8 Months Old

My little bitty baby is now two-thirds of a year old. Adrienne is really changing quickly, and seems like such a big girl these days. Her daddy recently taught her how to show us just how big she is.

If you re-watch that clip, you can also observe two of Adrienne's trademarks: the "shy face" (where she dips her head down and sheepishly grins), and her ear piercing squeal. She really has turned on the personality this month, and we love her curiosity, determination, and social nature.

Just a few facts to record about our 8 month old....

Adrienne can't seem to get her act together in the night sleep department. Either that, or her mother can't bear to do what must be done. It is never fun to be the bad guy, and it seems Adrienne isn't going to learn to sleep all night unless I become more intentional about teaching her to do so. She is consistently up at least twice per night to eat, despite markedly upping her intake of solids.

Speaking of eating, the little lady enjoys a good feast. About a week before we left for Hawaii, she had a yucky cold and suddenly stopped eating solids. Since we've returned, she can't seem to eat enough of them. In fact today she ate a bowl of oat cereal with a jar of mango-pear mixed in for breakfast, a large jar of sweet potatoes and a whole container of yo-baby yogurt for lunch, and a large container of broccoli-apple puree and a half a container of carrot-apple puree for dinner. New foods she has tried this month include: pureed blueberries, broccoli, pumpkin, spinach, yogurt, avocado, and mango. She also enjoys finger feeding with puffs and diced bananas, and does well drinking water from a sippy cup. I can't remember the last time she's had a bottle, and at this late point in her first year, I'm not inclined to get her started.

Adrienne is driven to move. The girl is busy, and reminds me so much of Jillian at this age in her curious exploration. The childcare worker at Bible study summed her up pretty well in her comment to me this morning: "Adrienne is the only baby here who can keep the baby swing moving all by herself, long after we've turned it off!" I am not surprised. She can crawl incredibly fast, and is usually headed in the direction you prefer she avoid. She is masterful at finding cords, outlets you thought you covered, and the tiniest dangerous object somehow left on the floor. Changing her diaper is next to impossible, as she just sits straight up (as if she was doing a true sit up) and dives forward to grab whatever she can find on the changing table. To say she is a wiggle worm is a gross understatement. The kid is persistent and requires nearly all of my strength to get her changed. Adrienne now pulls to stand frequently--on laundry baskets, the dishwasher door, the baby gate, her activity table, and when she is really desperate, she attempts (unsuccessfully, so far) to pull up on my pant leg. Earlier this week, I walked into her room when she woke from her nap and saw this

Interestingly, I got a similar shot of Jillian doing this very thing during the exact same week of development (and in the same sleep sack even!)

The deja vu I experience with these girls is crazy sometimes. If nothing else, they are pretty consistent! Matt promptly lowered the crib to the toddler setting, so Adrienne appears safe. For now.

I am sure we are in for even bigger developmental changes this month as she tests her new abilities and pushes the limits of safe exploration in the house--all while certainly wearing her big, toothy, charming, adorable grin.

I could eat this baby up. Seriously.