Dear Andie... You're 8 months old

My spunky, sweet, beautiful baby girl...

My goodness, month 7 brought so many changes. I think more than any other month of your life so far. You're growing and changing so quickly and that feisty but sweet personality is starting to shine through more and more everyday.

You make us laugh everyday. You make us proud and just by being you, we love you more every single day. Your daddy and I talk about you all the time... often about how much we love you, how cute we think you are, and what a good baby girl you are. I hope you don't ever doubt how much we love you.

You are so squishy and petite. You snuggle, and oh my goodness, those snuggles... they make me melt. You've turned into a little bit of a mama's girl, and I absolutely love it. You come to mama when you want snuggles, loves, and are sleepy. You want daddy when you're feeling playful, excited and happy.

This month was a huge month for "firsts". You had your first Christmas, your first trip to Hawaii, you started crawling, saying "dada", saying "mama", and "ba-ba". You also started scaling furniture, pulling yourself up on everything, and you had your first cold (no fun!). One of our favorite things you started doing is waving when we say "hello" and wave at you.

Your first trip to Maui was so special. You went into the ocean, loved the pool, and did so well on the flights. You've become very good at sitting in a high chair at restaurants and gotten better at sitting in your stroller while we shop around. You loved the sunshine and seemed to love being warm. You are definitely a water baby, and we love it.

Christmas with you this year was so special. You were very into the wrapping paper and boxes. You got several new toys and clothes... but most of all, you livened up the spirit of Christmas for us. It was so much fun!

You started crawling soon after 7 months old. You army crawl everywhere, and have gotten so fast! You love to stand more than anything, and pulling yourself up on furniture and anything you can has been fun (and a little scary) to see. You've taken some big tumbles and falls, but are pretty good at recovering.

You still aren't a fan of the car, which is sometimes very hard, but when someone is back there with you to shake toys and talk to you, you seem to do a little better. Your first cold was very hard for me, I felt so bad for you and wished I could make you feel better!

We've started exploring with what we feed you! You're getting lots of baby food and this month, I started feeding you true solid foods. You've done well and eaten avocado, banana, and baked sweet potato. You're also still exclusively breastfeeding, and you and I both love our time together.

You're wearing size 6 month clothes, some 6-12 month, and size 3 diapers. You're getting on a better sleep schedule and went 2 nights in a row of sleeping 12 hours. You love spending time with your cousins, aunties, and uncles and especially your Gramz and Pops who both love to see you, snuggle with you, and play with you. You seem to really love other kids. You love toys, especially your stacking cups, rings and musical car. You also love wrappers and anything that makes a crinkle noise.

My favorite thing this month has been you saying "mama"and the sweet snuggles you give me when you nestle your head into my shoulder and hold on to me. The other day you followed me around the kitchen crawling while saying "ma-ma-ma-ma" and it was one of those moments that I will always remember! You are so sweet and loving, and I love being your mom more than anything in the whole world. You truly light up our lives!

I love you and can't believe my baby is 8 months old!!

Love,
Your mama