8 months!

No way. They can not be eight months old already! (Ok, so if we're being technical, they'll be nine months old next week but their lazy mama is just getting around to posting this. Details, details.)

At eight months, the boys are so much easier to manage and yet so much more difficult! They are into  everything and anything within reach ends up in their hands.  They're pretty mobile (although real crawling has yet to take place) and they've both taken a tumble off of our bed. I think that says more about us as parents than them. Someone call CPS. They've gotten pretty good at self feeding and by "pretty good," I mean about 25 percent of what they grab actually ends up in their mouths. Not too shabby! They live for their baths in the regular bath tub and they still love, love, love the backyard, which is where you can find us every single night between 5-6. The boys roll around on a blanket while we eat dinner. Summer nights can't be beat! 

At eight months, Davis is still such a lover. He might be the happiest human being to ever live. He is just smiley and giggly all the time. Such a charmer, that one! He is one heck of a sitter but he is pretty happy to just hang out wherever you stick him. We try and try to encourage him to crawl but he just kinda looks at us like, "Why bother?" He hates being on his tummy (yes, still) and the moment we lay him on his tummy, he flips over on to his back. That's an improvement, though, from laying on his tummy crying which is what he used to do. He loves to be thrown in the air and he just dies laughing when you tickle his ribs and his shoulders. I took him to an opthamologist the other day because of his clogged tear duct and as he sat in my lap, he laughed and laughed. The doctor kept saying, "I've never seen a happier baby!" I finally realized I was rubbing his back while we sat there and it was tickling him! Davis rarely cries but when he does, it's usually because I've walked out of the room. I won't lie, that makes me feel pretty good! He has learned to clap and when we say "yay" he tries his darnedest to imitate us. It is so sweet.  He started saying "Mama" which at first we thought was a fluke until he repeated it over and over for days on end. I know he doesn't associate "mama" with me but I swear I've never heard a better sound! There is something so sweet and cuddly about Davis that words could never describe. My parents were here visiting last week and my mom kept saying he was just "pure joy" and he is. Preston thinks he's going to be a linebacker one day, knocking the heck out of people and then helping them up, apologizing all the way! I can totally see it.  He's just a good, sweet boy. 

Dex, at eight months, is the most inquisitive, busy baby you've ever seen. He is always studying things, trying to figure them out. I think he might be a genius. He is also the most determined little guy I've ever seen. He has definite opinions and and wants and if you get in his way, watch out! He is so strong and agile for a baby and when he wants something, he goes after is. Fast! He doesn't crawl yet either but he lays on his tummy and drags himself around by his arms. I'm kinda glad he hasn't figured out how to bring his knees up yet because his strange Dexter crawl at least slows him down a teeny bit. We were playing on the living room floor one day and in the time it took me to change Davis's diaper, Dex had shimmied his way to the entertainment center and opened one of the doors and was pulling Preston's xbox out! And I was two feet from him! Dex is one heck of a firecracker (and I say that will all the love in my heart!) He has a pretty short fuse and when he's not happy or tired, he lets anyone within ear shot (or not within ear shot..maybe within a couple city blocks?) know all about it. He is usually the one who decides he doesn't want any part of his stroller the second we walk into the grocery store and I end up giving up my cart and carrying him around while pushing the stroller. This usually entails him trying to lunge out of my arms to reach for things on shelves or in the stroller so I have resorted to carrying him around under my arm like a football. You should see the looks I get. He is my little wild man and boy can he be challenging but I love the heck out of him. When I go in the boys' room after a nap, I die at the gigantic smiles and babbles he gives me. It would melt your heart. He says "mama" too and I want to kiss his little face off every time! He also says "Bob" over and over again which is pretty much the funniest thing ever. Dex is a really good clapper and he still loves his daddy more than anyone in the world. Love my boy. 

POST EDIT: Preston spoke in church yesterday which meant I was left with the boys in the congregation by myself. I was seriously terrified. The boys never sleep during Sacrament and it's like a three-ring circus on our row every Sunday. Our super nice friends, Tom, Kathy, and Leah sat by us and helped me wrangle the peanut gallery. Amazingly, we made it through the entire hour without having to leave the chapel! Kathy and Tom tried their best to keep up with Dex but honestly, he's a little exhausting, so they passed him over to me and Leah held Davis in the row in front of me. Ever the charmer, Davis was laying it on thick and had his head on Leah's shoulder cooing like a little pigeon. I made a Facebook status update thanking Kathy, Tom, and Leah for helping me and this was Tom's response. 

"After Sunday I have an afinity for Davis. Not that I don't like Dex, it's just that he is a little less relaxed than the other kids I've stolen at church." 

Hello, perfect example! And I promise I love that son of mine more than life. I just want this documented so when he's a famous athlete raking in the big bucks, he remembers what his mama went through and buys her a Mercedes. And a Louis Vuitton.