8 Months!

Check out this peanut, who isn't such a peanut anymore (and can't sit still either)...

I have no idea how much she weighs or how tall she is, but I can tell you she has grown and is still growing. The girl is LONG...she's in 12-month clothes but the onesies barely fit, and at this point I prefer to just put her in 18-month size. She's still got those adorable cheeks and chunky thighs, too. Her eyes are still a somewhat confusing greenish-brown color, and her hair color is a bit confusing too - sometimes it looks reddish, other times it looks dark, and then another day it could be blondish. Mostly she looks like her Daddy, but occasionally there's a little flash of her mama in a certain look or tilt of the head. We'll just have to wait and see I guess!

I know I've said a lot over the past couple of months that she doing so many new things, but this month she has just really exploded in her abilities and in the new things she is working on. At the beginning of the month she watched my dad clap his hands (after weeks of watching us), and then suddenly decided she might like to try it herself. She's been working on it for the past few weeks and while she's still perfecting it, it's much more coordinated. She can pick up little items or bits of food between her thumb and forefinger, and although not all of them make it to her mouth, she's getting close. She's working on waving and doesn't always get it at the right times, but then will surprise us by immediately responding with a shake of the arm and a big smile. She is also highly entertained by peek-a-boo and takes great delight in pulling the blanket away from her face and "surprising" us. Lucy loves her new Christmas toys and can really make the most of all the noises and songs. She has even started "dancing" (bouncing) when she hears music sometimes. And of course, the big one...she started crawling a couple of weeks ago! Wow, what a milestone! We should be good for awhile, right? Oh, how wrong:

I KNOW! This is just moving way too fast for my taste. She just pulls herself right up, and has bonked her head on all kinds of things but seems to have no fear. She'll freely take a dive off our bed if she sees something interesting on the floor. We're getting pretty fast with the hands on catching her. This little one is Trouble.

As a sharp contrast to all this new independence, we are also starting to experience a little clingyness lately, especially with me, but I'm hoping that's temporary. She's also had a little trouble sleeping the past week or so but that may be due to all of the new things she's trying to figure out, and this morning I spied a couple of bottom teeth coming in! Despite these new adventures in parenting, Lucy is obviously still such a joy. She continues to be a happy, smiley baby. She giggles a lot, babbles constantly, and is in general a little goof.

At this rate who knows what Month 9 will bring?! Any guesses?