Charlie Penn is 8 Months Old: April 12

We're two-thirds of the way to one year, and parenting is all the cliches: they grow up so fast, time flies when you're having fun, etc. Charlie Penn responds to "Penn," but we call him a number of names: Charlie, Little Boy, Penske, Pendleton, Pendragon, Bubb, and Sweet P. Cindy and Dec called him Mr. P, and since his haircut have taken to calling him "Spanky." Somehow or another, each of these names seems to suit him. He's a character.

I thought that he was developing quickly, and half-thought he would be walking before nine months. However strong he may be, the boy would rather be carried than crawl. And he would rather army crawl than use his legs. I'll take him into the living room to hang out with Brandon while I'm cooking dinner, and hear his little hand-slap crawling along the wooden floors. As soon as he rounds the corner to the kitchen, he stops crawling and just cries, waiting for me to rush to his aid. So, I'll try to respond in a way that encourages him to keep crawling without hurting his feelings. I'll say things like, " You're doing great, Sweet P," and crouch down with my arms open. After much cajoling and his responsive fussing, I sweep him up in my arms and hear the sounds of silence. Anyhow, I still think he'll be walking before a year, but I don't think he'll be walking as early as Kathy said Brandon walked.

While Penn was hanging out with me in the kitchen, I gave him a banana, since he can feed that to himself. He ate the entire thing, chunk by chunk. He also discovered that he can open the pantry door, take out a can of beans from the bottom shelf, roll it, and chase it. Call it a game of baby and beans. It's making me realize how much baby-proofing we have left to do.

I love this kid. I mean, I LOVE THIS KID. I plopped him down on the bed, and he crawled away, paused, and waited for me to tickle him. He laughed and squealed, and then I put him back on his tummy. He crawled away, paused, and turned his head, just in time for me to squeeze him tight all over again. It just makes me laugh to see him tease me, to watch this budding sense of humor in an 8 month old.