Our Life in Transition: Just Kidding

Joshua is doing everything you would expect him to be doing at 8 months. A partial list includes:

He cut his first tooth just before he hit 7 months. I think he is teething again because he has had a few nights where he has not been sleeping well.
He is eating solid foods more often than not. Some nights he refuses baby food. He likes to eat whatever we are having and he loves picking things up by himself.
He is learning to use a sippy cup. He doesn't always get it right, but he is getting better.
He loves to pull up on things. Sunday morning he was standing up in his crib for the first time. The first two places he pulled up were on the dishwasher and in the bathtub. Not the ideal places to start. I don't think he is near walking, but he is definitely mobile.
He likes to get into things. He loves to follow you around and see if there is a drawer he can open or something he can stick in his mouth. Mary and I are being more vigilant about what is left out, but it is difficult to teach that to Grace and Caleb.
He is fascinated by the phone. Sometimes when he listens on the phone he can even hear Mom's or Dad's voice. Can you imagine a machine that contains your parents' voices in it?
Joshua loves to crawl. He is starting to get faster. He is only army crawling so far, but he has a distinct crawl. He drags himself with his arms and then pushes off with his right toes. His crawl has a hitch, as if he were strutting. I find that funny.
Joshua still loves his blanket, but he has found another love. He loves rattles. His favorite rattle is in the shape of a star. The other night he was digging around in his toy basket for a minute or two. I wondered what he was doing. Then he crawled across the floor holding his rattle. I should have known. The rattle has a line across it from where he drags it across the floor.
The last day or two he has pushed himself up into an elephant walk position. He has not moved, but just stayed there for a moment. I love how little children try out new things.
He also has elephant Robeez. They are really cute.
Sunday afternoon he crawled on all fours for a step or two. It was the first time that I have ever seen him crawl on all fours.
The most important news is that Joshua had his first taste of doughnut this Saturday. He had a little bit of a pumpkin cake and a blueberry cake doughnut. Tonight he tried an apple cider doughnut. He is an official part of the family now.
Sometimes we call him chubby cheeks. Photographic evidence is below.