Oh, Val. Today you are 8 months old. That's the better part of a whole year already.
You've been quite busy this last month, in many ways busier than any other month since your arrival. On 12/23, I was wrapping presents while you played on the floor near me. Then I blinked and you were crawling across the floor to get the remote. Crawling!
The very next day you decided it was high time to pull yourself up on anything that looks like it will hold you. With great glee, you hoist yourself up, then smack the shit out of the table, the wall, the cardboard box. You've also expanded this skill to include standing, unassisted, for a few seconds at a time, though you don't really seem to notice this.
Food. God, how you love solid foods. You're not too fond of jarred baby foods, though you'll tolerate them if you're hungry enough. Peas are okay in small doses, same goes for green beans and most vegetables. You have almost no patience for those 'dinners' with a meat and a veggie together. But you'll eat anything, anything, if it involves fruit.
This is where I wonder if you're really my child. But I celebrate your love of fruits just the same. You'll eat jarred peaches, pears, apples, bananas, anything from the fruit family. But you get soooo happy when we give you actual pears or peaches to feed yourself.
Boy, do you know how to gum.
But gumming's not all you're doing these days. No, last week you got 3 teeth in a damn hurry. Your first? On the bottom left, followed by two toothlets on top. I know the arrival of those teeth had to have hurt but so far you're bearing the pain like a trooper.
I realized this morning that if today is 8 months for you, yesterday was 8 months ago for the hardest day of my life, the day I was in labor with you. That I didn't remember about that anniversary until afterwards is a really great thing.
But back to you. Your hobbies include clapping, arm flapping and flirting with strangers. You also enjoy shopping:
We take you everywhere. You go to the rink, to restaurants, to stores, on trips. Your sleep at night is still not your best event. If we're lucky, we might all get 5 hours in a row. I can't remember what sleeping for longer feels like. But I assure you, whenever that day comes I'll be grateful for it's return. We're working towards giving you something to hold on to at night so maybe you can soothe yourself back to sleep now and then. It worked for a little while last night, anyway.
You still love the boob. More than ever. You know the sign for milk, when we make that sign you go crazy, flapping around to get to the source. So far you're being very well behaved with your teeth in that department so there will be no hurried weaning just yet.
Though I've begun dreaming of that day when you are weaned. I'm going to get myself a 'Ween' t-shirt and wear it once you've moved on from the boob. Though I'm sure I'll miss parts of that time we share, I'll also be happy to see it end. It'll be high time you and I both move on in that department.
You remain a happy girl. People comment on how happy you are, because I guess babies are supposed to cry all the time? I dunno, I only know you. And I know that we do everything we can to keep you happy, interested and paying attention in your world.
2 years and 4 months until you start hockey lessons. I can't wait. God, I hope you like it.
