Alexander, Declan, and Brendan: Declan

Declan,

You are 8 months old now! We had so much fun leading up to this point. This month of your life started with St. Patrick's Day. We headed downtown for the parade this year. It was a gorgeous day and you enjoyed the fresh air and all the crazy stuff going on around us. We met Gram and Poppy down there as well as your Aunt Elizabeth. We even gave you a couple hours of a helmet break so you could wear your cute little hat.

You did quite well with all the stimulation, but we did have to take a little break for some food. I love how your hand is reaching up out of the nursing cover here:

We hung out as long as we could, but eventually both you and your brother were exhausted. You fell asleep in the car on the way home:

It was a great day!

We continued to take advantage of the gorgeous weather we have been having by going to the park a lot. You love to watch your brother run around the park and you think it is so funny when he shouts your name from the tunnel. You love to play with the rocks (sand) in the pits. You pick it up with your little fingers and let it fall back to the ground. Sometimes you even try to eat it, but brother reminds you that "That's not food, Declan!" You ride down the slide on mommy's lap sometimes and Alex likes to sit next to you on the slide until mommy can get up there with you:

You and your brother have been getting along quite well lately. Alex just loves being your big brother. He likes to read books to you too.

You love hanging out with Alex and you always want to play with him. Sometimes, however, he does not want you messing with his stuff, namely his trains.

But in general you guys get along quite well. Shortly after he freaked out on you for getting his trains, he was calling for you to come play with him:

You and Alex have also started taking baths together too. It's so much fun to see you guys play together in the bath tub. You don't last as long as your brother in the tub, but it won't be long till you are just splashing right along with him. It's fun to see you guys growing up together:

It has also become possible for me to take you both to the grocery store together. You can now ride up front while brother rides in the basket:

It was about time to start getting ready for Easter this month, so the Easter Bunny came to Alex's school. You were both pretty indifferent to this bunny, but I did get a cute picture of you guys:

Your Auntie Jackie came to visit you this month too. You two had not yet met so this was and even more special visit. Since Easter was upon us, she brought you an Easter Basket. You love the little chick toy she gave you as well as the monster truck! We did so many fun things with Jackie in town. We spent some time at the Zoo. You loved looking at the Hippos and the fish as well as all the other animals.

We also went to Adriana's. She let you play with her straw while the two of you just laughed and laughed. You loved hanging out with your Auntie Jackie!

That Sunday was Palm Sunday, so we did the DeSmet Easter Egg Hunt. It was a rainy day that day, so the hunt was moved indoors. You and your brother searched for eggs in the library. You weren't quite sure what was going on, but seemed to enjoy grabbing the eggs and sucking on them anyway.

You and Alex also sat on the Easter Bunny's lap after the DeSmet Easter Egg Hunt. Alex thought this bunny was pretty funny. You just wanted to chew on his hand:

There is a reason you wanted to chew on the Easter Bunny's hand. You got your first tooth exactly on your 8 month birthday. Your bottom right tooth poked through on 4/15/14. You took it like a champ and were not too terribly fussy through the whole thing.

You are such a wonderfully happy baby, Declan! And you are so easy to make laugh: