8 Months Old

Today is April 23rd, and that means that Jack Timothy Franklin is 8 months old. I know that 8 months is not any kind of huge watershed event in a person's life, but I thought I would take it as an opportunity to talk about my son.
Some of you know that Jack is not quite as big as we would like to see him (not that we want a future sumo wrestler) because of his spitting up problems. Those have been getting better with some medication that we have him on. He is still kind of a little guy, but nothing that is causing long-term concern. He is starting to get some chunkiness on him.
Jack is following in the footsteps of his older brother, in that he is becoming more and more independent each day. He likes to be held, but more and more he will squirm around in my arms until I put him down on the floor. Then he rolls, scoots, and semi-crawls to wherever his heart desires. I think he will be full-blown crawling within a couple of weeks. He is right on the verge.
Jack is the most delightful little baby I have ever been around. If he is crying or upset, all it takes is Karina or I smiling at him, and he returns to being in good spirits. It is a blast to be across the room from him, to hear him start to grumble, and then to see his face light up when I give him a big open-mouth smile.
Jack is a funny baby because of some of his favorite things. He still loves having his diaper changed. He shrieks with delight when we do it.
Jack also loves sucking on his socks. Now he is not to the level of his older cousin Jack, who often had to go barefoot because of his sock-sucking. Still, Jack loves to grab his feet, bring them up to his mouth, and go to town.
Jack also loves to dance with his daddy as he sings "Thank You for Loving Me" by Bon Jovi (usually accompanied by the actual song playing on my laptop). Of course, it is possible that I love this a lot more than he does. Still, he seems to get a kick out of it.
I am really thankful for my family. Jack is a great and fun kid. Karina and I really look forward to getting to know him better as he grows and gets older.