Dear Emmerson--Eight Months

Dear Emmerson,

My baby, how are you 8 months? Time is certainly flying right by and I can hardly believe you are 2/3 the way through your first year! I love every single minute with you! Here's what you've been up to from months 7-8.

You moved into size 2 diapers, and weigh in about 14 1/2 pounds. You're wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes, but sweetie you can still wear some of your 0-3 month pants! Some things you are wearing 6-12 month, so we're finding it really depends on the brand/type.

You have a tooth coming in! We can see it on the your bottom gums, but it hasn't popped through fully yet. You're definitely teething and love putting everything in your mouth!

You can pull yourself up, and love to stand while holding onto us or anything else. We think this is a big deal for a little one before eight months! Once you figured out how to pull yourself up, you try to do it wherever you can. It's adorable. You're extremely close to crawling and have taking a couple "scoots" forward, but not consistently yet. We really think you might skip the crawling and move onto walking! (Edit: You started crawling in Mexico and really took off once we got home on June 5th!)

You say "mama" a lot, and it makes my heart swell! One of your favorite times to say it is in the middle of the night or early in the morning. :) I don't know if you know that I am the mama or if it's just your favorite thing to say, but either way it is precious! You've recently started saying "nananana" too. You also love to squeal (loudly) when you're happy and excited. Apparently I was an early talker so we think you will be, too. We're working on dada next!

You love to eat! This month we added some fruit, and you're a big fan! Apricots were your first taste and those might have been a bit too tart for your liking. You've also had banana and pears, with pears probably being your favorite. Your favorite food of all time so far is butternut squash. You do this adorable grunting thing when you are ready for something/excited to eat. Now you know when you sit in your high chair and the bib comes out that food is coming soon. You still love oatmeal every night, and are going to move to three meals a day at 8 months. This is also a time when you can have a wider variety of foods, including some meat, dairy, and grains. I love making meals for you and they are about to get more exciting, my dear!

We are heading on vacation next week to Mexico! We really wanted to take a family trip and just wanted to go somewhere we could relax for the week. I've had too much fun picking out your little bathing suits and outfits! Traveling with an 8 month old will be different than a 4 month old, but we know you'll do great on the plane. We are so excited for some fun in the sun!

You and I have lots of fun during the week, and are taking baby wearing barre class, a stroller workout and mommy-and-me yoga. Our yoga class is probably almost done, as you are a wiggle worm during class and no longer want to sit still and watch! You want to climb on mommy and roll to your neighbor's mat. It's been a fun class for a few months, though, and we'll start another one for "older" babies soon. We'll also start a music class next, which you'll love, I'm sure. We still love strolling with our friends in the park and having lunch and play dates. NYC is such a happier place when the weather is cooperating!

Your favorite toys this month are your activity cube, morracca, piano, chew beads, sophie the giraffe, soft blocks, and pink rattle. You also love anything that is in our hands, mommy's E necklace, my hair, things that crinkle, and WATER. When we have a glass of water you go bananas! You grab the glass and start sticking out your tongue because you want to drink it. It is hilarious, so we let you do it as often as you want. :) You get some water in your mouth, though most ends up on your shirt.

You still love reading books, watching other babies, smiling at people on the street, elevator, and lines, playing peek-a-boo, looking in the mirror, laughing and being silly, giving big kisses to mommy and daddy, and being held. Sometimes when we try and put you down you stiffen your legs so we can't put you in a sitting position...you want to be standing! You like a game we call "table slaps" which is basically where you slap the table and we copy you and you laugh hysterically. You think your daddy is the funniest! You also like when we clap and cheer for you.

You dislike when we leave the room or put you down sometimes, and when we won't let you have something you want, but might be dangerous for you, like a plastic bag.

Sleep is for the birds! You take three regular(ish) naps, but you prefer to take them in the carrier or stroller, not necessarily in your crib. Night time sleep ebbs and flows, so we're just going with it. I don't want to spend any of our time together stressing about sleep or your schedule, so I decided I just wouldn't! You are happy as a clam so I just follow your cues and it seems to be working for us at the moment. You wake up smiling and singing and how lucky are we to start each day like that with you?

This month we celebrated Mother's Day, which was so incredibly special! Daddy let me sleep in until 8:30 (gasp!), and then he made a lovely breakfast. We played, and then went to brunch at Del Friscos. Always a good meal there, and you were an angel, of course! Then we walked by the river and talked about how blessed we are to be sharing this day with you! You're our miracle, and everyday with you is a slice of heaven. Being your mama is the very best.

You have the sweetest personality, and we are just enamored with you. You're our little baby and even though you seem like such a big girl already, we know you're still so little. I'm excited about every stage and even though I get a little sad about how fast time is passing, it doesn't last long because I enjoy where you are right now in the present the most. Lots to do and look forward to this month, sweet girl. We're so proud of you and love being your parents more than anything. We love you, we love you, we love you so, dear baby!

Love you,
Mommy