8 Months!!!

OHMIGOSH!!! Lila Jane! You are EIGHT months old! That's 3/4 of a YEAR! How did this happen???
You are about 19 lbs and 29 inches. You are really not a chunky baby at all. As much as you eat, I keep thinking you'll chunk up, but you never have. You have skinny little arms and legs, but an average sized torso. You seem REALLY long to me, but that's because I still like to think of you as that tiny newborn.
You're still an AWESOME eater! We have yet to find ANYthing you won't eat. Except baby food, of course. You KNOW you are too grown for that mushy stuff. You still get a bottle of thawed breastmilk every morning, and take a full bottle of formula every night. You're not really interested in drinking much throughout the day, though. You usually graze on about 6-8 ounces of formula the whole rest of the day.

You are the HAPPIEST baby! You very rarely cry, and that's typically only if you're really hurt or have a reason to be upset. You "fuss" some, and let us know what you want, but it's typically very easy to make you smile and laugh, even when you're very tired or hungry. On your Birthday, we went to dinner at Rich O's with Doug and Michelle, and Mike, Sarah, and Joanna. I was nervous about going knowing how long it takes to get a table and get food there, but you did AWESOME! We finished dinner right at your bedtime, but Daddy and Mike decided they needed to make a stop at Bass Pro Shop on the way home. (More on that in another blog entry!) I was CERTAIN you'd fall apart at some point, but once again, you proved me wrong! We were just starting to get really sleepy in the car when we arrived at Bass Pro, and I lugged you out of the car. We put you in the seat in a shopping cart, and you perked right up and started giggling!! You laughed and talked the whole time we were there!! You are seriously the BEST BABY EVER!

You're hitting some huge milestones right now! You spent your first vacation away from mommy and daddy this month. We went to Chicago for a few nights, and you stayed with Mim and Pop in Mayfield. We were gone for FIVE nights, and you did awesome! Mommy was a little sad, but we all had a great time! While you were there, you popped a new tooth! You got a great big front tooth on top! The day after you came home, you got TWO more teeth on top! You are up to a grand total of SIX teeth.

You're REALLY trying to crawl now. You get all ready up on your hands and knees, then you forget what to do. Sometimes your arms work, and sometimes your legs work, but if they ever both work together, you only go backward. I think you're just days away from putting it all together and shooting off. I find myself torn between cheering for you and pushing you to do more, while all the same wanting to slow you down and keep you from becoming more and more independent.

Your best time of day is first thing in the morning. You usually wake up and cry out once or twice around 7:00, but then you get quiet again. That's when I get up and get ready for work. I'll often start hearing you talking in your room around 7:45 or 8ish. One morning this week you still weren't making any noise around 8:10, so I went in to wake you up. There you sat, bright eyed and busy tailed in the middle of your bed, playing with a baby doll! I have no idea how long you had been awake. I'm starting to wonder if you're actually waking up for the day that first time and laying in there playing! Either way, no matter what time I come in, you look at me and smile like your whole world just walked in the door. My heart swells and pounds every. single. time. I always sing the Good Morning song to you, and we both just stare at each other for a minute before I can put you down again to change your diaper. I am the luckiest mommy in the whole wide world to get to be a part of your life, Lila Jane!!
We took to our friends' house for some pool time this weekend. It was your first time in a real pool! You were a little hesistant at first, but ended up LOVING the water! We took you a few little toys, and you were just as content as could be. Thanks SO much to Sage and Jim for inviting us over! Our friends Karen and Jeremiah came as well and brought their little man, Phineas. He's such a cutie! The babies had such a good time splashing around, then playing together for a little while. The grown-ups had a great time as well! Jim's daughter Erika did a great job of playing and entertaining the babies for us so we could chat for a while.

I think this next picture totally sums up how you feel about eating. I feel the same way, honey. Check out that destroyed hair!
The Birthday Girl! I still love dressing you up, but your bows never last long anymore. You are a master at picking them out! You often reach up to pull them out even when you don't have one on! I'm SO sad because you've finally reached the point that you're getting frustrated with dresses. When you start trying to scoot around and crawl, they get all tangled up. I'm trying to be good and only put you in things you can move in, but I figure you can still wear dresses when we go to dinner and things like that.
I had you in your pretty little dress for your Birthday, but you were getting frustrated, so I came in and started changing you into a simple little play outfit. I had you just about changed when your teachers told me you were about to go on a buggy ride through the hospital. OH NO! I couldn't let you go over and see everyone at the hospital in your PLAY clothes! I quickly changed you back into your pretty dress and anchored your bow tightly under your pony tail in hopes it would last through the hospital. Melissa and Cherry told me it lasted most of the trip, but it was definitely gone by the time you got back to school. As soon as you got back, I took your tiny pony tail out and put your play clothes back on you. BUT...we were going out to dinner with friends, so I put your dress back on you before we left school! HA! I know my days are numbered that I'll get to play dress up with you, so I'll make the most of it while I can.
I know this is getting long, but honestly I could talk about you all day. I could tell about how you've been really starting to say Dadada and Maaamaaa like you know what you're talking about. I could talk about how you now give us ZRBT's and big wet open mouthed kisses and bury your face in our necks. I could talk about your independence and determination as you're learning all of your new tricks. You are the absolute light of my life, Lila, and your daddy just happens to feel the same way about you. We love you more than we ever knew possible, and we can't wait to see what kind of little lady you become. But, just remember....take your time.