Eight months

Oliver just turned 8 months old. I have a picture of each of my children at 8 months old on the wall. Why 8 months? you ask, as did Gary when I added Oliver to the wall this afternoon. 8 months is such a fabulous age as far as I'm concerned. They've just learned to sit up and have become very interested in holding things and exploring them. You can put your baby on the floor and they will sit there for hours it seems playing with anything you place in front of them. They can't go anywhere. They babble, smile and giggle and still drink mostly milk so there isn't any food issues. They still take two naps a day and sleep 12 hours a night without waking up. He's a joy to be with. This is the picture I selected for the wall.

I've started to notice a few changes in his little personality over the last week. He used to be so free with his smiles to strangers. Now he's not so sure. He might reward someone cooing over him with a half smile and glance in their direction but then he hides his face or just looks away. And if he gets excited or angry he balls his little fists up and literally quivers. Today he was in his high chair waiting on me to give him some banana. I was standing in front of him cutting pieces of the banana into chunks for him but he wanted the whole banana. He reached out for it and when he didn't get it, out came those fists and the full body shake. So I gave him the banana. I was really hoping for a laid back personality this time but I guess strong willed children is just my lot in life. Either that or it's an energizer bunny a la Nathan.

I also picked up Oliver's Halloween costume today. Nathan is a skeleton and I was going to have Oliver match him but then I saw the bat costume and I thought matching the black would be fine. He didn't seem too keen on it but it was about 80 degrees in the house this afternoon and the costume is like a felty material. Oliver also has a big head so even though I bought 9 months, the head piece is snug.

Here's a few more shots of the cutest baby on my street, and probably my entire neighborhood.

He's really filling out. Must be all those bananas.

I always find that being outside gets me some great shots. He definitely did not love the feel of grass and I had to work harder to get a smile.

Who knew bats were so adorable?

Such a helpful child. He was pointing out something I missed when I vacuumed earlier.

Three weeks, 168 dirty diapers!

Three weeks of exhausting, smelly, noisy, craziness has finally come to an end. It was also one of the best times of my life as it always is when my Mum and Sister come to visit. They left yesterday and I've felt a little hollow. I've exchanged a lot of noise and tiredness plus three lots of stinky diapers for a much quieter and more organized house but somehow I think I'd exchange it back again for another squeeze of my niece Cate's cheeks or to hear my nephew Max say "Sawah". Going out to lunch with Mum and Rachel wasn't so bad either. My waistline might not agree but worrying about such pedestrian concerns is not high on our list of priorities when we get together! Here's a little of what went on.

I love to see my dinner table surrounded by my family. Around it AND on top as you can see. Oliver doesn't like to be ignored even if he's already had his dinner.

Cate enjoying the water table.

Look at these two characters in a shopping cart. It was all good fun for oh, say 2 minutes!

Mum took this picture of Spencer in Manitou Springs. She has a knack for catching the kids "au naturel" you might call it. Whenever my camera gets turned on, the cheesy smiles get turned on too.

We drove up Pikes Peak. That was a wonderful day to include a picnic, unparalleled views, and small children running around at the edges of precipices!

Grandma Shirley having fun with the newest additions to her brood.

Auntie Rachel made each of the kids a darling apron with their initials on. It instantly made them chefs in training. Maybe I can convince them to don them for some house cleaning as well....

A game of horsey always goes down well with the rabble!

We did quite a bit of this in the evenings. With six kids to field, can you blame us?

This boy has a special place in my heart. He wasn't so sure about his Auntie Sarah this visit, requiring a TINY bit of persuasion for a hug and a kiss. However, he was decidedly less reticent when he realized I had control of the DVD player in the car.

BFFs!

Another special place in my heart opened up for my new gal pal Cate. She's pretty cool.

An attempt at a group shot. Not exactly successful. At the ripe old age of 7 months, grass is simply FASCINATING.

Every time we'd lose sight of Cate we'd find her looking at herself in my mirror. I can't blame her. I spent most of the visit staring at those dimples.

Cate was very fond of her Auntie. SQUISH!

One day we went to the Mall and discovered that you can go in a hurricane simulator for the bargain price of $2. Who thinks up this stuff?

Oliver's first taste of ice cream. You would have thought it was extremely cold or something.

Cuddles.

This picture is completely illustrative of Oliver and Cate's relationship. Much as I'm loathe to admit it, she could take him any day of the week.

Finally got a picture where you can see all their faces. Aren't they a good looking bunch?

We're hoping to do this again, with all the kids next June. I can hardly wait!