6,7,8....What?!

My little guy is 8 months! In only 4 months we will be celebrating his first birthday. Not to long ago that felt like long ways away.
We have kinda fallen behind on his monthly updates so I hope to cover Broderick's last three months as concisely as possible with this post...By six months...
-our little monkey perfected his ability to sit. At 5 1/2 months he started out as a wiggle warm. He could hold himself up for a bit but would eventually topple over. By the time he turned 6 though, he got it down!
-he became more interactive and smiley with people. He was always curious as to what others around him were doing.
-He discovered a new game to play. if he was sitting on your lap with a toy in his hand he would drop it and start reaching for it. It was quite a work out for whoever was holding him since you had to carry him down so that he could pick up his toy. He then would smile and drop it again. He really could go on forever if it weren't for our sore arms :)
- He went on his first road trip. It was a short one up to Idaho to visit g'ma and g'pa. I was so worried how he would do in the car for 3+ hours but he slept the entire trip up and down. He was great!!!!
-We finally started feeding him solids. His first solid food was sweet potato and the first time he tried it he made the funniest face. We laughed so hard it made our stomachs hurt, he joined in and thought it was quite funny too.
-He only loves going to the movie theater if its an action movie- gets board and fussy if its a chick flick...typical boy!
-He loves to play on the play mat with all the farm animals. he laughs, squeals, babbles and tugs at the toys the entire time.
By 7 months...
-his bottom teeth came out!!! He was a little fussy but handled it better then i thought he would. We joke that this was Broderick's gift to Mike on his birthday since it was on Mike's b-day that his first tooth peeped through.
-We celebrated his first 4th of July at the Bee's baseball game. it was tons of fun, especially during the firework show. He was so amazed and excited with the show but i guess Mike and I were too. It probably has been the best firework show we have seen in a long time.
-He started rolling over from his front to his back and started to scoot a bit.
-he started reaching out his arms and giving the puppy face to get picked up. its so STINKIN CUTE!!!!!-Broderick could actually sit and listen, for the most part, when we read to him. its so weird. It looks almost like he can understand or at-least wants too. this entire month we read to him The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss- this is Mikes favorite of Dr. Seuss books.
-Broderick started mimicking us when we sing to him. we joke that he will be a musician of some sort when he grows up :)
By 8 months...
-He still doesn't crawl but is very mobile. he rolls around to get to where he wants to be. its so funny to watch. he tries with all of his might to crawl but gets tired after two scoots and starts rolling around.
-his upper teeth peeped through. I can't believe he has 4 teeth now. the upper teeth caused more drama coming out though. He was SOOOOO fussy even at night. Tylenol was the only remedy for these guys. I think there was one night where Mike and I got about 3 hours of sleep. It reminded me of the sleepless nights when we first had Broderick. Ugh!!!!
-He is into pinching! ouch!!!! he has even left a bruise on my arm. Its so funny to see how boys are boys and girls are girls even when they are this little. His cousin Ally is so gentle and sweet and Broderick is so rough and brutal when he plays.
-He went on his first LONG (12 hour) road trip to San-Diego. We had 2 babies on board which frightened the crap out of us but we had hope that making it to the beach would make up for whatever insanity the drive would cause. However, there was no need to fear. Our little angels did GREAT!!! They did get fussy from time to time but never really cried and slept for most of the drive. Both babies were a little under the weather when we arrived to San Diego but they were little troopers the whole time.

Scottish blunderings...

Mike and I are big fans of most late night talk shows. We love Conan and Craig the most . They are hands down hilarious and entertaining. Anyways, for Mike's birthday, i thought it was only appropriate to get him Craig Ferguson's book, American on Purpose. At night when Broderick was sleeping Mike and I would stay up to read his book. I really liked reading all of his crazy stories and it helped us see him in a different light and appreciate him more. Anyways, something that stuck with me was when he talked about having his first child and how your entire perspective on life changes when that occurs. He said "I think when you become a parent you go from being a star in the movie of your own life to a supporting player in the movie of someone else's." I find that so fascinatingly true. I realized this same concept on the 4th of July when Mike and I took Broderick to see fire works for his first time. We do this every year, but all the other years we've been together, just the two of us, we'd hold hands, cuddle and/or kiss throughout the firework show (: this time, however, our eyes were locked on Broderick's face. just looking at all of the different expressions he made and how excited he was. as i looked around, I saw that the couples with children were doing the exact same thing and couples without were doing what Mike and I use to do before. It just amazed me to realize how having children engulfs your every thought and changes you forever.
I also realized that, although i used to think that the fixation parents had for their children could strain the relationship between their significant other; it does the exact opposite. I love Mike more than ever because he adores Broderick and we are even closer now than we were before. of course, you feel strains every now and then because there is a third person that you are taking care of and looking out for but your love for your spouse grows deeper and the roots grow stronger. I am just so grateful for Broderick and the lessons and gifts he has already given us in the few months we have had him.

Unconditional Love

In case we have never mentioned it before, Patty and I use this blog as journal. The plan is to make a book for Broderick of all the posts that give updates on his new life. So, my purpose in writing this is that my little BB will read it when he is older.

Your mother has always had a fascination with unconditional love. She finds it so amazing that there are certain people in your life that no matter what you do will always love you. . . and you will always love them. I've never really understood this phenomenon as well as your mother; I guess you could say that my love for others has often been a little. . . conditional. But as I was laying in bed tonight I just had to get up and write down that on this day I realized that you have taught me what uncontrollable, unconditional love is. I was lying there hoping to fall asleep when I had the uncontrollable desire to kiss you softly (without waking you) on the top of the head. It doesn't matter what time of the day it is, I always have that urge. You could be so fussy and frustrating but at the same time I will want to hug and squeeze you. Thank you for teaching me this wonderful kind of love. It makes me wonder why I didn't want to be a dad sooner. I can tell that you and I will always be buddies and look forward to the times when we will do "guy" stuff together. I will always love you - after all, it was you who taught me to love so deeply.

Your dad,
Michael