Eight Months

Believe it or not, Miss Millie Janalee is officially EIGHT MONTHS old as of yesterday!  I never know how it happens, but it does.  I never know where the time goes, but it goes.  Each month sneaks up on me too.  There is just no way that we have been Mama and Daddy to this angel for eight months already.  But, we have.

We barely missed her eight month celebration being on St. Patty's Day, so we dressed in green for the occasion.  Just to note...this is a 9-12 month bubble.  And it is not loose.  At all.  First of all, it makes me sad that she's already that big.  Secondly, I'm panicking that her summer clothes (almost all of which are 12 months) are going to be too small!  My saving grace is that her 9 month pajamas still have plenty of room to grow, so maybe it's just how this brand runs.  Maybe.  Hopefully.

You can see that our monthly photo shoots have taken a turn.  Not for the worse.  Just a turn for the FUN!  Ha!  I barely snapped a couple of shots with the sign in the correct placement before she grabbed it up and started playing.  Ha!  This is how my little busy body rolls.  She keeps those hands and feet going going going!

Let's see...Millie Janalee is still wearing a size 3 diaper.  I don't anticipate moving up anytime too soon.  She's wearing pretty much all 9 month clothes.  She has a couple of 6 month dresses that still fit and that she hasn't worn.  So, of course, those will be worn soon.  Ha!  I actually took her to get some summer dress shoes and a new pair of Keds last week.  Because she just needs shoes on her feet.  Since she's walking and all.  Not!  The shoes are just for this Mama's crazy wardrobe finishing touches.  She's wearing a size 2 shoe...but not for long!  I held off on buying sandals because I was afraid she would outgrow them before she could wear them.  For those of you wondering, yes.  Her big bow headbands still fit.  We just don't wear them as often because her hair is getting longer and thicker, and it ends up looking a bit disheveled.  We've moved on to bow clips.  And they actually stay in her hair.  I was shocked!

She's still not crawling quite yet, but she gets where she wants to go.  She scoots and rolls until she reaches her desired location.  It's so funny!  Most of our time is spent sitting up playing.  She loves...I repeat...loves to hear her voice.  And so do I!  We are now the most vocal table at restaurants.  Ha!  You know, the ones most young people roll their eyes at and say, "If that kid doesn't stop..."  Oh well.  There's lots of joy wherever this girl sits!  She's constantly saying, "Dada.  Dada.  Dadadadada!"  And, we've added a few more babbles to our repertoire: "Babababa," "Gagagaga," "Yayayayaya," and the latest "K" sound.  I'm still feverishly working on "Mama."  She's said it a few times, but not on cue or when I've got my camera ready.  It'll come.  We got our first little toofie this month, and it is steadily growing further and further out of that sweet gummy grin.  I love it!  Millie Janalee's favorite thing to do right now is to clap her hands when we say, "Yaaaay!"  She is so proud.  We have a lovey that she sleeps with.  Every nap and every night.  In fact, we almost left it in Corinth this weekend.  I had a minor panic attack, because that just would've been tragic!  Ha!  It's the sweetest thing to watch her rub her face against the little minky dot bunny ears as she drifts off to sleep.  She can be wide awake and crying...but if I put the lovey up next to her face, she immediately calms down and starts rubbing her face with it.  So stinkin' cute!  The spitting up has slowed down tremendously!  We only wear one bib a day, and most days only call for one burp cloth.  That's something to celebrate!  However, she did enter a phase of spitting her food across the room every time she took another bite.  Smiling and clapping the whole time.  So, maybe I should invest in drop cloths for my floors during lunch and supper.  Ha!  We think her little tongue likes the way her little tooth feels.  Or maybe Uncie Bucket taught her that when he kept her.  Hmmm...who knows!

If you look closely, you can see her little toofie.

We have reached a new height with her sounds.  Literally.  She has found the highest pitch scream in existence.  And she uses it.  Not often, because she hasn't memorized where it is I think.  My sister and brother-in-law got to witness it this weekend, and they said, "Ooooooh!"  Haha!  Yep.  I'm sure she'll save her public debut scream for a nice restaurant.  I'm bracing myself.  I'm trying not to encourage it, but it is quite funny.  Immediately after she finishes her big scream, her face gets very serious and she looks at us like, "Whoa.  Did you hear that?!" 

I think we have also entered into a little bit of stranger anxiety.  Not completely.  But, she certainly changes her tone when a new person enters.  It doesn't take but a few minutes to warm up to anyone, but she knows when someone new comes up to talk to her.  She caught my bad cold this weekend, so she has been a tad bit "touchy" bringing this separation/stranger anxiety to a new level.  Sweet girl!  I don't rush over to grab her from new people.  I continue with my business and let her work it out.  I'm trying to make her pleasant for others to be around.  I gotta admit though.  I'm lovin' when she looks at me to save her.  And I love that I can calm her quickly.  That's just the Mama in me.

So, we're gearing up for our baby's very first Easter now!  We are in full bunny mode!  Millie Janalee, Auntie Kristin, and I worked on a little Easter craft yesterday.  Millie Janalee was SO NOT into it.  But, it is completed.  The Easter bunny has thoughtfully filled her basket, I feel quite sure.  [wink. wink.] And I found the most precious Easter dress ever for her to wear.  It may not make it through the morning without spit up or baby food down the front.  But, that's okay.  It's my baby's first Easter...and she will look adorable.  Drool and all!

Happy Eight Months, Millie Janalee!  We love you more and more each day!