Tick tock, goes the clock.

Dear Bene,

And now you are eight months. I was so buy last month that I didn't even write you a letter, though I did write about your first holiday. Sorry about that. You keep me pretty buy these days little man and everything else has needed attention too, the house, your sisters and life. So lets see, where are you?

While you were seven months you learned lots of things. You learned to clap and respond to clapping games with your sisters and to play shakey head games too. The holiday was filled with games like the, your little roar of laughter as they played over and over. Lucky for you, they really don't tire of you. Clapping, shaking, picking up, putting down, bouncing games with Fran, hidey games with Amelie, adoration from Maddy and endless toy play with Josie. You have the best big sisters. The whole holiday was filled with them entertaining you, watching like hawks as you learned to pick up and eat your own food, entertaining you as we drove around. On holiday you cuddled with daddy in the sling and snoozed beside me in a travel cot each night. It was lovely to sit each morning as you tried new foods and rock you to sleep at night on the sofa where a year before I sat and waited for you to wiggle each night. I wanted to go back to the bridge I took a picture of you as a bump on – but it was under water!

You really had the most perfect time but I'm not sure you liked anything as much as the day we got a puncture. I had no idea a child could be so transfixed by a van with flashing lights 🙂

Since we've come home you've changed again. You play all day now, sat up with your toys. You love baby group, especially watching the other ones crawl and we've had some play ages with little people who might just become friends. Apparently a particular game is genetic and you've learned to play 'head on one side' even though no one taught it to you. That was my game but you tease me and don't always play now. Your sisters put you on hands and knees; you think that is pretty good but you've not worked out how to move. It won't be long now.

I can't say you do a lot of this, though tonight you've gone to bed in your cot before 9 for the first time ever. You are a bit of a wrestler now; tired means fighting and stretching and wriggling and oh my! You wear me out with that! My biggest problem was finding you nice bright tops this time round, since you outgrew everything again. Luckily Claire found more for you. She's a good spare auntie 😉

Cute? I think so. Although asking this picture did mean we hired a carpet cleaner. Daddy didn't like to think of you learning to crawl on that carpet 😉

Did I mention how adorable you are? The eyes are still blue and the hair, this week has just begun to flop down into 'boy hair'. It's getting really thick all of a sudden. You've finally produced two teeth too but I'm not sure you are altogether pleased with them.

There has been some grumping this week.

It might be because we do things like this 😉

Or because they all encourage you so much to find your inner athlete.

But most of all, you really make us laugh. And we make you laugh too.

I can't tell you how good it is to laugh. Even 8 months on, we still can't believe how lucky we are. As your daddy said this week, if we could have picked all the things we liked most and put them in one baby, you would have been the result. You are the sunniest, happiest, most adorable non sleeping, snotty, dribbly, roaring, wriggling baby ever. We love you.