This Kid is Eight Months Old. EIGHT Months!

Shortly after Roosevelt was born my mom asked me if I could remember what life before Ro was like.  With zero hesitation I answered, "yes!"  Those first several weeks were difficult.  It was hard adjusting to my new life.  It was hard learning the ropes of parenthood.  It was hard taking care of a new baby.  So of course it was easy for me to remember what things were like before Ro.  And admittedly, there were some times - very few - that I actually longed for things to return to how they were before.  Of course I didn't want to lose Ro, so I knew those memories were to be just that - memories.  But here we are eight months later and I can barely imagine life pre-Ro.  How did Wyatt and I survive, just the two of us?  Parenthood, though still very difficult, has been the most rewarding thing I've attempted.  

It seems as if Ro is slowly coming out of his shell.  When strangers speak to him, instead of staring at them like his old-self used to do, he actually smiles back!  Of course every time he does, each stranger squeals with delight.  I know I'm his mom, but it is pretty cute.  In fact he generally tends to smile more than he used to.  Maybe it's just a phase...maybe this is the new Ro.  Either way, it's been a lot of fun to watch.  

Papa Lou

Ro and I flew to Colorado to visit family again.   It was a really good visit.  I helped my mom prepare for her garage sale, along with cataloging some items she purchased in East Germany while my family lived in Berlin.  I'll be posting those on eBay.  Since we were so busy working, I didn't venture far from her house.  Which was really nice since doing anything with a baby is a million-times harder.  Or more accurately, I'm a million-times more lazy now that I have a baby.  

 Aunt Judy and Uncle Brice

 Cousin Cameron (it is soooo cute to watch my niece play with Ro.  Totally uncharacteristic of her.)

Ro was in love with my sister's dog, Butterfly.  She was tolerant with little interest.  She'd let him "pet" her if he was near her.  Which really is quite remarkable since she has very short hair and Ro has a pretty tight grip.  So pretty much it was Ro grabbing wads of her skin in his tiny hand.  Truthfully, we had a bit of a love triangle going.  For whatever reason Butterfly had taken a liking to me.  I couldn't care less about her, I was just interested in what Ro was up to... And of course, Ro didn't care about me.  He just wanted to be near the dog.  That dog.  She totally reminds me of the dog from the Amazing Stories episode, The Family Dog.  She is so skittish.  

 Grandpa and Grandma Nichols

Aunt Burgandy 

Ro's top teeth are really coming in.  I was right about his incisors, they are growing.  Though Wyatt retracted his statement last month and agreed that it looked as if they were cutting through the gums.  You can't really see any of his top teeth until he gives you a giant grin.  And even then, you have to be at the right angle.  Otherwise it's only the bottom teeth you notice.  

Momma G 

Ro listening to Momma G serenade him 

And shortly after I said that Ro wasn't making any consonant sounds...he whipped out his B's.  It's currently his favorite letter.  

Swim lessons were canceled last week.  And we had Wyatt to ourselves(!).  So we decided to take advantage of the family swim time at the local community pool.  Which as it turns out we practically had the whole place to ourselves!   Ro still loves the water.  This time his favorite part was being able to standup in the water, holding onto the one-foot ledge.  He loved this! 

Notice Ro's hair?  It's super fine and toe-head that you can hardly tell he has any until you're up close.  Only when it's wet can you tell he has any from a distance.  I was a toe-head too when I was a baby.  Imagine that.  

With the anticipation of nice weather, we bought a bike seat for Ro.  He wasn't sure what to think about it.  I think after a few more goes, he's really going to love it.  At least he better.  The swim park opens in five weeks!!!  How else are we going to get there?