Dear Coraline: Month 8

Dear Coraline,

As of 1AM this morning, you turned eight months old. I’m not sure exactly how much you weigh right now, but you’re definitely growing. I suspect you’re around 18, maybe 19, pounds now and are starting to outgrow some of your size six months clothes. You now fit into some of your size nine months clothes and are still in size 3 diapers.

You’ve been such an active baby this month. You started army crawling (on Easter Sunday, no less; day 213) and can now sit unassisted (you first pulled yourself into a sitting position by yourself on day 220). You love the independence you now have to move around on your own, and your poppa and I love watching you flit around from toy to toy. You also set land-speed records whenever I set my camera down or you spot your poppa’s cell phone within reach; you move fastest for electronics.

We enjoyed some first holidays together this month. We celebrated your first Easter with a visit to the Easter Bunny at the mall (day 212; you were unimpressed) and an Easter basket at home. I also dressed you up in bunny ears your aunt bought you; you were even less amused than when you met the Easter Bunny. We also celebrated my first official Mother’s Day (day 227); I say official since I was pregnant with you during Mother’s Day last year. Mother’s Day was also your first visit to Market Square downtown, where we ate brunch at The Tomato Head. You absolutely loved people-watching, which is something your great-grandma, Abuela Tulita, loved to do. So thank you for that. It made me feel like she was with me that day.

Your personality continues to develop, and you never fail to amuse us with your antics, like when you grabbed your cousin Stephen by the hair and tried to kiss him (day 217) and how you started to turn around while we read you bedtime stories so you can watch us reading (day 218). Your first hint of stranger anxiety came about when our friend dropped by the house one Sunday (day 220), but you got over it pretty quickly. That was also the same day we noticed you talking to and giggling at your toys. Your Auntie Tamara gave you a Curious George doll that chitters like a monkey (day 226), and you’re head over heels for him. You even tried sharing one of your Easter eggs with him, the first time you ever made your toys co-mingle (day 228).

Your sixth tooth finally broke through (day 221), the upper second right incisor. You tried sweet potatoes (day 219) and apples (day 223), and used a sippy cup for the first time (day 233). You started holding your elbow while you suck your thumb (day 219). You weaned yourself the day before you turned seven months old and are no longer breastfeeding. As of day 228, you now have a play yard in our den so you have a safe, dog-free zone in which to play. You got ambitious and pulled yourself up on your knees when playing with your Sit-to-Stand Giraffe (day 230), which you continue to do using both your giraffe and your play yard walls, something I liken to the velociraptor in Jurassic Park testing for weak spots on the fence.

You’ve also been very social this month, enjoying visits with your grandparents and your Auntie Kirsten, among others, and attending your first non-family get-together (day 233). You rode in a shopping cart at Target for the first time, as well as mastered traditional crawling that same day (day 240). Bye-bye, army crawl! You also hit an unhappy milestone this month: your first fever, 100.3 degrees (day 239), which had you feeling absolutely miserable. Your poppa and I think it might be related to teething, though. Be thankful teething is something you won’t remember.

This month has been so much fun. You’ve grown leaps and bounds, and continue to do so almost faster than your poppa and I can keep up with. We love watching you figure things out and learn new skills, puzzling things out on your own. I love you more than I can say and can’t wait to see what adventures month nine brings.

love,

Mommy