became best buds before too long!
Austin and daddy walking into the game, Austin with the tickets in hand and ready to watch some baseball!
Napping in mommy's arms, worn out from all the excitement. (My arms were also worn out after holding my little 22 lb. nugget for 45 minutes!!)
Austin loves daddy's baseball caps, and doesn't he look just too cute!
Paying close attention to the game and enjoying the nice shade. It got up to 91 degrees!! 
Yes, we did it on purpose. Austin and mommy wearing our matching Clemson t-shirts!
