Kate - 8 Months

 A lot has happened since my last post two months ago. We visited the urologist-for the last time! He told us we don't ever have to go back unless something unforeseen comes up. That was great news because we have to go to Atlanta for that. We also had Kate's first Thanksgiving and Christmas. We decided to have Thanksgiving at our house for both the Frenches and the Fergusons-2 days in a row. Everything actually went very smoothly, and Kate slept through both meals. She was pretty good and played with everybody before we ate. It's not very common that Brian and I both get to sit down and enjoy a meal without rushing, so we almost didn't know what to do!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Christmas was exciting. We went to see Santa, and Kate did great. On Christmas Kate had fun ripping all the paper, and she tried to put every new toy in her mouth as we opened them. She got some good stuff! Kate got to see her great grandfather (my grandfather) again for the first time since early August. Last time she was only 12 weeks old and not a very happy baby.

Checking out the goodies from Santa

  

Mmmm...new toys

I enjoyed my two weeks at home with Kate so much! I'm so thankful to have a job that allows these breaks throughout the year.

Length: Last time we checked she was still around 2-3%, so she's short! 

Weight: around 16.5 lbs

Clothes: Mostly 6 months. Some of her 6 month outfits are a little small, but 9 month clothes are huge on her.

Sleep: Kate is typically a pretty good night sleeper, but she got her first tooth right after Christmas, so we've had a few rough nights lately. We're finally getting into more of a schedule with naps. She's down to two naps a day, about an hour in the morning and 2-3 hours in the afternoon (on a good day).

Likes/Dislikes-

• Food: We've gone down to 4 bottles a day, which is good because Kate prefers solids over her bottle.We're starting to get into finger foods and make her baby food a little chunkier. She loves green beans and avocado! She hasn't rejected anything we've given her so far, so hopefully I've got a good eater on my hands. She also really likes Mum Mums. (I like them because she can feed herself.)

• Toys/Games: Kate got so many toys at Christmas that we haven't even introduced them all. She has a music table and loves it. She's gotten pretty good at standing on her own while holding onto the table. She likes pretty much any toy/book we give her. The first thing she does with any new toy is turn it over to look at the bottom. The next step is to taste everything! I guess she's just a curious little girl. :) Kate also likes to play peek-a-boo. She's learned how to cover/uncover her own face, so it's become much more fun.

• Other: We've transitioned to a bigger bathtub, and Kate really enjoys sitting on her own playing with her bath toys. It's so fun for me to watch her. She seems like such a big girl! Daddy is definitely Kate's favorite. Anything he does makes her laugh. She just lights up when he gets home everyday. Another thing Kate loves is mirrors. She could stare at herself all day. One of the flowers on her excersaucer has a mirror and she likes to bend it over and put her face right on it. It's so funny!

Developmental Milestones: We have a tooth! I didn't even realize it was coming, because Kate has been drooling and chewing like crazy for months now. In my last post I mentioned that I didn't think she would ever sit, because she preferred to stand. Well, about 2 weeks later she proved me wrong. Now she can sit all day long. She still can't get herself to sitting on her own, but I'm sure that's not too far off. Now we're working on crawling. Kate still hates tummy time, and I hate forcing it. Brian is better at getting her to try and move her arms and legs than I am, so I let him work on that every evening. :) Once Kate does crawl I don't think walking will be too far behind. She's gotten really good at standing while holding on, and is getting better at pulling herself up. One of these days I guess we need to start baby proofing.