We started this month by lowering Jack T's crib mattress as far as it could go. This didn't stop the teeth marks on the crib, though. Jack did a LOT of crawling this month and was able to start taking a few steps while holding onto Mommy or Daddy's hands. Mommy took him to the park by our house a few times where he got to ride on a swing, go down a slide, and crawl around the playground. He took his third plane trip, this time to Myrtle Beach. He got to put his toes in the ocean (of which he was not a fan), ride in a golf cart, go swimming in the pool, and sit on Grandpa's Harley. He hasn't started finger foods yet, but is working on the “stage 2” combined baby foods and so far, eats pretty much everything we've given him. We also celebrated Daddy's 30th birthday by watching the Bears game with friends!

Ok, so tomorrow Jack will be 10 months old...which is simply ridiculous.  Anyway, I had to at least get his eight month photos posted before then.  Here they are, with hopes of getting month nine and ten photos put together and posted in the next few days! [Facebook viewers be sure to click the "View Original Post" link to view the album]

This month was pretty exciting for us and Jack T! He got four more teeth (on top) almost overnight. We found him kneeling in his crib holding onto the railing (Daddy lowered the crib that night). He started on baby first foods, including apples, carrots, sweet peas and bananas. Jack finally stopped teasing us with rocking on his hands and knees and actually started crawling. Three days after his first actual sign of real crawling, he was cruising across the floor. He had his first swing ride, first (assisted) ride down the slide (with Mommy's help), took his first trip to the Renaissance Faire, took his second plane ride (to Buffalo, New York) and started riding in his stroller without his infant carrier. Finally, Jack T was able to pull himself up into a standing position while holding onto Daddy. Just a few days ago, we found him standing in his crib holding on to the railing!

Jack has be showing signs of crawling for weeks now, but no real consistent forward progress.  In the last few days, it appears as if he started doing some very short crawling, putting one knee in front of the other a few times.  Now, he's really moving, and apparently he's going to be pretty quick!

If you're viewing this on Facebook, be sure to click the "View Original Post" link above to see the video.

Wow, August was a pretty busy month.  Especially the second half, and into the beginning of September.  First off, our friends Megan and Bob had their baby boy, Maxwell Robert!  We're so excited that there is another little one in our group of friends from the DG!  We finally got to meet him last night.  Jack T looks so big after seeing a newborn, it's hard to believe he was ever that small.

Speaking of Jack T - he took another plane trip (now his second) to Buffalo, New York.  We went out for the wedding of some friends (Congrats, Heather & Tony!) that used to live in Chicago.  Mary's parents so generously offered to go with and watch Jack while we went to the ceremony and reception.  The next day, we all went to see Niagara Falls.  While we didn't go on a boat ride, Mary and I did climb up to the Crow's Next, right next to the falls, without ponchos.  We were so wet afterwards, we might as well have jumped in the water, but it was a blast!

Last Saturday, we got to visit with some of my cousins that were in visiting from Indiana.  We haven't seen them in so long, it was great to get to catch up with them and a good excuse to grill out on a nice Saturday afternoon.

Sunday we met my sister, Liz and her girls at Wicker Park to check out the Farmers Market, get some lunch, and play a little bit on the playground.  Jack T had his first ride on a swing and went down a slide for the first time!  We also came home with some market treats (cinnamon apple cider, apple cinnamon bread, and a couple other goodies).

After the park, we went out to DG for Ken's birthday.  Nothing fancy, just some food, drinks and babies.  It was really exciting to see Jack T, Ben and Max all in the same room!  Before long, they'll be running around getting into trouble, especially with no little girls to keep them in check :)

Today, we went up to the Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin.  My family used to go a lot when we were kids, and it was just as fun going as an adult (although for very different reasons).  There's nothing like eating a whole turkey leg for lunch!  It was great seeing Annalee shoot arrows, jump on a trampoline (I didn't know they had those in the 1500s), and attempt the kiddie joust.  We also got to see part of a skill joust and Barely Balanced: Acrobatic Daredevils.  Ev and Jack T are still a little small, but maybe in a couple years they'll be running around with wooden swords!

I was able to get to these much faster than last month.  This was a pretty busy month as you can tell by the description of the photo album!  [Facebook viewers be sure to click the "View Original Post" link to view the album]

At Jack T's 6-month appointment, he weighed 16 lbs 14 oz and was 26.5 in long. He started drinking formula mixed in with his bottles of Mommy's milk as well as started on some baby foods closer to the 7-month mark. Jack has been showing more and more signs that he's ready to start crawling as he will spend good amounts of his tummy time “swimming” as well as spinning himself around in circles and rocking back and forth on his hands and knees. The beginning of July saw him able to sit up in a tripod position, and after just a couple of weeks, he was balancing very well on his own when placed in a sitting up position. While he's not fully mobile yet, he can definitely get himself around on his playmat and has started reaching for larger nearby objects like his exersaucer and the coffee table. He got to see his best friend Ben get baptised, spend an afternoon playing at the park by the lake, and got several new age-appropriate toys!