Lasa at EIGHT Months

Our Baby Love turns eight months old today.  Can it really already be EIGHT months since she stormed our lives and stole our hearts?  And, in the same token, can it really only be eight months?

Here's Lasa girl's latest as she rounds 2/3 of a year...

• She has her foster brother and sister's hearts.  They still simply cannot get enough of her every day.  Such a blessing!

• She naps twice a day and sleeps 12-13 hours every night, usually waking close to 6:15 for a bottle and then goes back to sleep.
• She is eating Stage 2 and 3 foods.  She is also eating those baby puffs like a pro, though she still can't quite feed them to herself.
• She has graduated from sink/baby bathtub to an actual bathtub and she loves the splashing this allows her without me squawking about how she's soaking the entire kitchen.
• She has tried restaurant high chairs for the first time now as well as store buggies and she loves that upgrade in life as much as she loves the bathtub.

• She has cut two more teeth on the bottom and it proved to be another painful couple weeks for us all as she suffered through the tearing of her poor little gums.  
• She gets up on all fours now, but has not quite achieved an actual crawl.  She moves small distances with a sort of unsteady wormy wiggle reach and fall manueaver. :} So, not crawling yet, but she is technically mobile and that counts for something!

• She also just this week started pulling up to one foot and a knee ... so a kneel?  But then she screams in terror because she is now stuck at that point and does not know how to get back to her butt.  It's pretty hilarious!  She also tries this straight leg pop up move every once and awhile ...

• With all this mobility and growing curiosity, we have retired her floor mat activity gym and her bouncy seat.  She just won't sit still in or on them.  Her patience grows thin now with the Exersaucer and door jumper, but we have a few more weeks of life left in them ... I hope.
• She likes to play standing up, but this still must be with much support and supervision.  Still, she likes stretching those leg wings of hers. 

• Her hair is so long and frizzy now, and I have so little hope of her returning to her mom anytime soon, that we bit the bullet and bought her some quality hair product.  Her Shea Moisture shampoo and conditioner costs more than mine and it smells like heaven.  Also, it tames her curls.  Kind of.  She probably needs more hair product, like a pomade or something. I am dragging my feet about it.
• Baby girl is quite attached to me now and will cry every time I leave the room.  It's exhausting. That could also be a function of all the teething this month ... maybe she is just clingy because she hurts?
• This month has been the worst as far as visits with her mom.  She screams through them entirely. :(  This shot I got after calming her for two seconds... it's pitiful.  I don't know how to help her bond with someone she doesn't see but once a month!

• Lasa has begun showing signs of seasonal allergies, so we started her on some Zyrtec this week.  Fingers crossed it curbs the runny nose, itchy eyes, and sneezy fits.
• We have sworn off putting her in the nursery at church now because it is just not worth the pain and suffering we all go through when she gets sick after being there.  This means we have to hold her in church and now this means that one of us is holding her outside of the service because she is a noisy thing.  Here's a fun clip of some of her noises, including her newest scream/squawk.

• Lasa has some funny daily habits ... she poops right after waking up in the morning, but not until after I have just put a fresh diaper on her.  She also wakes with realllllllllly puffy eyes every morning.  She also has gotten good at allowing herself to drift back off to sleep after waking during naps.  We have finally weaned off the swing, which we have still been using for one nap a day.  We can't believe it's finally time to put that thing away ... it served us welllllll.  Remember, it was her bed for all sleeping for over 6 months as we worked through her scary GERD symptoms!
• Our favorite new thing she does now is this combo - squeezing her eyes shut, scrunching nose up, jutting out her chin, showing her teeth, snorting and grinning as hard as she can.  
• Her favorite daily quirk remains her blowing raspberries and her body jerks inviting anyone and everyone to join her game and respond in kind.

 

• She delights in having a blanket spread high in the air above her.  She giggles every naptime when I cover her with one. 
• She adores the new swing we got her for the playground out back. She adores the chains on it that she can gnaw on.  And she loudly protests when it is time to get out of the swing. 

• I think it is obvious how much she loves her Josh.  He is a great diversion for her after a day full of me and the kids.

• She is, as ever, a happy-hearted baby.  Take a listen to some giggles.

• Lasa weighs in at 19 lbs now.  She is busting out of her 9 mos clothes, so we are stocking up on 12 mos stuff.  Among those items is this PRECIOUS bathing suit; don't even try telling me this isn't the cutest thing ever.  She is gonna love splashing in a baby pool ... which Josh has already gotten her. :}

Looking forward to enjoying warmer spring days with you, LasaLove!  We didn't know we'd get these back when we started this journey with you and we will take them with smiles all around.

We love you, baby girl! Happy Eight Months!