Eight Months

Eight months...EIGHT! Already!

Madison weighs about 20 lbs. and is around 28 inches long.

"Hi, Mr. Pooh. I'm 8 months old today. How old are you?"

"Mmmm, mmm...my bottom lip tastes gooooood!"

MOVEMENT

This past month has been a whirlwind of Madison discovering and perfecting her abilities to MOVE. She crawls like a champ...EVERYWHERE...and she's fast. She pulls up with ease, and this last week perfected her ability to safely get back down to her knees. She holds on with one hand sometimes testing her ability to balance. She's also working on "walking" along the couches once she's pulled up.

"Mom! Dad! Let me out!"

She LOVES going for the stairs in the 4 seasons room - she's working on getting up them - with Mom or Dad right by of course. I'm terrified of her falling back and bonking her head...

EATING

She nurses 4 times a day - breakfast, lunch, dinner, and before bed...and sometimes a 5th time if she wakes in the middle of the night...her middle of the night feeding is becoming more sporadic though. I should probably try and wean her totally from the middle of the night one at this point...*sigh*

She decided she doesn't like carrots anymore. So, I've given her a break, but will probably try again soon. She will eat green beans if I mix them with apples, and she also tried plums and peaches last month. She still loves squash, sweet potato, apples, and pears. She loves her Gerber puffs and 'lil crunchies (cheese puffs for babies) and can feed herself those little snacks!

I've also introduced a sippy cup to her (with water for now). She mostly plays with it, and has gotten a few sips if I tip it up, but still needs to figure out how to tip it up herself. She has also drank a few sips of water from a regular cup, too.

I think I am going to try yogurt with her this month.

TEETH
Just the two on the bottom...no visual sign of anymore...yet...but there's LOTS of drooling and chewing...so...

SLEEP
Still working on getting her to regularly sleep through the night...although, I wonder if my expectations are not realistic since the girl could be teething and is still only 8 months. I'd say she makes it through the whole night (9-11 hours total) maybe 3-4 times a week...so, I guess that's not too bad.

DOGGIES

She loves chasing after Winky and Benny. She routinely tries to "pet" Winky when he's up on the couch. He is SO patient and good to her. She pulls his hair and ears regularly and he just looks at her. He's never growled or nipped at her.

And Benny, well, Benny doesn't really like her...although she LOVES him. She always smiles at him...he just avoids her as best he can. Haha! So, I don't have a picture of the two of them. Yesterday the dogs went to the groomer, and Benny had to share the back seat with Madison. M was SO happy...she laughed and talked to him the whole time! Benny just looked annoyed and couldn't wait to get out of the car! Ha!

VOICE

Madison jabbers and squeals a LOT. It's so fun! She can be SO loud, too! No real words or regular sounds though. And, she's found her whiny voice :) She'll sometimes whine if I take a toy from her or something else she shouldn't have...or if she gets frustrated.

FAVORITES
Madison LOVES pulling all her books off her self. She also likes dumping her blocks out. Basically, all I have to do is put away all her toys and books and then let her make a mess. Whenever Daddy sings or dances she'll immediately light up. She still enjoys "Yo Gabba Gabba," and also loves the show "The Fresh Beat Band" because there is lots of singing and dancing. She still occasionally likes to be read to, and will read along with me (talks the whole time usually).

RANDOM PHOTOS

Josh wanted to take her outside yesterday to experience the grass for the first time. This was her reaction. She didn't like the way it felt. She'd try and crawl, and once her hands touched the grass she'd scream and sit right back up. It was also right before nap...so...I think we'll try again today.

Playing with Daddy.

She looks like she's in a 3-point stance and ready to play some football.

Such great posture!

I know I ALWAYS say this, but I can't believe how fast Madison is changing and how much she learns every day. She seems to do something new, cute, and/or fun EVERYDAY and I'm loving being her Mama!