I’m not gonna lie to you – This post is over 2 weeks old, so Charlotte is technically  8 1/2 months old now. I started this post 2 weeks ago on her 8 month birthday but things have not slowed down for a second around here in the Baker home. I’m sure this is what I can expect for the rest of my life as a mother.

Another thing that I feel confident in reporting… I will never again get a nice still photo of my daughter. It was a huge challenge to take her photos this month. Typically I take a few of her on her back and a few of her in the rocker in her nursery. This month’s series also showcases some nice shots of her confined to her crib {out of necessity, and slight frustration… but mostly necessity}.

Toy bribery was also successful in catching her attention for a moment.

Next month I may have to resort to ironing a number on her back as well to make my job a little easier.

Notice the lovely red mark on her forehead? Proof of her numerous attempts to escape the confines of her crib.

At 8 months, Charlotte:

• Is crawling everywhere. Notice the scuffed up knees?
• Has become a daredevil {and I’m pretty sure we have the Little Gym to thank for that… giving her a crazy amount of confidence… how dare they!}. It only took a few days of being mobile before she began pulling up on things, first to her knees and now all the way to a stand.
• Has been struggling with her nap/bedtime routine because of this newfound mobility . As soon as we place her down into her crib she bolts to the corner that is closest to the door, pulls up to a stand, and assumes her ‘i’m so desperate to get out of here’ stance with her head thrown back in the most dramatic way. I don’t have a photo of her standing at the end of her crib, but this is her talking to herself and exploring her spacious sleeping quarters at 9pm.
• Has 2 top incisors coming in {barely peeking through the surface of her gums so no photo yet!} so she is gnawing on anything and everything she can get her hands on and has also started to drool. She has never been a drooly baby before these teething episodes so this is a new experience for all of us.
• Has said her first word – “dada”. You can read about that adventure here. Her new favorite sounds to make are: ‘ooph’ {which she vocalizes any time she is ‘working hard’ – as in ‘these blocks are so heavy it’s taking all my might to lift them, ‘oooph’} and ‘mmmm’ when she is eating something yummy.
• Has been enjoying 2 meals a day of purees {about 2 ounces each meal} and will not eat any more than that despite my best efforts to stuff her {particularly before bed time}. She still nurses about 6-7 times a day. She is loving some new fruits and veggies this month in additional to her usuals: papaya {provided by her Lola Pam}, kiwi, clementines, and peas. The clementines and papaya are some of her favorites to have in the mesh teethers – I limit the clementines, though, because of their high acidity. I am just now getting around to introducing peas because I had a difficult time finding froze peas without salt added {and kept forgetting to look for other brands – I finally found some at Trader Joe’s but have since found them in several different grocery stores, usually from organic brands}. I don’t make all of her food from frozen, but there are several types that are much easier to prepare from frozen than when buying them fresh; mostly green beans and peas}. Once the local farmer’s markets open up we will be experimenting with many more fruits and veggies – I can’t wait for seasonal watermelon!!!
• Love. Love. Loves her Little Gym classes. Here she is with the other Bugs playing with some bubbles. I love watching her socialize with the other kiddos, even if she is a bully {pulling hair, rounding up all the shakers for herself.. you know, all the typical 8 month old stuff}

• Is not really ‘waving’ anymore, though I’m not too concerned because I know she has been developing so many other skills these past few weeks – something has to take the back burner!
• Is not quite sure of the grass, cement, and mulch mommy has put her on during play-dates at the park, but is warming up to the idea that she may have to move on them someday.
• Can entertain herself  independently for quite a long time {in a safe place like the pack-and-play, of course} until she notices me walk past and realizes that I haven’t been watching her every second of the past 15 minutes… then she becomes dramatic and the laundry/cleaning/anything mommy-related is put on hold until I can get her distracted again.
• Loves being outside in the sun, just like her mommy. She refuses to keep a hat on, so I just try to be diligent about applying sunblock and sticking mostly to the shade when we are at the park.
• Is now pretty good about sitting up in the front of the cart, though she did throw her first mega tantrum in Michael’s the other day when I wouldn’t let her hold the spray paint. She wailed and did her usual ‘throwing her head back for dramatic effect’ move, but then hit her head on the back of the cart seat, so wailed some more. It was rough and that cashier said to her: ‘Is that you who was making all that noise?’ Yikes. And I know this joy will only continue as she gets older. I am fairly certain God gifted me with a daughter who is exactly like me when I was little – Sorry mom for all I put you through.

We love our bug and find ourselves saying ‘I love our family’ almost every day.

Thank you God for this sweet life you have entrusted us with!