Eight Months Old!

Audrey loves food; it doesn't matter what it looks like or taste like.... if the rest of the family is eating it, she wants it! So far, Audrey has eaten all the baby foods (rice cereal, veggies, fruits, puffs,) plus quite a few real foods : bananas, cantaloupe, cut green beans, squashed peas, tons of Cheerios, toast, unsweetened applesauce, graham crackers, cheese crackers, Special K flakes, the remainder of Kristen's oatmeal, the remainder of Kristen's cheese, and the remainder of Kristen's carrots. I might be forgetting a few things, but you get the point. In the last couple of weeks, Audrey has been able to pick up a Cheerio from her tray and actually put it in her mouth. Sometimes she gets it inside her fist, but then doesn’t open the fist and can’t make the transfer to her mouth, but other times she does it just fine.



Audrey is soaking up all the words said in the house.....(thanks to Kristen, there are plenty of words modeled for Audrey :) I think Audrey recognizes a few words already. Her name, momma, daddy, Kristen, and sister were the first words she picked up. But I think she also knows "eat" and "more." She cries when I say "I'll be right back," even if I haven't left yet. The same reaction occurs when I say "One minute." I'm not sure when she learned the word "kiss," but if you say it, she will smile and then obey. Sugar Cookie loves to kiss!!! Audrey is getting more and more vocal. Several times now she has made a sound that sounded an awful lot like Da-da!



Audrey loves making her scrunchy face! …she crinkles up her nose and cheeks and does this accelerated breathing that sounds funny through the squeezed nostrils. Sometimes it’s related to wanting food and other times it just seems to be random.
But it usually happens when she is happy. Kristen laughs at Audrey and says "Why do you have to do that every day?" It's cute!





Audrey will be crawling any day now. She scoots around gradually but can’t quite put the crawling motion together yet. She is definitely motivated. She bends over as far as she can and reaches as much as she can when a beloved toy is in sight but out of reach. Really, every toy in the house is coveted. She wants to hold it, drop it, and then pick it up again. She wants to taste it and suck it and then move on to the next toy. The gate to the stairs went up last week when she wiggled her way all the way across the kitchen to reach one of her Elies.



I think God gave me another adrenaline junky. Lately Audrey likes when Phil holds her upside down and swings her to and fro. Then he puts her face in front of his and rubs her nose. She smiles and giggles. Audrey also likes it when we lift her up high and then "drop" her back down onto our laps. Sometimes Phil rubs her tummy with his head before the drop. Kristen loves watching the interaction and then demands her turn...which of course has to be much higher and much faster!



Audrey loves books, especially when Momma is trying to read them to Kristen. She has to have the book....she reaches and pulls and fusses because she NEEDS the book. If Kristen or Cecilia try to give her a different book, that might satisfy her...for a few minutes...and then she is back to striving for the book we have. Kristen tries to instruct Audrey that babies are only allowed to have "hard" books, not "paper" books, but Audrey refuses to listen.





Audrey is definitely a momma's girl. She does NOT like it when Cecilia is more than a foot away. She screams and cries until Cecilia returns. And boy does she have a set of lungs on her!

But Audrey loves her daddy too! If Cecilia is not in sight or within earshot, Audrey is quite content to play with Phil. They have gone on several errands together and I know she loves her one-on-one time with her daddy.




Audrey loves her thumb...or thumbs...either one will work. If you take one out, she will just pop in the other one!



Sitting on Momma's hip is Audrey's favorite place to be. There she can stroke my arm, pet my face, play with my hair, pinch my skin and kiss me as much as she wants. Affection is definitely her love language.



SOME DAY Audrey will sleep through the night... but probably not any time soon. Audrey has kicked Daddy out of the bed and claimed his side. She just has to be close to Momma at all times. Unfortunately, even in her mother's bed, Audrey wakes up every 45 to 60 minutes. Soothing her back to sleep is easier in the beginning of the night. Audrey likes to pet Cecilia's arm and pinch and squeeze her face. A few minutes of affection puts her back to sleep. Later in the night she is a little more difficult and a lot louder with her demands to be soothed. Cecilia has probably lost quite a bit of her hearing due to this lovely cherub;)



But wow, what a blessing she is! So beautiful, and happy (most of the time), and fun to be around! We love you, Audrey!