Eight Months Old

Lucy is 2/3rds of the way done with her 1st year! We can not believe it, our little girl is growing up so fast. It is fun to see her exploring and discovering her world a little more every day. Here are some accomplishments from this past month:

• 2 New Teeth! Lucy now has all four of her front teeth - the top two made their appearance this past month, leading to a baby that was not as cheerful as normal. I am thankful for teething tablets - they have really helped ease her pain.
• "Dance Around Lucy!" When Luce hears music or is really happy, she moves her head from side to side. Sometimes she even does it when we prompt her to. :) (It is adorable.)
• 3rd home. Lucy moved into her third home and has adjusted really well! I had a few people praying she would sleep well her first night at 2233, and she did - 7pm to 8am. So impressive, especially considering she was teething during the whole move.
  
• "Surprise, I'm on my tummy!" Ever since Lucy was born, we have swaddled her for naps and night-time. Over time, she started to work her arms out and now when we swaddle her, we leave them out. Recently though, she has been working her feet out of the swaddle and turning on to her tummy when she wakes up - it was really surprising the first time we discovered this new trick! :)

I love her in red! :)

• New Treats. Her little fingers are getting really good at picking things up! We have discovered Mum Mum Rice Rusks - they are oval shaped crackers (about 5in long) - and Banana Puffs. Lucy LOVES them (dime-sized star puffs)! I love that she can be independent and feed herself while I get the rest of her food ready or clean up after a meal. (Both of these new treats dissolve really quickly in Lucy's mouth, making them great transition foods.)
• Expanding Appetite. We have started to feed Lucy more "normal" food. Bits from my sandwich at lunch, or pieces of our chicken/beef from dinner. She LOVES bread (that's my girl!), chicken and donuts (special treats on Sunday morning at church, given to her by whomever happens to be holding her :) ).
  
• Rolly-Polly. Lucy has been moving around the living room quite a bit lately, she is not crawling yet but has become a champion roller. :) Lulu can get up on her hands and knees, even her hands a feet (my little pilates girl)! She has started rocking back and forth while on her hands and knees - the crawling could begin any minute! :)
  

A note on Lucy's special outfit: The dress was made by my mom for my sister Becca when she was about Lucy's age. Mom did a few repairs to the dress, changing out the elastic in the sleeves, and sent it up with my sister Becca (pictures and details on her visit coming soon). What a special treat to wear a family heirloom. What a perfect 8 month outfit - especially since her 8 month birthday fell on February 14th and there are hearts in the smocking. :) We will keep the dress in good shape so it can be worn by future grand-babies. :) The sweater was given as a gift to my sister Laura (currently 5) when she was born by my Great Grandpa Ivance. It is a beautiful soft cashmere (I wish I had one!). My sister, Anna also wore the sweater and then it was passed to my cousin Kim's daughter, Mae (my first cousin, once removed?), who passed it onto Lucy. :) What a special gift.

This month's pictures were a bit more difficult than normal to capture, Lucy has grown more attached to her Ellie (elephant) and loves her so much it was hard to get her to let Ellie sit next to her. She wanted to be holding, kissing and loving on her buddy. :)

(remember, you can click on the above image to enlarge it)