Sarah At Eight Months

Stats
Weight: 20lb (guessing based off of the fact that she was 19lb 14oz two weeks ago at Urgent Care)
Height: 27.25" (guessing)
Head circumference: 17" (guessing)

Sleeping
Night time sleeping starts after a 7:00pm bottle and ends around 7:30am.  She was a little off a few nights this week due to the sickness.  Also, she's been sleeping on her stomach a lot this month which makes her diaper leak more, so she'll wake up drenched and require a diaper, pj, sleep sack, sheet change at 5:00am.  Ugh.  Anyone have a good solution to this other than potty training an 8 month old? ;)  She's a two nap a day girl typically with a 30 minute nap in the morning and a 2 hour nap in the afternoon.  Sleeping in her new car seat looks like it breaks her neck, but it doesn't seem to bother her.

Eating
She still likes to eat 4 bottles that are 8oz a day at approximately 8:00am, 12:00pm, 4:00pm, and 8:00pm.  She's started to be able to hold her bottle by herself with just a bit of guidance.  She tried several new foods this month.  The biggest hit of the month was zucchini.  Seriously.  I think she likes it even more than broccoli!  We mix it with rice cereal and call it zucchini bread.  This is the first food where she's demanded seconds.  She also liked trying pears a lot.  Yogurt and pumpkin are pretty good in her book.  But she had a lot of new foods this month that were a total bust: peaches, plums, lentils, and mango.  The plums were pretty tart, so I don't blame here.  She likes it when I mix yogurt and apple sauce, put it in a Ziploc bag, cut the tip, squirt it onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet, and freeze them into dots.  They make a good first finger food that is cold but melts into a liquid so there's less of a choking hazard.  She thinks they're very interesting.  She likes playing with leftover food and putting her spoon in her mouth after her meals.

Finger painting with plums

Teething with celery

Personality
She has started cracking up a lot more this month.  When I shake my head back and forth is basically a giggle fest.  She likes pretty much any silly noise.  She's even started smacking her lips which is pretty adorable.  She loves petting Mittens, and even just looking at her makes her laugh.  Seeing a picture of a cat in a book is sure to make her a happy camper!  Just saying the word Mittens makes her smile and look around for her kitty cat.  I swear Mittens will be the reason Sarah learns to crawl.

She's really discovering what she likes and doesn't like.  She likes eating, being held, and doing grown up things like playing with kitchen utensils, looking in the mirror, and reading.  If she's not ready to be put down she'll let you know quickly, and then is happy as a clam when you're playing with her again.

Peek-a-boo is a lot of fun!  She likes having her own face hidden, our faces hidden, and when we hide an object or picture in a book.  She likes to drop things from her high chair and have us pick them up for her repeatedly.  She likes hearing her name and looks at you when you say it, and she looks at things when you point at something.

We had the sweetest moment together one night this month.  It was a moment where I realized that one day we will really play together instead of her playing and me watching her.  She drank her bed time bottle, but she still seemed pretty awake, so I just held her and we started a little game with her pacifier.  She would pretend to put it in my mouth, I would pretend to suck on it, and then she would yank it away, crack up, and put it in her own mouth.  We repeated this a few times, and it was so fun!

Playing outside has become a favorite now that the weather is warming up.  Sarah enjoys swinging, stroller rides, playing on a blanket in the yard, and taking in the sights and sounds.

Health and Physical Ability
Sarah really ramped up things in the vocal department this month.  She says Dada when Robert comes home from work, he holds her face to face, and when I talk about Daddy during the day.  She says Mama when she's distressed like when she's hungry, stuck in a position, or a toy is too far away.  Other noises she makes include Nana, Baba, Gaga, and lots of noises when inhaling and exhaling.  Squealing is a favorite too!  Mittens induces the most squeals.

She can stand up when holding onto our fingers now.  This happened for the first time over the weekend.  She also held on to her crib legs this week when I stood her up, but she let go after a minute to grab a toy.

She's totally mastered rolling from tummy to back and back to tummy.  She can turn herself around until she's done a 360 on her stomach.  She's so squirmy during diaper changes now!  She can get down onto her side or stomach from a sitting position.

Crawling seems so close!  She can plank, Superman, do crunches, hike up one leg, tuck her legs under her, bounce around, get on all fours, get on her hands and knees, and push backwards.  Now she just needs to put it all together and she'll be zipping around!

She's inching towards being able to wave at people.  She'll stick out her hand and open and close it when she sees people.

Superficial
Besides the obvious ones that I go on and on about every month - blue eyes, long eyelashes, flawless skin - her hair is really coming in big time this month!  She has two adorable little curls on her left side.  Still wondering if she'll have straight or curly hair.  It's so funny to see her with bed head now.

Highlights of the month

March 5 - Sarah's first concert - A drum line concert for our student Griffen - His school got first place!

March 8 - Day trip to KC

March 11-13 - DNow and a special time with Nana helping for the weekend

March 18-20 - Papa and Babi here from AL

March 17-25 - First sickness

March 20 - Baby dedication

March 22 - Sarah's first ultrasound (for the sickness)

March 22 - Upgraded to big girl car seat

March 25 - Day trip to Bolivar

March 27 - Easter

March 29 - Play date at our house with Charlie and Cora while Lori and I enjoyed chatting.  I got together with the other ministry wives that night, so Robert tucked in Sarah without me.  I enjoyed an evening of gabbing, eating pizza, and watching Grease.

March 31 - The first time for a non-family member to tuck in Sarah for the night!  We went to our friend Colby's college band concert, and Suzy, the mom of two of our students, watched Sarah.  They had a great evening together!  Sarah woke up smiling the next morning, and I think Suzy enjoyed the baby snuggles.

April 2 - Sarah's first wedding - Our friend Gretchen got married.  Sarah lasted through half of the ceremony and did really well meeting new people at the reception.

April 4 - Sarah's first softball game - Robert is playing in the church intramural league again.

Dear Sarah,
You got sick this month, and it wasn't any fun, but do you know what I learned while you were sick?  I love you even more than I thought I did!  I hated seeing you in pain, and I wanted to do whatever it took to make you feel better, but even though I wanted you to feel better, it was still hard to wake up and care for you at 3:00am because I'm a human who needs sleep.  But do you know what?  God will never be too tired to care for you, protect you, and listen to you.  When you can't fall asleep before a test you can talk to God about it and he will listen.  When you're scared to tell the truth and stand up for what you believe in God will be there to encourage you.  When you aren't sure where to go to college or what job to choose God will listen to your questions and concerns and will reveal his path for you.  God will never ever get tired of you asking him questions, and he will never get tired of being your Father whether it's 2:00 in the afternoon or 3:00 in the morning.  God actually loves it when you ask Him questions because that means you want to do what pleases Him and you want Him to tell you how to follow Him all the days of your life.  He will never leave you nor forsake you, and He loves you even more and even more perfectly than I ever could.