JuJu! You are 8 months! WHAT?! So biggie!! I am loving this stage with you!! You are happy and loving life and are so easy! I feel like you're really coming into your personality and are becoming more and more expressive.
We spent some extended time with both sides of the family recently, and you're visibly much more comfortable around everyone. You give more smiles and giggles now that you previously reserved mostly for mommy, daddy, and Olivia.
Physically you're growin' growin' growin'! You've moved up to size 3 diapers and are almost out of 6-9 month clothes. You have plenty of hair (much more than your sister did at your age) and your eyes are still such a strikingly beautiful shade of blue. Strangers often comment on how pretty your eyes are.
You are on the move! I wouldn't say you're technically crawling just yet, because you haven't figured out how to get those knees up under you and move forward. You have, however, pretty much mastered the army crawl and are fast! Just yesterday I set you down in the living room, ran to the garage to grab something, and when I came back you were already two rooms over and by the front door. You looked pretty pleased with yourself when I scooped you up.
Your teeth have finally popped through your gums and you have two tiny bottom front teeth. With the appearance of teeth we've started giving you banana and sweet potato teethers, puffs, and yogurt bites. You're a big fan of food and I love watching you attempt to grab puffs and put them in your mouth. Gah, you're stinkin' cute, baby girl! This month we added butternut squash, apples, pears, and purple sweet potato to your diet. You weren't a fan of apples or pears (just like Olivia!) until we mixed them with banana and then you didn't seem to mind in the least!
You've started to make more intentional sounds. You can make a pffffffft noise with your lips and you crack yourself up. Recently you've also started to say, "dada" and "mama".
When I was pregnant with you I had so many people and strangers "warn" me about how "dangerous" it was to have a toddler around a baby. I grew increasingly worried about how Olivia and you would get along. However, it is one of my biggest joys in life to watch how well you and Olivia interact together. You adore Olivia and she loves you so much. Olivia lights up when she greets you in the morning and will often give you hugs and kisses and tell you "I love you, JuJu" out of nowhere. Now that you're sitting up and can move on your own and now that your motor skills are getting better and better, you two can play together more effectively. I love watching y'all play together. Oh em gee. My heart.
You're still a great napper (hooray!) and give me good morning and afternoon naps, usually an hour and half to two hours long each. We had you sleeping through the night, but that kind of got reset on our Leeper family vacation. The past week you've been determined to get up between 5:30am-6:30am and I'm not appreciating that so much. But you generally wake up so happy and chatty that I can't help but happily scoop you up.
We took you to Hilton Head Island for the first time this past month. Mommy has been vacationing there since she was a baby and I love that you got to experience it too! (Thanks for the vacay and continuing traditions, Lolly and G-Daddy!!)
Sweet girlie girl, these have been the best 8 months with you. Daddy, Olivia, and I are so happy you're part of the family. Thank you for enriching our lives and bringing so much sweetness and joy with you wherever you go. Happy 8 Months munchkin!!
