Eight Months Old

Dear Greta,

I'm a little late in writing your most recent monthly letter, and for that, I apologize. Happy 8 months and 11 days, little one. We've been busy!

Just yesterday morning, your daddy asked me, "What do you do all day?" Good question. I used to think I'd stay home with you, and my house would be perfectly cleaned and in order, every thing would be labeled and put away and I would be in organizational blissdom. Oh, was I ever disillusioned. You keep me busy.

On any given day, you wake up and you eat, and we change your diaper, and then we play. You generally wake up in a great mood, full of big toothless smiles and plentiful wet raspberries. Nursing has gotten more and more challenging, for lack of a better term, just because you like to check out everything around you all the while hiking your little foot up near your head the entire time you're eating. Diaper changes are challenging, and that's the perfect term for them, because you like to wiggle and wriggle and roll over and grab whatever item is nearest.

Playtime has gotten more fun, as you've grown much more inquisitive and have gained mobility. You're not quite crawling yet, but the wheels in your little head are spinning, and we're just counting down the days until you figure it all out. You liked to jump in your jumparoo, but you also enjoy quiet time in your exersaucer/activity center contraption. All toys still go directly in your mouth regardless of size, but you've also started showing interest in touching and feeling things.

Your palate has expanded tremendously in the past month. Your favorite foods are anything sweet, particularly prunes, apples and bananas. You make an "mmmm" sound when you enjoy something such as these foods. And when you don't like something, you blow raspberries and shake your head no. Your least favorite foods are peas and avocados. You're not yet feeding yourself finger foods, but you sure do enjoy practicing by sticking your spoon in your mouth.

You're a very serious baby, and as sweet as you are, you're not too much into cuddling. Why waste time with snuggling when there are so many other things to investigate! You study faces intently, and you've started grabbing at my glasses, jewelry, hair, nose, etc. Anything you can get your hands on, you want it.

You continue to grow into a wonderful little girl, with the exception of "the sleep strike of February 2009 to present", which started mid-month February. Prior to this time, you had blessed us by sleeping 10+ hours a night. But a month ago, you decided that continuous sleep was overrated and you now wake up a couple times a night. We haven't decided if the disruptive sleep is because you're teething or if it's the result of a growth spurt. No teeth have yet sprouted, and you're not busting out of your clothing from growing too big. I know, though, that this will pass. As much as I love my sleep, the quiet middle-of-the-night moments (and sometimes not so quiet moments) are irreplaceable and precious and are sure to one day leave me yearning for more of them. I know it won't be like this forever.

I'm keeping this letter short and sweet, free of flowery stories. I still love you and think you're the most amazing thing that has ever happened in my life. Right now, I need to go get some sleep so I'm ready for our 3 a.m. milk party. See you then.

Love,
Mama