Poppy . 8 months

Poppy has been pulling out all stops.

She decided to pack in a ton of new developments in her seventh month.

Her hair grew in thicker and longer. Goodbye, mullet.

Poppy started crawling on her belly and on her hands/knees.

She became very vocal, babbling all the time. Baaa-baaa. Daaa-daaa. Okay, where's the maaa-maaa!
Poppy has pulled up on the couch, crib, and toys to a standing position. She loves to crawl to wherever Wells is and climb on him. He enjoys this most of the time. They are playing so well together right now. Wells is very gentle with her. Sometimes, he's to rough or loud and Poppy gets startled. He continuously apologizes and gives millions of kisses. And, she survives. Poppy can get back to sitting position from laying on her belly or standing. This development has really helped her learn to play and enjoy independent play so much more.

Poppy loves to wave bye-bye. She does it all the time. A few times as we were leaving somewhere she would wave and follow my cue of saying ba-bye. She loves to mimic whatever I'm doing.

She started eating anything and everything in sight. We are currently thriving with the Baby Led Weaning method of food introduction. She doesn't mind getting messy and is just happy to gum her food. She also loves water. She hasn't met a flavor she doesn't like. New foods this month are: blueberries, squash, pumpkin, mango, peas, kale, chicken, bread, rice, cilantro, black beans, and green beans. We are holding off on giving her banana again because her face turned bright red the last time she ate it.

Speaking of gumming, I will be surprised if she doesn't cut her first tooth very soon.

Poppy was sick for the first time ever with a cold. Poor girl. She would laugh and laugh when I sucked out her nose though.

Poppy was dunked in the ocean a few times. I practiced dunking her and she loved it. She loves being in water even when it's cold and salty. More than water, she loves to be sitting, crawling, and laying in the sand. She loves how it feels and (yuck!) tastes.

On Easter, we had her baptized at Linquist beach at the sunrise service two days shy of 8 months old. She was a champ. Everything in the world is shining bright after her dunk.

Happy Eight Months, Love Pop.

8 months

8 months ago when I held Wells for the first time, I was flooded with love & oxytocin. It seems each day that love blossoms more than I could have imagined. I never would have thought I could love him more than when I first held him. I wasn't lacking in love but it is crazy that you can always build on love. Wells is 8 months today. He is continually changing and growing. These are some words that would describe him this past month. Bruiser. Cruiser. Climber. Sleeper. Crawler. Clapper. Singer. Babbler. Mover. Scooter. Kisser. Jokester. Worshiper. Drummer. Smile-r. Swimmer. Water obsessed & Growing foodie.

Wells is engaged in many activities including our new weekly swim class. Our first week, he was so curious and was very serious observing everything. Our second week he seemed to settle in and enjoyed the water. It is just a little taste of his future. More than swimming, I'd say that Wells absolutely loves climbing to standing position, walking along the couch (and our new walker), and making everything his personal drum - the couch, stairs, chairs, toys, and people. He is always patting drumming. Another daily favorite of ours is turning up worship music. Wells just started a half hearted praise Jesus hand wave. It's a little bit of a wave, a little bit of a pat, and a little bit of a full out charismatic surrender. I need this time and he really seems to enjoy it too. When he was 4 months and younger, we would worship and he would fall asleep on my chest. Nowadays it has become more of an active time and he is loving it. I put the music on and he gets super excited with a cheesy grin, can I  get a PTL.

Last month, I posted a picture of him flashy a cheesey grin at his doctor's appointment on instagram. This eye squint, full silly smile has become a regular. He flashes it when he's being silly, happy, and after a good laugh. It is my ultimate favorite. Wells is usually full of joy, but he is becoming more vocal. Sometimes he just grunts throughout the whole day usually when he's bored. Wells crawls off his tummy all the time now. He is always trying to get into everything. I try to keep us active throughout the day to eliminate grunting and boredom. Wells laughs uncontrollably when we are swinging at the park and loves to be thrown into the air.

Drumming, grinning, and swinging might be a favorite but nothing touches a precious bottle of water. He is obsessed and it's a growing problem. He loves drinking from my water bottle. I share. I'm working on buying him a water bottle that he can use daily. Wells has become quite a good eater. His new favorites are hummus, asparagus, rice, sprouted bread, and yogurt. He is still breastfeeding like a champ. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have my sweet breastfeeding moments. My boy is so active that I love getting a little holding time in. 

Just this past week, Wells started bringing me books to read. Of course, I start and he crawls away. It's cute though. We've really been loving our reading time before bedtime. He's tired and relaxed enough to lay back, listen, and less likely to attack the book for a snack. I have come to terms that he says Dada more clearly than any form of mama. He has taken to babbling a lot. Looking forward to more first words and possibly some teeth this next month.

Bonus photo because it is so darn cute.