This Moment

It's been way too long since my last post, without any real reason besides being too tired/busy/whatever. Big things that have happened are: Joey can now sit up by himself AND drink from a straw (he figured out how to get water from my Camelbak so we got him a toddler sippy cup with a straw). I FINALLY talked to people in Medicaid and got somebody to explain everything to me AND fix what I knew was the problem. They have decided that we'll pay a portion of our medical bills but that's better than all of our bills. Work has been slow, we're hoping and praying that something comes through soon, either for Dan or me. At this point, even though it's not my ideal situation, I would take a full time position just to have a steady income.

Mostly, we've been passing time by playing with Joey. We didn't completely manage to cut out TV around him altogether, but we cut back significantly. When we brought Joey home, and for the several months following, the TV was on pretty much from the time I woke up until the time that Dan went to bed--whether there was anything on we wanted to watch or not. Now, we watch mostly shows that we missed because I was asleep or Dan was working. Occasionally it's actually a station and not On-Demand or Netflix. Joey is getting so big so fast that I feel like I blink and he's already moved on to another milestone, I'm trying to enjoy every second of his babyhood and there are already things I miss from when he was a newborn! He doesn't really look too much like a baby anymore, he looks like a little boy--even if he's just playing with his feet on the floor. Sometimes, during our "quiet" moments together, I just stare at him completely in awe. Eight months somehow completely flew by me and I have a baby on the verge of being a toddler who is getting smarter by the minute. He catches me staring at him and flashes me this adorable, 4-tooth grin, unable to comprehend why it melts my heart instantly.

He has no idea how much I love hearing him "talk", or how excited I get when he's about to master a new skill (you can see the look of pride on his face--so cute!), he just knows that I smile when he smiles at me and that I'm Mama and I love him. Sometimes I have to do things he doesn't like (putting clothes on him for instance, we're entering the Naked Phase), but at the end of the day, I'm still his favorite person. The temper tantrums will come later, making messes on purpose, embarrassing me in the store, projectile vomiting will return, but right now, he's still my little baby. He loves me unconditionally and I strive to be worthy of that devotion.