Scarbrough Fair: 8 Months Old

Dear Lane,

Happy Birthday! Today you're eight months old...2/3 of a year! This last month has been full of new discoveries and new things for you! First of all, you got two teeth! You got the first one just two days after you turned seven months old. We had no idea it was coming and then one day mommy said, "Hey, it looks like she's getting a tooth," and then the next day it popped through! The second tooth finally broke through last night! We've been expecting this one for a couple of weeks now...you have been a grump, but other than being grouchy you didn't show any other of the "normal" teething symptoms: you didn't drool or have bad diapers or a fever. You're funny with that new tooth, though...you feel it with your tongue a lot, you like to stick your tongue out more now, and you can also scrape off bits of apple if we give you a slice of one (under close supervision, of course!).

You started cruising right after you turned seven months old, and now you're really good at it! You're super quick when we hold your hands and let you "walk," and you are a super fast crawler. You can also get yourself back down onto your bottom after you've pulled yourself up. We usually let you feed yourself some foods at mealtimes, and you're getting better at it. If it's a food like chopped up chicken or peas, you can get them into your mouth and not drop too much. However, foods like cut-up grapes and peaches you have a harder time getting with your thumb and forefinger. So, you've developed a way to get that food into your mouth anyways: you grab a fistful and then close your fist and knead your fingers, working the food up so it comes out of the hole you've made in your hand between your thumb and forefinger. You sure are smart! You also prefer to use your left hand when eating, but you do use your right hand as well: you just prefer the left.

This month you started doing some funny things! You blow raspberries at us more frequently...you've blown them at us before, but now it seems like you're doing it on purpose. You also started shaking your head from side to side when you get really excited, or when someone whistles. You started clicking your tongue when you're finished nursing. And you still like to have your legs massaged, apparently!: if you're playing and mommy starts to massage your back and legs, you'll go limp and lie on your tummy. You're so funny!

Your personality keeps coming out more and more. In the mornings we love to listen to you play in your pack 'n play after you've woken up: you just sit in there for 15-30 minutes, talking, screeching, and playing. You usually do the same thing after you wake up from naps, too. You are fascinated and yet terrified by loud noises like the blow dryer, the washing machine, or the blender. You like for us to hold you while you stare at the culprit. You still love to play peekaboo, but your favorite way to do it now is for mommy or daddy to hide behind the couch and pop out from behind it. You like for us to turn you upside-down, to spin around with you, and to blow zerberts on your belly. You screech in laughter at zerberts!

Sometimes when mommy's in the kitchen you'll go crawling after me, and you like to pull up on my legs while I'm cooking, or for me to hold you and let you watch what I'm doing. If someone's in the shower you'll go crawling down the hallway to go listen to the water. You love to go outside, still, and you know that when we put you in the ERGO that it means we're going outside. You'll get all smiley and excited, and you'll coo and make happy noises. You're too, too cute.

You love for us to sing to you, and get really excited about some of the silly songs we've made up for you. When mommy sings Amazing Grace to you at nighttime you like to put your fingers in my mouth, like you're trying to feel the sound. Your favorite book is 5 Little Ladybugs, and you also like Little Polar Bear a lot. Sometimes you'll just sit in mom's lap and listen while I read lots and lots of stories to you. You're not so much a "snuggler," but you do like to be held and to sit in our laps.

Lane, we love you so, so much. Sometimes it almost makes mommy cry when I think about just how much I love you. You are such a joy to us, and while you are a lot of work sometimes, you have made our lives more full. When you lean your head on our shoulders, peek your head around a corner because you're looking for us, or babble and screech in joy, it makes us beam with pride that you are our daughter.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy