happy 8 months, milo!

It is getting increasingly difficult to take his "monthly milo" photos! It takes two of us to even come CLOSE to getting a good picture & I've almost totally given up on getting the sign in there. Oh well, he sure is cute. =)

Happy day, Milo! You are eight months old today!

EIGHT MONTHS.

That. is. crazy.

I really thought your seventh month was my favorite. (And, before that, I thought your sixth month was my favorite...) But, seriously, Milo, your eighth month was my FAVORITE! Because, really, you just get cuter, sweeter, smarter, and more fun every single day.

You are becoming a real person. Like, for real. Like, I like to be around you! You are a happy, happy baby. You LOVE to be outside. Sometimes, when I open the front or back door, you SQUEAL in delight. And, when we drive somewhere and then I open your car door to get you out of your car seat, you SQUEAL in delight. It's like you are happy to see me and, I'll tell you a secret, sometimes I feel like I want to squeal too because I'm happy to see YOU!

*Sigh*

This month you started eating all kinds of new foods. You eat spinach, green beans, zucchini, peaches, cauliflower, plums, asparagus, and mango. So far, you like everything but peas. =)

AND, you cut your first tooth! Your bottom right tooth was the first to pop up. I think you're less than thrilled about getting teeth, but, if you're patient, it means you can someday eat things like pizza and hamburgers, I promise.

You are so observant and it is so fun for me, as your mama, to see the world through your eyes. You love the fish tank at the sushi restaurant, you love the gerbils at Petsmart, you love to touch the buds on the trees in our front yard, and you LOVE to sit in your swing and watch the puppies play with their frisbee. You laugh and laugh. Yesterday, I took you for a walk and you laughed every time the wind blew your hair. Life is fresh and new to you. You are present in each and every moment. And it helps make life fresh and new for me too. You help ME be present.

Present and thankful.

You are observing the world around you and I can tell you are trying to decide if the world around you is okay. If it is scary or not. Like when I hand you to someone you don't know and you look to me with a worried look as if to ask, Is this ok, mama? And every time I vacuum, your bottom lip starts to quiver and I have to turn it off and come hold you and tell you "It's not scary! It's just loud!" And, last night in the bath tub, you got water up your nose and it surprised you. You looked at me with a worried look. Is this scary, mama? And I looked at you back and I smiled. And I said, "It's ok, Milo! You're ok!" And then you went on playing.

It's a big responsibility to have someone look to you and ask if the world is scary or not.

Because, sometimes, when I tell you it's ok, I feel like I'm lying.

Sometimes, I feel like the world IS a scary place.

This past week there was an earthquake. And a tsunami. And the threat of nuclear meltdown.

And there are riots. All over.

And someone important to a dear friend of mine was assaulted in a hate crime here in Denver.

Yes, Milo, I feel like I'm lying to you when I tell you the world is okay. That it's not scary.

Milo, here's the thing. It does feel scary sometimes. And you are growing so fast. I won't be able to protect you forever. And I am so very aware of how capable we humans are of destroying things. And how vulnerable we are because we are human.

But, Milo, then I look at you. I look at you. I look at you and know you are too much. Too much goodness. Too much wonderfulness. Too much joy for my heart to hold. And I'm so very aware of how capable we humans are of creating good, wonderful things.

This week, in the middle of gut-wrenching news from Japan & Libya & my very own neighborhood, I've been comforted by these words:

I see babies cry.

I watch them grow.

They'll learn much more,

Than I'll ever know.

And, I think to myself

What a wonderful world.

Yes, Milo, I look at you and think to myself...

What a wonderful world.

Love,

Mama