8 MONTHER

 Little Lyla is 8 months old! She is rocking the 0 percentile for height, and 20th for weight. Short and stout is how I like 'em. It's weird because she is wearing clothes now that jane didn't wear until after she had turned 1.  Thanks for gaining weight like a normal baby, unlike your sister, sweet girl! ;) Lyla's feisty attitude is starting to come out more and more. Get in her face, invade her personal bubble, and we will ALL hear about it. Unless it's me; I am granted entrance into her personal bubble at all times of the day. What a privileged life I lead.

 ^^ this is me imitating her mouth popping that she does, incessantly.  it's the cutest thing ever. I only wish Jeff would've taken a picture of her doing it because she looks A LOT cuter than I do.

 Since the day she was born, the thing that has made her happier and calmer than anything else is kisses on the cheeks. As much as she loves it, I think I may love it more.

 She is getting to be quite high maintenance. I mean, all babies are- who are we kidding? I don't know that I should ever have expectations that a baby will be low maintenance.

When she gets mad she starts flinging her hands, and whacking at her ears. When she is happy she smiles an across-the-face grin, and flexes her arms and legs straight as they go, and has recently started to add a little circular motion with her feet. She loves playing with toys and throws tantrums when the toy she is playing with gets taken away. (You can take one wild guess as to who is usually the perpetrator.) I was hoping she could hold off on the tantrums for a bit longer because I felt like Jane was already meeting the tantrum quota. Apparently not.

Lyla also loves to be heard. By herself and others.

She loves food!! She has learned to chew (soft foods) even without teeth. Her favorite are bananas and avocados- but give this girl a stick of celery or a peeled apple slice and she will be gleeful for at least 15 minutes.  The only casualties of this newfound love of food are her outfits. Bibs can only offer so much coverage.

Lyla is nowhere near crawling, and is still super clumsy while sitting. It's because she has this complex where she thinks she can crawl, so when she goes to grab an object that is a foot away she ends up just falling over. I'll be honest and say that I'm fine to have a bit more time with an immobile baby; but I think her recent high maintenance tendencies are mostly due to the fact that she is bored and she would LOVE to just be able to explore on her own. It's a double edged sword I suppose.

Don't you all love the baby laugh/cry? When they are crying and then you look at them and they can't decide whether or not to laugh or to continue crying? Well Lyla has mastered it, and it's adorable. Everything about this girl is adorable. I'm obsessed. I just love her so fiercely. And I can never get enough of her! (the feeling is mutual too, which is mostly awesome)

I'm also grateful that I got some pictures of her wearing this outfit before she pooped ALL over it. It's a perpetual story for her.

Every night as I rock her to sleep, I try to make that moment last and to treasure it up with every thing I have. She nuzzles her head into my chest and clasps her little chubby hand onto my shirt. She resists for a few seconds, but then peacefully gives in and drifts away into the sweetest-of-all-sights: baby slumber. I know these moments are fleeting and it's frustrating to have them slip through your fingers, even as you are experiencing them. I hope she keeps letting me rock her; it is one of the best gifts I've been given as a mother, thus far.  Those moments I wouldn't trade for anything. They calm her to sleep, sure, but they also do so much for me in the calming department. It's a time I have to sit down, relax, hold my baby close, and remember again that this life is oh so good.