Camille is Eight Months!

Where have the last eight months gone?  It's so hard to believe that our sweet baby girl has been on this Earth with us eight months.  It seems like she was just born, but now she is such a big girl with an even bigger personality.  Every time I go through her closet and her dresser drawers and clear out more clothes that are too small for her, I start to tear up.  I am so grateful she is in our life and that she is healthy, growing girl.  But, some days I wish time would just slow down a bit.  

This has been another month of so many firsts.  I've heard before that babies this age just take off developmentally, and it's the truth!

Major milestones this month...
* saying "dada", "mama", "baba" (bottle), and "lala" in that order
She definitely knows what/who she is talking about when she says these things.
* She is babbling even more than she used to.  She talks to her toys.  She talks to her hands.  She talks to the pugs.  She talks all the time to us.  She just has so much to say.  I wish I could understand Camille language. We haven't weighed or measured her lately, but I am guessing that she is probably 18 lbs by now.
* She has been really working hard on standing up by herself.  She obviously still needs some help steadying herself, but she is trying hard.
* She loves to bang toys together.  The louder the toys, the happier the girl!
* She is now going forward in the walker.
* She throws her hands in the air and jumps literally for joy in her jump-jump.
* She has moved on to trying the puffs and yogurt melts.  She often wants seconds (and, every once in a while, thirds) during her dinnertime.  She is trying the "crawler" level Gerber food.  
* She loves to wave!  She waves at family, friends, her babysitter, and people in restaurants and stores.  She loves when people smile back and wave to her.  Whenever she gets a response, she starts bouncing up and down and giggling.

She is still wearing size 3 diapers.  She is mostly wearing 9 month clothes.  Very few 6 month things work now.  

Her favorite toys....
light-up stacker
Nuby teething ring 
zebra hanging toy (a perennial favorite)
her monkey lovie, her dino lovie, and her elephant lovie (She likes to have one while she's falling asleep.)
*** new this month: 
Fisher Price Tumbly Carnival (She loves to grab the tumblers from the carnival.)
Fisher Price mailbox (She loves the plastic packages and mail.)
Fisher Price Learning Table (She likes practicing to stand with this one.)


Hungry, Hungry Girl
We are getting settled back into the early morning school schedule.  It's a good thing Camille tolerates getting up early!  Generally, I get ready  for work and then go to Camille's room to wake her up.  On non early duty days, Sam or I will give her a fruit/ oatmeal for breakfast followed by a bottle before she and I leave for the babysitter and school.  She has her next 7 oz bottle at 10 a.m., a level 2 food for veggie lunch around noon, a 7 oz bottle around 2, a level 2 or level 3 food for dinner at 5 ish (and then another one if she's still hungry!), and then the last bottle around 7:30 or 8, after bath time.  
Sleeping
She consistently falls asleep between 7:30 and 8 p.m.  Lately, though, she has been going through this phase where she will wake up two or three times some nights.  She is starting to work on her top two front teeth, so we think this may be the culprit for the middle of the night wake up calls to Mommy and Daddy.  We are working on keeping her sleep schedule as consistent as possible.  But we also can't stand the sound of her crying, especially when she is generally a good sleeper at night and we are pretty certain that it's because she isn't feeling great.

Napping
She is taking a nap around 9 a.m. and another around noon.  She takes a little catnap in the car during the work week when I pick her up from the sitter.  

Talking
She says "dada", "mama", "baba", and "lala".  She knows for sure what these mean.  When I am the one changing her diaper, she'll crane her little head and shout "Dada!" down the hall for Sam.  When Sam is changing her, she will call out "Mama!".  She knows to say, "Lala" when she sees my mom.  She also says, "Baba" when she sees us making her a bottle.  She also says, "Baba" with a little more emphasis if she is really, really ready for her bottle.  


No new teeth have come in in the last month, but we are expecting her top two front teeth to come in shortly!

Her face has matured so much this month, and her hair is getting so thick and long!

We love her personality so much.  Her little quirks are so sweet.  She does the biggest pouty face when she isn't happy about something.  When she really isn't happy about something, she sticks both lips out as far as she can and starts huffing with her nose.  She's still the same "party girl" she's always been... She fights naps and does her best to resist night night time until she just can't fight it any more.  She still likes to feel the security of being held tightly or even being swaddled for her morning nap.  She loves to be cuddled as close as possible as much as possible.  She is going through this phase right now of getting a bit upset if she can't hear our voice and can't see us while she's playing.  She loves our hands, watches, and wedding rings.  Her favorite way to fall asleep is in our arms while touching our lips.  She always hangs her right leg out of her tub and out of her carseat.  She blows raspberries all the time.  She still can't stand tummy time.  I guess that's okay.  Whenever we put her on her tummy, she rolls right back to her back.  We have tried every kind of enticing toy as well as lying in the floor with her, but she just isn't convinced that being on her belly is worth it.  She did try scooting forward on her tummy one time, but never again since then.  We work on it every day, but she much prefers sitting or trying to stand.  


In the last month, she...
* was in our dear friends, Caroline and Fred's adoption profile video
* still doesn't like tummy time.
* sits up for long periods of time and will reach for toys she wants
* has gone back to the sitter for the new school year
* has been to the zoo some more with Mommy and Daddy
* visited Momo
* spent lots of time playing
* has started trying "big girl food" like yogurt melts and puffs
* has enjoyed banging toys together
* laughs all the time
* begun sitting in high chairs and the kids seat in shopping carts, with the seat cover of course :)

I can't believe what a big girl you've become, Camille.  We love you to the moon and back.