Enrique 8 mos

My sweet baby boy! How I wish I could slow time to cherish these fleeting moments with you.  Knowing you are my very last baby sure makes seeing you grow that much harder.

You are surely your mommy's boy...for now.  You seem to be coming in and out of illnesses which has made you extra needy.  This is when you want no one else but me.  Many times you are content without me around but the moment you see my face you start to whimper.  I have learned however that I can buy time through your sisters who ADORE you. They carry you, play with you, sooth you, coddle you, and help me more than any other help that I have had previously.  You will surely miss those girls when school begins. The biggest surprise of parenting an infant this time around is the incredible love your sisters show you every single day.  Nothing could have prepared me for seeing this immense love they have for you.  That is by far the biggest most greatest treasure that has come from having a "large" family.

Some milestones:  You are belly/army crawling! You have gained quite some speed doing so too. Your motivation is the potted plant in our living room. You like the soil and I even caught you chewing on the STEM today!!! Ahhh, the 4th child!!! where was your mama?  This particular plant has also gotten you to pull up on your knees.  You'll be standing before you know it.

You like to shriek just like Elena use to. If it is particularly loud at the dinner table you insist on being heard too!

Your sleep...hmm...still working on that.  You will sleep 5-6 hours through the night but the biggest and most intriguing thing about you is that you go to bed at 9pm. I have tried and tried to do 7pm or 8pm because I was so successful putting other babies to bed at this time but as they say, every one is truly different and baby number four apparently does not make me an expert on babies and sleep and parenting and everything right! I do know that you love the swing A LOT!! You also prefer to be rocked to sleep. It took me a while to figure this one out I think because we've been out an about all summer taking your sisters places. Thankfully, you have been quite adaptable in that you sleep on the go but by evening you want to be home.  Dinner outings are your least favorite and you express this without hesitation.

Food: You are so eager to eat but sometimes you can't decide whether you want to try what I am feeding you.  Lately, you don't want anything from the spoon. You want to hold it yourself and feed yourself but I am afraid you have a long way to go with that skill. ;-)  You're most favorite food is Mum Mum, a simple cracker I only now discovered. You also like carrots and sweet potatoes but you've tried so many new things like refried beans, blueberries, whole fruit, yogurt, rice and more. 

Baby boy you have made me slow down and really appreciate these fleeting moments, and I am so grateful for that.  I needed to see that the simplest things in life are what life is really about and what I will remember when you and your sisters are grown.  I won't remember why I rushed everywhere or every activity, event or trip we participated in. I WILL remember how simple it was to make you smile and to sing and rock you to sleep. I love you Enrique and I really hope this isn't the one and only update I will have of your babyhood, I really do!