"Sweet Thing" {8 Months}

Our "Little Sweet Thing" is 8 months old today.  I thought 6 months was going to be this significant milestone but it seems as though she skipped right on past that.  For her 7 month post, I focused on things like; she enjoys reading books, can stand unsupported and sits up all day long without getting tired.  It's amazing in one month how much she has built on those things!  I must say that Carly has changed faster in the past three weeks than any three week span of time before and if I don't keep writing I'm going to miss something!  I feel like all of a sudden I have a little person maneuvering around the house rather than a little baby. It's weird to think less than 8 months ago she couldn't do much but eat, poop and cry.  So, with that said, here are the highlights for month ocho:

• She has begun some army crawling and if she has the will she can crawl to whatever she wants.  Her perception of what's in reach is still very near-sighted which seems strange, but I suppose its all part of her cognitive development.  Therefore, she wont dart toward the TV from her play area I think because she doesn't realize that she can.  Oh how that will change in probably a few short months...weeks?  
• Her balance is impeccable and everyday she can walk farther or stand longer.  She hasn't conquered pulling herself up yet, but you can bet she will try!  If I sit her down within reach of an upward surface, she will be climbing it in no time at all.  She was so content sitting last month...but that has quickly passed.  She just wants to be walking.
• Bedtime has become a quick and easy process.  This little girl loves going to bed at night!  She puts her head on my shoulder during "Goodnight Moon," smiles and coos during her bedtime lullaby, "You Are Mine," and gets all squirmy during her goodnight prayer.  She nurses real fast, is given her paci and laid in bed where she enjoys sprawling out and diving into snooze time.  From the time we walk into her bedroom to get jammies on to the time she is in her bed is a 10-15 minute process (compared to a half hour last month).
• Reading books is a frequent pass-time in this household.  Any time Carly gets fussy (if she's not tired or hungry), we cuddle up on the couch to read her 5 favorite books over and over again.  She turns the pages quite aggressively and is very proud that she can do so.
• Eats 3 meals/day, with the serving size increasing nearly every 5 days
• LOVES feeding herself.  We ran out of puffs this week so I started breaking up pieces of a tortilla and giving her that.  Not the most nutritious thing in the world, but it keeps her happy during dinner
• Refuses to stay on her back during diaper changes. :/
• Despises getting dressed
• Her favorite place to play is on top of the sink in our bathroom with our toothbrushes, hair brush, comb, toothpaste and tube of foundation.  Makes it pretty convenient when I have to get ready for work
• Wakes up in the morning and beelines it for the random trinkets sitting on our night stands
• Has grown out of most of her "baby" toys and is needing some "big girl" toys to keep her entertained, challenged and growing.
• Her hair is growing very very fast, and almost needs to be pinned back or it has the potential to get in her eyes! :)
• Enjoys riding in her stroller (yay) and is more than happy to go for a jog with me for 30-45 minutes (that's a long time for a little person)

Carly still doesn't have a consistent schedule, but it is more predictable than ever before.  Her bedtime is a solid and consistent 8:30pm and she joins us in bed about 5:30-6am and generally sleeps until 7:30-8am but every now and then is up for the day at 6am.  She nurses at 5:30am, 8:30am, 11:30am, 2:30pm, 5:30pm, 8:30pm and eats meals at roughly 10:30am, 3:30pm & 7pm (I know, we need to get these to the normal meal eating times).  She naps either twice or three times per day, depending on how long the nap is.  Most days she will take one nap over an hour, but its still not something we can bet on yet.  Other than that, she is up and playing most of the day and often times 3 hours at one interval!

She gets longer and heavier daily, but we don't go to the doctor until next month, so I don't have any stats for her. 

So, she is eating finger foods, walking along furniture, sleeping on her back, side or tummy, riding in the stroller and army crawling and we have introduced her to new games, her highchair, lowered her crib mattress, and have begun safety proofing the house all in the past week!  I'm adjusting to the shock of her being a different kid than she was three weeks ago and she's adjusting to her new skills.  I'd say it's going rather well. :)

Her 8-month photos look slightly different than the previous months because she absolutely refused to pose on her back.  Exhibit A:

So, instead I have some photos of her on her tummy.  She's even cuter from that angle, anyway. ;)

And of course, my favorites from each month, the poses of her sitting up and smiling.  She looks very different depending on the smile she gives.

She's quite the spark plug and if this blog post was a tweet (I don't yet have a twitter account), I would hash tag it, #strongwilled!  I don't know what I ever did to be privileged enough to have the role of being this sweet girl's mommy.