eight months!

Millie is EIGHT months old today!!

It also happens to be Easter and Matt's birthday today, hence the lateness of this post. Lucky for her, she's entirely too cute for me to skip doing a picture-heavy monthly update!

In short, her eighth month was totally awesome. This is definitely the best age ever and I would like her to pause here permanently. I know I say that every month, but this time I really mean it. Like reallyreallyreally. I just want to gather her up and run to find the Fountain of Youth, wherever it may be, and fill up her bottle with whatever's in it. Really. And then she'll drink it all, because that's what she does when she meets a bottle.

Hey! Who you talkin' about?

Aliases: No changes here. Millie, Mills, Millsie, Nuggie, Nugs, Snugs.

Have you ever seen anyone more snuggier than me?

Stats: She had a quick visit to the doctor on Friday to get a shot, but that meant we got to be weighed- she's 20 pounds and 5 ounces. Which is actually a teeny bit less than she weighed for last month's update (20 pounds 7 ounces)...I'm guessing all of her nonstop jumping and general snugginess can account for burning a lot of calories? At any rate, she's not in danger of being called skinny anytime soon.

Still in mostly nine-month clothes and size three disposables. I have recently confirmed, however, that her feet are truly itty-bitty and not remotely proportional to the rest of her. I suspected her feet were pretty small since she's been wearing the same pair of shoes since she was about 4 months old...but I confirmed it when I bought her a pair of summer sandals the other day. They're size 6-9 months, and they are like flippers on her.

Don't laugh! I have tiny nuggie feet!

You can't tell, but there's also about a spare inch of shoe width-wise as well. Sooo...back to the store, got some newborn sized shoes, and we're back in business. Maybe we'll wear these next summer, ha.

Habits:

• Eating: Well, she's a fan. She gets five 7-ounce bottles of formula (with a splash of prune or apple juice to keep things moving) each day plus table food at dinner and usually some yogurt at breakfast. On weekends, she eats table food with us for each meal!

I reallllllly like yogurt, Mommy! Is it time for breakfast again yet?

She's doing awesome with baby-led weaning still- she TOTALLY has the hang of picking up food, putting it in her mouth, and chewing. Swallowing is still hit-or-miss, but she's definitely swallowing some now...and gagging a lot less, so all signs are pointing in the right direction! She has super awesome hand-eye coordination now as well as really good fine motor skills (compared to other babies her age that I've watched), so I attribute that to the BLW. Really, my favorite thing about it is that it's just so much fun for all of us. Meals aren't frustrating or full of power struggles (like I remember having when I would be babysitting and feel like the baby just HAD to finish a jar of food or something)...she eats and plays alongside us and so far seems to have a really positive relationship with food. She also makes HUGE messes, but a little cleaning is well worth it to me. Her favorites are strawberries, cucumbers, apples, pears, yogurt, broccoli, bananas, carrots, and oddly enough- dill pickles. She's tried tons more foods and hasn't seemed to dislike anything...although sometimes it seems that she prefers whatever is easiest to manipulate with her hands...which tends to be things that are less slippery and squishy. Avocado is still really hard for her!         

• Sleeping: No real changes here. Awesome nighttime sleeper (8:30 p.m.-7:15 a.m. on weekdays, 8:30 p.m.-8:00 a.m.ish on weekends), hit-or-miss daytime napper. If she gets a combined total of 2 hours of daytime sleep during the week, I call it a win. On weekends, we can usually get her to nap a bit better. And even though she's a big girl now, she will still totally take a nap in mama's arms.

• Bathing: Still her favorite. I am getting so excited that swimming season is so close!! She is going to LOVE it!

Likes: Oh, everything. Especially her mama and daddy! She's become pretty clingy this month and will take awhile to want anyone else to hold her (or even look at her- she's been known to burst out crying when people just get too close and look at her too hard!), but that definitely doesn't bother me too much! She LOVES being outside- sometimes she'll be cranky for no apparent reason, but even walking towards the front door will get her happy- and then once we're out, she's all good. But then if we have to go back in, it's bad. So I guess it's a double-edged sword. I hope this isn't indicative that she's going to prefer a lifetime of camping trips to serve as vacations...

She LOVES animals. All of them. Any of them. She wants to touch them all.

Otis!!! You are a beautiful animal, come lick my face and be my friend forever!

Mommy, I don't want to look at the camera again. I want to look at this camel. And take him home forever.

She also loves books, knocking over towers of blocks, going on walks (oh yeah, that's outside...), shaking toys that make sounds, and banging things together. Maybe she'll be a percussionist! A drum-playing, tent-camping, bibliophile veterinarian. That sounds about right.

Dislikes: Tummy time. Still no progress there, which also means no progress with learning to roll over or crawl. Oh well. Her lack of mobility is rather convenient for me and my not-remotely-childproofed house. She also does not seem to care for shoes that aren't her gold moccasins. Apparently wearing the same shoes for most of her life means that new shoes aren't really welcome.

I don't know what you see in these infant-sized leopard-print loafers, Mommy, but I'm not feeling it. I will take them off immediately and eat them instead.

 Other than that, she pretty much likes everything. Easy peasy, this one.

Undecided about: Other people holding her.

Special Skills: Babbling!! She is such a great talker now- she babbles dadadada most often, as well as tuh-tuh-tuh (but this only in a whisper voice, oddly, never loudly), blah blah blah, and as of TODAY- ummmmmamamama!! This means there is great potential that she will say mama someday! Woooo! 

Other skills (besides aforementioned things like eating) include having the most infectious laugh ever, being an amazing jumper and stander-upper (with help or something to balance on), and being a very happy independent player. She's always content to sit on the floor or bed with a few toys and books and entertain herself for quite some time- long enough to cook something or do some laundry...it's great! She loves being played with, too, but she doesn't expect to be entertained or held by an adult all day long. I feel like that's a pretty good skill, ha.

Looking Forward: Ummm...well, all signs point towards her just getting cuter and cuter and smarter and funnier, so I'm looking forward to that. She's been drooling a lot more the past few days, so I'm wondering if she might be working on some new teeth. I don't really look forward to the teething part, but I do think that having some top teeth would help with her chewing and swallowing food! I'm mostly just looking forward to the lovely spring/early summer weather that lets us play outside in the evenings and will soon let us swim! Also, she has about 20 little shorts romper sets that I'm dying for her to wear, let's be honest. I need the summer weather so that we can make it through her wardrobe.

 Did you ever have a teacher write So-and-so is a joy to have in class on your progress report or report card as a kid? I always thought that was the lamest comment. A joy to have in class. Okay, thanks. But then a lot of years went by and I became a teacher and I understood what my teachers meant back then. Some kids really are just a joy to have in class. It's not cheesy or empty words...it's just true. And so often, this is just how I sum up Millie. She is a joy. A joy to have in my house. In our family. Her teachers- yup, they say she's a joy to have in class. She's a joy to take to a restaurant, to tote around Target, to push in a swing. She brings so much joy to everyone who sees her (and the few that get to hold her, ha)...I just can't even describe it. I don't know what goes on in babies' brains or how they process things or feel when they're this tiny, but I hope and pray that she actually feels as joyful and happy as she acts...and as joyful and happy as she causes other people to feel in return. My sweet Camilla...what a treasure.

Seven Months

Six Months

Five Months

Four Months

Three Months

Two Months

One Month