8 months, already!

We can hardly believe Natalie is 8 months old already! Her little personality is really starting to show.

Her latest tricks & habits:
* Natalie is getting more mobile. In the past two weeks, she's getting less and less interested in just sitting and playing with toys. She'll sit for a few minutes, and then she is leaning over to get a new toy, or transitioning to a crawling stance. She goes around and around in circles and backwards. I've seen her attempt forward movements, but the coordination is not quite there. She can almost sit back up when she is down on all-fours.

When she does circles, she always turns to her right, and she's got a unique system. She extends her right leg and then shifts her hands. Difficult to explain! Easier to see.






* Talking and more noises. She has been laughing a lot! Sometimes it is just totally random and unprovoked by us. She's also discovering her tongue and making "P" and "F" noises (which causes lots of drool)! Just this week she has been squealing by sucking in air. It's fun to watch her learn what she can do.

* Natalie doesn't mind being in the car anymore. On short rides, she'll talk to herself and play with rattles. If we're near nap-time, or have been out and about for a while, she will even nap in the car! This is such an improvement over those first months of screaming.

* She is busy! When we hold her in our laps or our arms, she is constantly reaching to grab anything in sight. On the couch, she will practically climb out of my arms to get the closest object (if its an electronic, its even more interesting. Gotta watch our cell phone and remotes).


* Natalie is a great eater so far. She hasn't turned down anything we've offered. I don't know the order anymore, but she's had: peas, green beans, squash, sweet potato, apples, pears, peaches, mangoes, bananas, watermelon, chicken, pork, rice (she tried a little tonight), broccoli, corn (haven't given these last two much), bites of pancake and a few tastes of "puffs" (cheerios for babies). She did good at picking the puffs up, but she couldn't figure out how to get them in her mouth. They mostly just stuck to her palms. We'll try again in a week or so and see if it's any easier.

* She's starting to lift her arms up when you go to pick her up.
* She's "waved" bye-bye a few times, but I think it was probably accidental.
* She moves around her crib. Front to back, left to right, she's never where we leave her.
* She's rolling over a bunch. Sometimes when she is doing her circles, she'll push and end up on her back. She'll roll right back over and start again. She also rolls over and sleeps on her stomach most nights.
* Natalie's getting good at putting herself to sleep. If we catch the sleep signs, we just give her the pacifier and her blankie, put her in the crib and say goodnight. Most nights & naps she doesn't even fuss! She's still sleeping 7pm - 7:30am. Some nights a little more, and rarely a little less.

Stats for the month:
16.5 lbs
27 inches
Size 3 diapers
Size 6-9 mo clothes

We are really enjoying all of the (constant) changes!

More pictures from the past few weeks.

First trip to the lake! She didn't mind the cold water at all.


The life jacket wasn't a big hit, but after we got moving she was fine with it.


Starting young with technology...


Just waking up from her nap. Nice hair!


Playing Peek-a-boo.