Roddie Report: 8 months

My how time flies!  This past week Roddie passed the 8 month mark and I thought it would be worthwhile to jot down a few notes about some of his recent accomplishments.  I still haven't seen him roll from front to back, but he's taken to sleeping on his side (with his feet in the rungs of the crib) and he gets pretty close to rolling/flipping top to bottom, so I am not really worried.  Other cool stuff he's been up to include

• Clapping!  First he discovered one hand with the other, and that he could put them together.  He moved on to random clapping and will now clap along with us!
• Crawling... oh so close!  He's refined the 'dive' from sitting such that he stays on his knees.  He then rocks or bounces to try to get moving.  Having discovered that that does not work, he's now reaching with one hand and just yesterday started to move his knees, though he hasn't figured out how to use all this to propel himself forward yet.
• Moving... that's not to say he's not on the move.  He's become a champ at slithering backwards, and I'll often find him with his feet stuck under the sofa, a few feet from where I left him.
• Standing... he loves to stand now, either holding on to something or someone.  He's not a jumper, like Norah was, but he's been bouncing, trying out his new moves.  I would not say cruising is imminent, but he's getting ready
• Eating... oh my this kid is eating!  Since he's been feeling better, he's kept up 25-30+oz of formula AND eating at least 3 full meals (baby sized!)  He's also started on finger foods - puffs, cheerios and small bits of bananas.  As a result he's busting out of all his clothing and also his infant carseat! 
• Best of all.... he has been healthy for the past 2 weeks - not a single trip to the doctor nor reason for concern!  I've been to work for 10 consecutive days, and as a result my stress level is reduced.  Life is good!