8 Months Old

There is so much going on in our lives right now that I have barely had time to eat, much less make your 8 month update!

So, 9 days late, here it is!

You had yet another ear infection.

We have noticed that when you are starting to get one, that you put your hand by your ear like you are talking on the phone.  You also get really fussy while you eat, probably because it hurts your ears to suck on your bottle.

Dr. Stone says 2 more in the next few months, and we will have to start thinking about tubes.  Luckily, a round of antibiotics usually clears it right up!

I've already blogged about your first Halloween, and your first trip to the Peanut Festival.  Two very big occassions.

You wore this precious outfit that Nanny gave you.  I swear you are a living doll.

You are a girl who loves to eat.  Here you are after a battle with some carrots.

And with MumMums, which are rice rusks.  You like to munch on them!

Your hair is out. of.  control.

It looks like this no matter what I do to it.  Clean, dirty, hat, headband...it sticks straight up.  And it's blonde.  Sigh.

We've had more success with the Johnny Jump Up, although you haven't quite figured out how to jump in it.  Just swing around.

You love your feet.  As soon as I take your pants off for a diaper change or to change clothes, your hands go straight for your feet.  

 You are teething big time, and every toy goes straight for your mouth.

 Poor Mr. Pig.

You are also still obsessed with your hands.  I don't know why I bother spending money on

toys, because you would rather play with your hands.

You and Daddy went to Jackson for a few days to see PawPaul and Bebe.  I missed you soooooooooo much, but you had a big time.  Here you are FaceTiming with me.  You had a small sty on your eye, making it red in the corner.  Daddy had to keep warm compresses on it a few times a day.

You also went to your Uncle Willie's basketball game while you were in Jackson.  This is your sweet cousin Jack, who is just a bit older than you.  They said you really liked playing with Jack!

I was elated when you came back home.

One of the BIGGEST milestones this month is that you finally sat up on your own without toppling over like a Weeble!

Mommy had started to get a bit worried that you hadn't hit this milestone yet, but one day, you sat.  And it was like you'd been doing it your whole life.

Now you sometimes prefer to be sitting by yourself and playing with toys, as opposed to being held.

You are mostly in 9 month clothing, and a few 12 month items.  I have got to get in your closet this weekend and pack up all your 6 month stuff.  You are so big!

I'm guessing you are around 20 pounds and 30 inches tall.  You go on December 19th for your 9 month check up, so we'll see what he says.  

You are such a sweet and pleasant child.  You grin and laugh all the time.

God works in such mysterious ways - He made you perfectly to blend with our family.  You have the best qualities of both me and Your Daddy.  I am constantly reminded about just how blessed I am.  Everything else in the world can be wrong and upside down, but I have you, Your Daddy, and Charlotte, and I have all I need.

I love you, my sweet daughter.

Your First National Peanut Festival

Some people look forward to Christmas all year.  Or their birthday.  Or some other major annual event.

But me?  I look forward to one specific day all year long.

The day that we can go to the National Peanut Festival.

And all my life, I have dreamed about taking my children to the Peanut Festival and showing them the wonders and sites of a fair that is based around peanuts and food and farm animals and rides and spending time with family and friends.

Ok, so maybe you didn't get that into it this year, but next year...

We started out the day by taking our annual picture by the big entrance peanut.  

It was HOT outside.  Dothan weather never ceases to amaze me.

And first thing - we ran into the NPF queens! 

Miss NPF is Whitney, who was our Miss Houston County.  So for two years in a row, Houston County has had a queen win a NPF pageant - Jules as Little Miss NPF last year, and Whitney this year!  We are SO proud of our girls!

Next, it was time for lunch.  The BEST part.

You didn't have any corndogs, don't worry.  Those are not in your diet yet.  

BUT you did have a little bit of powdered sugar from a funnel cake!

You weren't sure at first, but you LOVED it.  You kept trying to lick it off your face.  

SO CUTE.

Your Daddy always gets his picture made on a tractor, and he was SO excited to take you up on one this year.

We walked around the midway to see all the rides, and then we got GiGi to walk through the petting zoo!

You were going to go too, but you decided to take a nap.  GiGi, of course, didn't touch any of the animals.

GiGi took you back home so Mom and Dad could have some fun with our friends, too.

You ate carrots (and your hands)...

Had a bath...

And watched the Alabama game with GiGi!

 We had so much fun taking you to your first Peanut Festival!  Next year is going to be even more fun!

Your First Halloween

I'm sorry to admit this to you, but Your Mommy is kind of a Halloween Scrooge.

Of all holidays, this is my least favorite.

It's not to say that next year we won't go Trick or Treating, but this year, I just didn't really see the point.

Your Daddy was working, we weren't invited to any parties, and you go to bed at 7pm.  You can't walk, and you don't eat the candy.

So your first Halloween was spent at Target, buying you a new hat and jacket...

And playing with toys on the couch until you got sleepy...

While Mommy watched Halloween Wars on Food Network.

Our front porch light was out, but that didn't stop the Trick or Treaters.

TWO rang our doorbell last night, sending Charlotte into a rampage and waking you up.

Some kids I guess just don't know the rules - No lights, no candy.

You do have some awesome Halloween jammies, though.

Those hands.  I can't keep them out of your mouth.

NEXT year, we will really have your first Halloween.  I promise.

Seven Months Old

Today, you are seven months old.

Part of me is sad that we are now closer to one year old than we are to your day you were born.  The other part of me loves every bit of the way you are growing and learning and expressing your personality. 

You are one amazing little human being.

Since your six month birthday...

We met two girls we have been dying to meet for a very long time.  I am a part of a Facebook group of moms who all had babies in March.  We all met on thebump.com, and have made the move to Facebook.  We share stories, funnies, milestones, pictures, and problems.  We are such a close group and I know more about these women than I do a lot of people in my own town.

So when Elizabeth said she and Hannah would be in Destin for a few weeks with her family, we knew it was way too close for us not to make the trip to see them.  

Hannah was a preemie and was born in February.  You two were instant best friends.  She is PRECIOUS, and so is her mother. 

 

It was so nice to FINALLY meet these two beautiful girls.

Gigi came with us, and we made a day trip out of it.  We went shopping at the outlets, where Gigi loaded you up on new clothes, and we went to Baytowne.  We had to make your picture in the big chair.

It's amazing just how tiny you really are.

We swapped you from your pumpkin car seat to your convertible car seat.  

It also means that you're sitting in high chairs.

I got free tickets to the Miranda Lambert concert at Oak Mountain Amphitheatre.  We couldn't find a sitter for that night, so we decided to just take you with us. We put you in several layers, a hat, and the Baby Bjorn and went for it.

Your Daddy was FREAKING OUT.  He was worried it was too loud, or it was too cold, or that people were staring at us because we had a baby at a concert.

But when the people on the row in front of us said it was raining at their house five minutes from the amphitheatre, he couldn't stand it.  I told him that we could go stand by the exit, that way if it started to rain, we wouldn't be caught up in the crowds trying to get down the stairs.  As soon as we got down there, we felt a few rain drops.  It was too much for Your Daddy to handle, so we left.

We love him because he loves you more than anything.

Gigi came up the weekend of your Baby Dedication, which I've already posted about.  She went with us to the pumpkin patch, and then we went shopping and to dinner at Surin West after.

You really wanted some of our creme brulee.

I gave you a sippy cup to play with.  You're not quite sure what to do with it yet, except that it has handles and you can pick it up.

You love to eat.  You love to eat so much, that you talk with your mouth full.

You love veggies way more than you like fruits.  Your favorites are mixes with sweet potatoes and peas.  You went from hating sweet potatoes to loving them overnight.

You sit in your highchair and play a lot.  You love this book that has crinkly pages and animals that you can feel.

You also love this little piano.  You laugh when it turns itself off and says, "GOODBYE!"

You hate your Johnny Jump Up.  We'll try it again in a few days.

Sometimes, I think you are part pterodactyl.

Other times, I think you are part lizard.

At all times, you are a wonderfully happy baby.  I actually have people ask if you're real. You are happy all the time.  You laugh and smile, and really ham it up for strangers.  You even got two teeth and we barely noticed.

You are completely off your reflux medicine.  You still spit up a good bit, but you are not in pain.

People watching is your favorite hobby.  When we go to restaurants, your head is constantly turning while you look around at all the people.  You are so observant, and we can see the wheels turning in your brain while you learn about your surroundings.

You and Daddy come eat with me on Fridays.  Daddy loves to dress you up for our lunch dates.  We are so thankful for him.  He takes such good care of you while I work.  And then he goes to his job, where he works hard to provide for us.  We love Daddy.

Some more favorite shots from this past month:

 I take such great joy and pride in you, my sweet daughter.  Thank you for letting me be your Mommy.