Monday, January 9, 2012

8 months

My girl!
8 months and some-odd days old.
You are a crawling BEAST. And I feel perfectly justified in using that term - BEAST - because you are intense. You see something, you get it. You crawl to very tight spaces, lodging yourself there, I think just to give me a mini-heart-attack when I re-enter a room and cannot locate you. You really enjoy your brother's room, I think because of the sensory-friendly thick rug on his floor. And of course all the choking hazards. Even when he is playing with you in the living room (as I am in the kitchen washing dishes/cooking meals, typically) I notice you start heading for his room. You just feel cozy there!
You became an 'official' crawler on Dec 27. You had been going for maybe 1-2 feet at a time before that, but it was this day that is was WITHOUT A DOUBT your preferred mode of getting around. As in, it's time to latch the toilets, people!! I think this is neat because your bro officially started crawling on Dec 28. He was exactly 9.5 months old. You were 8 months and 1 day old. It took random objects like the Dallas Morning News to get him moving.. but you really wanted to GO for a while. You had been pretty frustrated with JUST SITTING for quite a while, so even though my life now is a kachillion times more difficult, it's a relief too. You're just happier now. Not content to stay in one place and not move on to the next thing...... sounds a little like my mother.  And, of course, your mother. You're so doomed.
The crawling is prettttty damn cute though. I think maybe it's just because you're smaller than Andrew was when he started crawling, well, smaller from the waist up at least.. your thighs are forces to be reckoned with. Your bottom starts swaying faster side-to-side as you go, and eventually you sort of halfway topple over on your face because your back motor was starting to go faster than what your top motor is yet capable of. CUTE. I forgot how cute pudgy little inwards bent arms are, while crawling furiously on a covert mission to go suck on some Duplos.
You do get tired of the self-powered mobility though, by the day's end. Around the time you get your pre-bedtime bottle, I sometimes try to get you to crawl over to the couch (where I feed you).. you will try your best to follow me (usually from the front playroom), but end up stopping 6 feet in, sitting there and just crying. Saddest thing ever of all time. Like, 'pick me UP mother, I have been at it ALL DAY HERE.' So, I do. And your knees are taking it a bit hard - they are red and a borderline scabbed. Nothing that requires bandages (as if they'd stay on for .5 seconds anyways) but a little sad to see, nonetheless. You would think your thick layer of leg fat would be an advantage, but no. We just have to work on getting those knees a little more callused!
You LOVE the same game we played with your brother when he was a baby - the 'I'm gonna get you!' game.. one of us (usually your father) will hold you, while the other (usually me) will chase you, screaming the name of the game: I'm gonna get you!!! You love this and laugh SO hard.
You also love it when I put you/find you in a position where you're on your stomach, and I sniff you like a dog.. really fast short breaths, all over the back/side of your neck. You giggle and it's just the most fun EVER.
Still, your brother holds the power of making you smile and/or stopping your cries by his mere presence. He doesn't even have to DO anything. It's just bonus when he happens to be hysterically laughing over something, which makes you absolutely light up. You look up to him so hard.
You are INTENSE. In.. many ways. We try not to put our face in yours, because we'll end up with an assortment of injuries. You SLAP and smack and scratch. All very innocent, of course, but damn. It hurts! You are just a strong, intense little lady! It makes me very nervous, putting you around other babies, because of course you just have no idea what 'gentle' means or how to behave like a civilized little person. You want to wreak havoc all the time. If Andrew was ever like this, I sure do not remember. In fact, I am pretty certain he was the opposite. A gentle giant, if you will. Already giving sweet slobbery kisses and gentle loving.. NOT YOU. If there's something to be knocked over, you will do so - quickly and violently. We call you by a new sweet nickname around here.. Destroya!
We learned, just tonight actually!, that we have to stop playing a specific game with you. Like, immediately. Lately, we've found great fun in holding you, facing us, and very slightly tipping you back, which is all the prompting you need to full-on HURL yourself backwards. We obviously are holding onto you the entire time, but when you fling yourself backwards, we kiss your neck and you laugh and sunshine shoots out of your bellybutton and all is happy in the world. We found out the hard way that you have generalized this game to be played anywhere, including the bathtub. Where the sides are hard and porcelain and concussion-giving. You threw yourself back SO hard. Daddy got you right up and tried to play it off, saying 'oopsie! bonka bonka!' .. I was behind him with my hands cupped over my mouth, forgetting to breathe. All is well, but no more of that game. Should've seen it coming.. a game that involves flinging yourself backwards into the unknown can never end well.... rookies!
You make this indescribably cute gummy grin face all the time. It really means a lot to me... see, when your brother was 9 months old, on Christmas Day (I remember because I got it on tape and viewed it psychotically over and over..) Andrew made the EXACT same face, while opening a gift. I remember thinking that I might have just died a little bit over the cuteness of that particular face he made. And I don't remember him making that face much more. You make that face ALL the time - everyday! It's amazing! Such a sweet little gift.
You still take 3 naps a day - trying to get you to take 2 longer ones instead, but it's hit and miss. You just can't make it that long - you start yawning and rubbing your eyes about an hour after being awake. You go to bed every night at 7:30 or so, and wake up anywhere between 6 and 7am.
You wear most all size 12 months. I am guessing you weigh around 22 lbs. You were 20 lbs about 2 months ago.. so that's just a guess for what you are now. Could very well be more though, just by looking at the girth of your thighs.
You are a an absolute JOY to all of us. We eat you up - you could not be cuter, or smarter. How we got so lucky to have two beautiful smart kind healthy children is still beyond me.




Happy 8 months (and 2 weeks) Nugs!