8 Months

My sweet Eli,

Tomorrow you will be 8 months old! It is hard to believe that it has already been 8 months since you were born. The time is flying by. We are loving sharing life with you!

At 8 months you are surpassing all our expectations. You continue to amaze us with the ways you learn and grow every day and overcome the "odds" of your prematurity. Here are some facts about you at 8 months...

-You can sit up! You wobble over pretty quickly if you're not entertained by something, but you can sit unassisted for as long as 15 seconds now. Way to go, big boy!

-You are slowing coming around to the idea of eating. :) We're working hard in therapy and at home, and you are learning that eating is not so bad after all. I am so, so proud of you.

-You hate to be on your belly. I don't how you'll ever learn to crawl, because every time I put you on your belly you just roll right onto your back. :)

-You love to play Peek-a-Boo and think that Pat-a-Cake is hilarious.

-You are still our little bouncer! Your favorite thing to do is stand in someone's lap and jump up and down.

-You are Mommy's boy all the way. If I leave you with someone else, you're fine. But if I'm in the room and am not the one holding you, you loudly and tearfully let me know that you want me to pick you up. I love that I'm your favorite person! (I have a feeling, though, that you'll soon become Daddy's boy once you see all the fun things he has planned for you!)

-You are on herbal supplemental therapy to help with reflux and growth. It seems to be working well so far! We are praying and praying that with these supplements and with therapy you can overcome your feeding aversion and gain weight well without having to get a feeding tube.

You are happy, healthy, and so very bright. You are the joy of our hearts, and we couldn't love you more. Happy 8 months, Pumpkin!

P.S. To celebrate your birthday, you caught the tummy virus that all the rest of the family has been fighting for weeks now. Poor thing- you threw up every drop that you ate today! You finally started to keep things down late this afternoon, though, and you are now sleeping soundly with your belly full of Pedialite. My heart is breaking for you, my sweet, sick baby!