8 months

Dear Gwenivere,
Eight months old is so much fun!  :-)

Really, this time is great... its like you learn something new all the time. You started clapping your hands this past month and will sometimes wave goodbye, you keep getting more and more vocal, and you went for your first solo ride in a swing. Not to mention the speed at which you crawl now, and the fact that you pull up on EVERYTHING! Lol. 

Another first this month... our first night apart! Mama had mixed feelings about this one beforehand. Your Daddy and I had a wedding to attend, for a very good friend; and I couldn't wait to go to that. I also couldn't wait to sleep in the next morning! But it was hard driving away and knowing I wasn't going to be there to feed you, to put you to sleep, or to get those amazing wake up smiles first thing in the morning. I'll admit that I cried a little. Your Nonnie and Papa were so excited for the time with you though, and I was happy that they got to do it. As I knew would be the case, we had a wonderful time. The wedding was beautiful and fun, and it was nice to spend some alone time together. But when checkout time rolled around at the hotel, we didn't need to be told twice! We were in that car, rushing our way home to you. The last few miles seemed to take forever, and it was all I could do to not trip over myself in my hurry to get up those stairs to get you back in my arms, my love. I'm glad we did it, but I'm in no rush to do it again anytime soon!!

Speaking of sleep... what a roller coaster that continues to be!! It seemed like overnight at the beginning of this month you started being ready to put yourself to sleep at night. We would do the routine, I fed you, then I put you in your crib with a blanket and your stuffed bear. It was so sweet listening you you roll around, talk and snuggle with brown bear. Half the time, you would play for a while and then decide you need some more milk and snuggles to fall asleep. But the other half, you just put yourself to sleep (at which point I sneak in and take the bear and blanket from your crib). This is a great development... one that I couldn't be happier that it occurred in such a natural organic, all in your own time way. It really is a great thing, however it sort of makes me want to yell, "Rewind!!" Sometimes I want to go back and get more snuggles! I want to go back to feeding you to sleep every night, feeling the heavy, sleepiness of you in my arms.

But I definitely don't want to rewind during the day, because you are so amazingly fun now. You laugh and smile and play with us more then ever. You love to use us as jungle gyms, climbing tools, and support for standing.

Of course, that standing has been messing with your going to sleep some too. That beautiful putting yourself to sleep thing, well it didn't last too long. It seems like you can't seem to let yourself lay there long enough to fall asleep, since you can pull yourself up, its almost like you need to pull yourself up! We went through some rough days thanks to that... but we're continuing to learn and adapt together, just like always.


My sweet, this coming month is looking to be even more fun then the last one, and I cannot wait for all the amazing things we are going to do together.

Love you more everyday,
Mama