8 months old

What a joy he is. He has many nicknames...he has from the beginning, which is funny, b/c our other kids never really had any. He is called Zac, Zachy (Amber called him this) but his #1 name is pooh pooh. Rachel called him that one day in line at Walmart, and it was a bit embarrassing, but the name just seems to fit!! He can be pooh, little pooh pooh b/c he is being silly or cute, or me such a Pooh Pooh, when he is acting up! haha...it is always a term of endearment. It started at Zachy pooh, and then just became "pooh pooh". (that would be for Winnie the Pooh, just in case anyone thinks we are being mean calling him this! ha)

He was 8 months old yesterday. My how the time has flown. WOW, how he has captured our hearts. I love him so much. My emotions are all over the place. I used to pray that "whatever is best, or God's will" would happen. Then I saw my friend Christie lose her daughter that had been with her for a year and a half. She still aches for her. Now, my prayers have become more of a pleading prayer. "Please, God, let us keep him. Don't take him away from his family that loves him SO much. Don't let him lose his brother and sisters that adore him". Some days I don't think of it too much, and other days it hits me like a ton of bricks. He is 8 months old. that means we go back to court in less than 4 months. These could be the last 4 months I have him as my baby. Gut wrenching, I tell ya. I just squeeze him, and plead with God.

He is such a silly little boy. We joke that he is like a little old man...(that's his bio daddy coming out in him! ha) He still has a fascination with his hands. He is so funny! He also loves faces. Loves to touch them. Stares new people down. When we go out in public, and he looks at someone, he will stare them down. He played with a baby doll for the longest time yesterday, just stroking her face, and chewing on her hand. It was so funny. He smiles, and doesn't act scared of strangers, but he saves his cutest smiles and laughs for us, and that is o.k. with me! I love to see how he differentiates his security and favor for us. He is definately a momma's boy, but also spots daddy across the room to give him that huge smile. Oh, he loves his brothers and sisters. As they love him. Aftre having them for 6 1/2 months, the fascination hasn't worn off at all. Just during the time he is gone to see his dad, when he gets back, they smother him....come running, so glad he is back home. All 3 will randomly say, " I hope we get to adopt him, or I will miss him so much when he leaves" very often. I can see their love for him pouring out. It makes me so proud, and so sad at the same time.

He is a little slow with some of his milestones....seems he has been about a month behind on everything all along. I don't know how much of that is the fact he was born a month early, or that he was in a bad home for the first month of his life, or that he is so small for his age (he is in the 10th percentile for weight, 3rd percentile for height. He only weighed 15 lbs at 7 months), or if it is just the way he is. I think he is still normal, not really considered delayed, my 3 were all just pretty quick to do everything, all 3 of them walking by 10 months. Which, he may still do b/c his favorite thing to do is stand, and he has been taking some steps in his walker. He is trying hard to figure out crawling. He has the pose down, just hasn't figured out how to move once he gets up on his knees. I think he is so close, and once he does, watch out! He will be following the other 3 all over the place! He can sit up, but you still can't leave him alone.....he just plops over when he feels like it. But, once he does fall over, then he gets so frustrated that he can't get back up. He does these half sit ups...they are so funny, I don't remember my kids ever doing that.

He has this squeal.....I have never heard anything like it. It is SO loud and high pitched, and HILARIOUS! Rachel is really good at bringing it out in him. Those 2 are so funny. She loves to play with him, and when he spots her coming, his expression changes...it is almost a mischievious look.

He is an attention grabber, let me tell you. We can't go anywhere without a ton of people stopping to talk to him. Really....it is different from anything with my own kids, or when I had Hunter. All races, men and women, all ages. They all have to talk to him, comment about him.....touch him. It is wild. We have come to just expect it now b/c it is so common.

He is so much mine in my heart. I honestly forget sometimes that he isn't mine. I was talking to a bride we photographed that had seen our Christmas card. She was telling her hairdresser about our kids, and she said, "I just loved how they just included them all as theirs, they didn't say who was foster and who wasn't. I mean, you could obviously tell the baby wasn't theirs, but they didn't say that." That was very kind what she said, but my first instinct was, "What? He doesn't look like he is ours? Of course he looks like he is ours!" Haha....really, that is what my brain was screaming when she said that. Then the rational part set in, and I knew, well, yes, he doesn't LOOK as much like us, but my heart knows differently. I don't see his difference at all. I have a lot of people ask me if he is hispanic, and really I think he does look like it. There are times in certain lights when someone else is holding him, he does look biracial to me, but I just think he is beautiful, and I LOVE his skin color. It is perfect to me.