Eight Month Update

I can't believe Baby Tuna is now eight months old! (Her birthday was last week and I'm a total blogging slacker) That means that in just four short months we will be chasing a one year old around. And that four months ago, we were sitting in the hospital as Z healed from her surgery. Seems like ages ago, and now she is growing and hitting all of her milestones like a champ!

Weight: about 18 pounds (no doctor appt this month, so I had to measure myself)
Height: about 26.5 inches (tough to get since the kid is always in motion)
Sizes: Baby Tuna is wearing a little of everything. She still fits in her summery rompers that are 3-6 month size, but also fits in 6-9 and 6-12 month items, too, although they are a wee bit big on her. It's tough to shop the sales and buy clothes for next year. Who knows how big (or not-so-big) she'll be next summer!


Sleep: It's been tough this month. Z is super inconsistent, sleeping from 8pm-7am one night, then waking up 4 or 5 times the next, then waking up at 3am another night and staying awake until 5. The Hubs and I have a deal - he takes care of bedtime and any wake-ups before 3 am. I get everything after and nap times. We. are. exhausted. Naps aren't much better. Most are her typical 30 minutes, but then she'll throw a couple 2 hour naps in once in a while just to get momma excited that things may be changing. We've tried a couple of different sleep training methods, unsuccessfully, and have just started the Ferber (which always makes me think of Meet the Fockers) progressive waiting method. Last night was the first night, so if it's successful, I'll probably post all about it. It was tough, but I've heard from many mommas that it works. Hope so!

Diet: We have yet to find a food that this kid won't eat. Ok...that's not completely true. Although she loves green bean puree from a pouch, she will not eat homemade green bean puree. I don't blame her. It has a funny gritty texture. She's old enough now, though, that this month, we may start giving her bites of real green beans. She lives for mashed bananas, mashed mangos, homemade cinnamon applesauce, homemade sweet potatoes with cinnamon, and a blend of kale, pear, and greek yogurt. Pumpkin and banana is another favorite that I may try making myself. Lots of yummy sounds while she eats and sometimes, when it's one of her favorites, Z will even close her eyes a little bit. We may have a foodie on our hands. She also love loves her puffs, and has even started to pick them up between her index finger and thumb instead of using her whole hand to shove them in her mouth!
Z is drinking water from her sippy throughout the day (although she enjoys chewing on the handles more than anything), but probably only gets an ounce or two. She also gets a 6 oz bottle four times a day, but doesn't usually finish it. I guess that's normal?

Milestones: Yowza! This month has been exciting! 

Crawling: We now have a full-fledged crawler in the house! Though she's been scooting around (mostly backwards for the first few weeks, then army crawling like she's in boot camp for another few weeks), the babe just recently started moving on all fours. She gets around so quickly in her army crawl, she usually goes that way, especially on the tile. Z giggles and chirps when she starts crawling like a speed demon, usually headed around the corner to her bathroom or across the living room to hang out under the jumperoo. 

"Talking": This chatterbox babbles all day long. Her most common "words" are "ya-ya", which she usually says while nodding, and "mamamam", which the Hubs swears is her way of saying mama. Who knows! 

Pulling Up: This month, Baby Tuna started pulling up on everything! It started with pulling up on us if we were sitting or laying on the floor, then she moved to the coffee table and crib rail. For the longest time, she could only get to her knees, but after her eight month birthday, started making it to her feet! 

That mean mug is so intimidating! 

I took about a zillion pics this last month, as usual, so here are a few more...

For Z's eight month birthday, we were in Ellijay, GA at my parents' cabin. If you've been following this blog for a while, you may remember that we went there last October for our babymoon. It's one of our favorite places, lots of hiking, close to Atlanta (although we only stopped for lunch this year on our way through), and a great place to relax. 

We left in the wee hours of the morning, about 4am, so that Z would sleep for the first half of the trip. (That way we both got a few hours of sleep before hitting the road.) She was an awesome traveller! We really didn't have to stop any more often than we would have anyways, and we rented an SUV so that I could easily climb from front to back when she needed company. Other than lousy weather when we reached Atlanta foiling our plans for eating Willy's in Piedmont Park on the way up, the trip went very smoothly. 

I wasn't great about taking pictures, and most of them haven't been edited yet, but here are a few from our trip.

The view from the front of the cabin. The view from the back porch is the same. Like being in a little treehouse!

Someone loves the chilly weather! 

How we spent our nights...s'mores and Uno. Good times! 

 On the last day of our trip, we went to our favorite spot in the area, Amicalola Falls. The little creek in the first pic actually feeds the falls. We took the 425 stairs down to the viewing deck, but Z was the only one who was amped to climb back up.

I'm not sure what this face is, but it's super cute!!

The rest are from Z's actual 8 month birthday. I'm so into polka dots lately, and the babe's polka dot corduroy romper is seriously my favorite!

I've been slacking so much on my blogging duties lately. It's tough business trying to work, blog, and chase around a curious 8 month old! Look for 8 month favorites just around the corner!