8 months old

We are staying busy busy busy.  I don't think that Derek or I (or Parker, for that matter) know how to sit still.  We've got lots of projects going on throughout the house, and Parker keeps us on our toes, but we love it.  He's getting to that really fun age where you can play and laugh with him - we are loving our time with him more than ever these days.  And he's FAST - we'll be chasing that little bugger someday soon.  He learned to crawl at 7 1/2 months, even before he knew how to sit up on his own.  The day after he started to crawl, he started attempting to pull himself up onto things, which he mastered in a week or two.  He wants so badly to be able to walk - you can see it in the way that he slowly tries to let go of whatever it is that's keeping him stable.  Pretty much, once he figures out how to balance, he'll be off and running...quite literally.  And then there will be Derek and me bringing up the rear, chasing after him :)

Some pictures of Parks for the month...

This little guy loves climbing into the laundry basket - and he thinks he's so funny in doing so!  Just look at that proud "look at me!" smile :)  Can't you just tell that he's thrilled with himself?

Um, yeah, so this was the last time Parker got to fall asleep in his swing...it was folded up and put into storage after we found him curled up in a ball like this!

Parker has figured out that the chair makes a great sound when you slap on it

Anxious to say 'hello' to some of the local wildlife

Taking a snoozle with dad on the couch

P loves his finger puppets...but not as puppets.  Instead, he has figured out that they are the perfect size to stuff in his mouth while he continues to play with his hands.  His favorite puppet to tote around is the shark.  Gotta love $1 finds at Ikea!

One-on-one parenting right here, folks :)

Picking out some light reading material

Off to find something to get into...

...And he found it!

Practicing his ability to pull up on furniture to a stand...love that little pot-belly!