Ava Rose at 8 months...

This post is a month late but at least the picture was taken on time.

Eight month facts:

• We are all smiles, gummy, toothless, and sometimes drooly smiles.
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• Rolling, scooting on the floor (backwards or sideways only) and sitting up by herself.
• Loves to sing, loves to "clap", and loves to practice standing and walking.
• Very social, loves to meet new people and playdates with other littles.
• November was all about the color brown, turkeys, feathers, and getting ready for Christmas.
• Recognizes some baby sign language - specifically more, eat, and kitty.
• She think it's fun to wash her hands
• She said "mama" for the first time, she only says it when she cries but she can say "dada" and direct it at R.  She gets really excited to see our cat.

Nicknames:  Nuggie, nugget, bubbles, bunny bear, bunny nose, giggles...we love our pet names

Weight: 15.13 lbs

Length: unknown, next MD appointment is in January

Eyes: brown?  hazel?  depends on who you ask

Clothes:  we started wearing 6-9 months mid month, mostly because our seasonal winter/thanksgiving/holiday clothing was all 9 month.  Wearing a size 2 shoe.

Diapers:  Size 2.

Sleeping:  depends on the week, we have "good" ones and "bad" ones.  If we are lucky we can go 12-5 without a feeding.  Usually we wake up with her at least 2-3x but it can be more or less.  We have a routine but she varies quite a bit.  She also had a bad cold during part of the month and struggled to breath at night.

Likes:  Any social interaction, being held, exploring (with my husband or I present), she loves trying new foods and playing with her daycare friends.  She really likes her sippy cup and practicing fine motor control by picking up puffs.

Dislikes: tummy time- she doesn't like trying to crawl and her scoot frustrates her.  She hates being ignored and doesn't play independently for more than 5 minutes.

Feeding:  3 bottles during daycare and free feeding in the afternoon, we usually have at least 1 night feed and 1 early morning feed.  I let her nurse unlimited during the weekend.  She gets at least 2 jars of babyfood a day but also table food - vegetables, meat, fruit, anything that I can mush with my fingers.  She loves fish, eggs, and yogurt. We have at least one "snack" per day, usually to help her learn to feed herself...we have tried puffs, mums, yogurt melts, and rice husks.  She gets a sippy cup a couple times a day too and loves it.

Avas Favorites:  Apple Cinnamon Puffs, Banana Yogurt Melts, MAM teether ring, and the Nuk training cup, Zutanos fleece booties, sensory bottles made at daycare, smiling at everyone.

Milestones: First Thanksgiving, first charity walk, first museum visit, second beach trip, first time eating from the table, first Wednesday chapel, decorated her first Christmas tree, began her first advent, rode in the shopping cart and sat in a highchair at a restaurant, and had her first overnight with Grandma.  We tried lots of new foods, too many to count.

Postpartum - I feel great, still up 7 pounds and still eating like a hoss.  I'm drinking a lot of water and eating snacks throughout the day.  I'm enjoying the holidays but I can't wait for it all to be over so I can get back to consistency with my diet.