8-month update

Eli was in such an amazing mood today. He had these HUGE smiles on his face all day and he kept squealing and (I think) trying to hug me. He grabs my face, opens his mouth and tries to put my entire face in his mouth. I read somewhere that it means he is trying to hug or kiss me and doesn't know how. All I know is that I love it. It is totally adorable, even when he gets drool all over my face.

Needless to say, I love the 8-month stage. He is happy almost all of the time. He can stay awake for quite awhile now -- this morning he lasted for 3 hours. He is sleeping great so I have some time to myself at night (tonight I made these lemon scones that are to-die-for!). And he can play by himself for a little bit of time, even though he mostly wants to play with me (which is also quite alright!)

We've been doing cloth diapers now for a month and it is going great. It is super easy. We only use one disposable diaper a day -- at night. He has been sleeping from 7:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. and a cloth diaper just won't keep him dry that long. He took a two-hour nap this afternoon with two cloth diapers and a fleece liner and he was soaked when he woke up. So I just don't want to ruin his good nighttime sleeping.

He loves to look at books, play with this big metal coffee can and watch Wally and Zula. He also LOVES to swing so I usually put him in one of those baby swings at the park and he just smiles and giggles the entire time. I am a little worried about the fall and what we will do when it is raining :(

Dancing, singing and cloth diapering

Michael and I played some Old Crow Medicine Show while we were giving Eli a bath tonight. We were singing and dancing around his bathtub (which is still on the dining room table -- we are going to transition to the bathroom soon!) Eli thought it was hysterical and Michael and I were having a pretty good time. It made me wish we had some kind of folksy/bluegrass festival in Salem in the summer.

Eli had a busy day today. We drove to Corvallis and picked up some cloth diapers and covers. We stopped at a cute shop in town called Sweetpeas -- it's a Kids Cafe where there are little chairs and toys for kids, handmade baby purees and adult food too! Stefanie and Alex and I relaxed there for a bit. Eli did great -- napping in the car on the drive down and back and smiling at everyone while he was in Corvallis. It was a super fun day.

Fun-filled Saturday

Today was fun and packed! But before we left the house we lounged in the backyard with Eli on a blanket. He had a great time -- rolling back and forth and trying out his sounds.

Eli and I went to a cloth diaper class later in the morning and learned all about it so that we can switch to cloth diapers. I am very excited since it will save us thousands of dollars and be easier on the environment.

We also went to the Saturday Farmer's Market and ate lunch. It was ridiculously hot today so Eli was a bit fussy but it was fun to see our friend Mardell and listen to music and eat yummy fried food :)

This evening we went to the World Beat Festival with our friend Malcolm from Walla Walla. We got more ethnic food and sat in some shade next to the Willamette River on blankets. We cooled Eli off by spraying him with cold water and then blowing air from a battery-operated fan on him. Yes, he is very spoiled. He really liked it when we sprayed a little water in his mouth. He was probably dehydrated...