Eight Beautiful Months

Helen Grace turned eight months old on January 25th. She is such a joy, as always, but now she is more than ever a ball of energy and happiness.

• She’s about 19.5 pounds and finally fitting well into Size 3 diapers.
• She does this crazy thing when she gets a wild hair…she will grab your knee (insert whatever body part is closest to her), wrap her arms around it, ‘bite’ it, and scream- all at the same time. Random, but she gets so excited!
• When she is sleeping or eating, she will often cross her legs. Such a little lady.
• While she still goes to sleep on her side, she will wake up on her tummy most of the time. Also, when she naps, her right eye is cracked half open. She’s watching you!
• She loves to watch tv and can entertain herself better now- at least long enough for you to run to the bathroom without her throwing a fit.
• John does this thing with her that he calls the Pillsbury Dough Baby. When he pokes her tummy, she just throws her head back and giggles! It’s hilarious- he has the magic touch!
• She goes NUTS when she sees a remote, phone, camera, etc.
• She is still not crazy about being on her tummy, but she is enjoying the ‘sea'l’ position more- laying on her tummy but pushing up on her arms with her head in the air.
• She loves to shake balls and rattles in her hand. She’s getting more coordinated so that she can drop a ball through a hole in a toy or reach down and pick up the ball.
• When her bottle gets toward the end, she tries to take over and hold it on her own. She can hold it by herself, but it’s a challenge for her to get it high enough for the formula to make it to her mouth.
• She is a really good eater. She is eating all kinds of Level 2 foods, and it’s adorable how she leans into the spoon now. She always has her mouth open for more! We’ve introduced yogurt meltaways and puffs which have been a hit. Her pincher grip is amazing to watch, although sometimes instead of putting the puff or meltaway in her mouth, she prefers to hold it in her fingers and suck on it. Whatever works! I have to admit that my OCD kicks in when it comes to her hands going to her mouth when she has a mouth full of food. I have to have a wet paper towel ready to intercept her little paw!
• She can navigate a sippy cup well, but I still don’t think she understands that she’s supposed to drink the water. She doesn’t fuss if it runs out on her, but she doesn’t lift the cup up to get to the water yet.
• I’ve noticed in the last few days that she is getting more excited when she sees the cats, even across the room. She starts grunting and reaches for them. We still haven’t mastered the ‘gentle’ touch though.
• She still only has the bottom two teeth, although there has to be another one coming. Her sleep pattern has been crazy this weekend, and the drool is crazy.
• We’ve had some big developments this weekend. John and I have both witnessed her pulling up into a standing position if she can hang on to our clothes. She still can’t pull up on her activity table, but if she has a pants leg or sweatshirt to cling to, she can do it!! Also, she has mastered the raspberry, so watch out for the spit the next time you see her! And finally, I swear she is giving me kisses now- what an amazing gift!!!!! I was sitting behind her on the floor while she was playing on her activity table. She turned around and lunged at me with open arms and an open mouth, aimed right at my mouth! She’s done it twice more tonight, and while it could just be a wild hug, I’m claiming it’s a kiss. She’s also doing the cutest kissy face- like fish lips. What an amazing phase she is in…something new every day!

Eight Months Old There’s no such thing as a still baby anymore.Mama had to reach in the shot to keep her from doing a nose dive off the chair. Yet she tried again…don’t worry, we caught her…again.Checking out what little was left of our ‘ice storm’ Doing the cutie patootie kissy fish face