Julia || 8 Months

Julia,

Here we are, yet another month has passed us right on by. This particular month just seemed to fly (so cliché, but so true - March was incredibly busy for us). It's impossible to think that in four short months we'll be celebrating your birthday.

Let's start with the biggest moment of the month... you are finally sitting. Finally!! I never thought the day would come. Just a few weeks ago I propped you up, and wouldn't  you know it, you just kind of hung out for a few minutes. After working on said skill repeatedly I think it's safe to say you've conquered that developmental milestone.

You continue to army crawl a warp speed. Your ability to move so quickly with such a labored crawl blows my mind. You do pop up on all fours and rock back and forth occasionally, but actual crawling is just out of your reach.

This month also brought a bout of RSV that wasn't much fun. You also dealt with teething in a major way.

Due to the aforementioned, sleep was less that stellar. There were so many nights we were up so many times. After fully recovering from RSV and the emergence of two bottom teeth we went right back to sleep training. We're only a week in, but nighttime sleep has improved vastly. You are generally in bed by 6:30/7, wake to nurse around 4:00, and go back to sleep until about 7:00am. You nap twice a day, and both are never more than an hour long.

Solid foods kind of took a backseat this month - again, RSV - and all you wanted to do was nurse. So that's what we did. However, the past few evenings I have been handing you strawberries the size of your head. You love to gnaw away on those things. Once they get mushy and start to break apart I take them away and we move back to the pureed foods. Lady, you love yourself some fruit. You're not real fond of veggies though (unless it's sweet potatoes - you love those, too).

Bath time forever remains your favorite time of day. Immediately following baths are your least favorite (you hate getting lotioned up and ready for bed).

Outside is your preferred hang out. If you're in a particularly grouchy mood all we have to do is head out the door and you seem instantly cured. But, typically, you go with the flow and are easy going.

You continue to adore Marcus. He is your moon and stars. Anywhere he is you want to be, too. And you could be surrounded by all of your toys, but the minute Marcus' toys come out that's all you want to play with, too. Good thing he's the best big brother and doesn't seem to mind sharing (at least for right now).

In the last month or so you've displayed serious 'stranger danger.' You very much love to be with mommy or daddy, and that's about it - unless you've really gotten to know someone outside our immediate family (it still takes a while to warm up to the grandmas and grandpas). Right now you're quite the momma's girl, and I don't hate it one bit.

Your personality continues to shine more and more with each passing month. You adore being doted on, hate being left alone for more than five seconds, have quite the flare for dramatics when something doesn't go your way, and you have the best laugh and giggle around - it's contagious and lights up any room.

Thank you for bringing that bright infectious grin to our lives every day. You are more amazing than I'll ever be able to fully express in words. Happy 8 Months, little lady.

I love you to the moon and back. Twice.

Love,
Mommy

Stats
Height:: 27ish inches
Weight:: 15.5 lbs
Clothes:: 6-9 month
Diaper:: Pampers size 2
Teeth:: TWO! Finally!
Hair:: Slowly but surely, it's growing in and growing longer. Right now I'd say it's blond with definite hints of red. It will be interesting to see if the red becomes more or less predominate as you get older.