I Have Survived (at least for now)

I had an amazing moment yesterday.  I was sitting at our table eating my lunch and skimming some blogs or Facebook or something.  If you're asking what is so amazing about that you probably don't have a toddler and baby in your house.  You see it has been months since I was able to sit down and eat lunch, and as I sat savoring the moment, I took a moment to evaluate how this was suddenly possible.
My conclusion?  Well, the main contributor would be that Levi is now eating finger foods pretty much exclusively.  After a week or so of trying to force feed him purees through his pursed lips, I finally gave up and gave in to the fact that my boy was ready to eat the pea-size versions of his food.  And while I will now spend the next few months perpetually worried that he is going to choke, the positive side effect is that I no longer have to spend 15-20 minutes 3 times a day feeding him.  That's a lot of time y'all...time that can be spent straightening up, doing dishes, or even eating lunch and checking out some blogs (gasp)!

And while that is our most recent and drastic development, the fact is my increasingly mobile baby is also increasingly independent.  I don't have to carry him around 24/7.  He is very happy to be crawling and exploring and will contentedly spend his time checking out our living room while I watch.   Plus, Levi and Colton spend a lot of time torturing playing with each other which leaves me as the glorious observer, a role I am more than happy to accept!
I feel like there's a big parenting milestone at about 3 months where baby becomes more alive and transforms into a real, live human being.  But here at about 8 months or so, there is another major milestone. Baby is not as much work which leaves more time and energy to just appreciate him (and everything else for that matter).  I feel like I am 10 pounds lighter and am very excited to start this new chapter!