My Maggie: 8 Months

My Maggie is 8 months old today. Wow!, time is flying. These babies sure do grow fast.

I don't remember it going quite this fast with Jack. I don't know if it has something to do with her being the second or what. My only advice to anyone with two is...cherish every moment. I'm sure you've heard it a million times or at least thought it, but I promise there is a lot of truth behind that simple statement.

Eating

Maggie has made a lot of changes this month when it comes to eating. Not so much her style, but her in take. Maggie still likes to take it slow (as she does with everything), make a giant mess, blow bubbles, spit food, and check out her surroundings during feedings. To say the least, meals can be a process.

Breakfast starts shortly after she wakes in the morning, around 8:00ish, with a 6oz bottle and half a container of fruit with cereal mixed in. Again, still her favorite meal of the day.

Lunch is where the big change took place. She still eats after her morning nap around 11:30 a.m. She takes a 4oz bottle and we have added half a container of fruit and half a container of veggies to this meal. I always give her the veggies first and follow that with the fruit. It never fails that after that first bite of fruit, after downing her veggies, her face lights up with a giant grin. She knows that's the good stuff! Certainly worth the wait.

Dinner is still late afternoon/early evening after her p.m. nap. Here she takes another 4oz bottle and we've added meat to this meal. It's usually some veggie pasta meat mix. It took her a few feedings to get use to this new delicatessen. I can't blame her, it's doesn't look or smell too appetizing. I'm happy to say we've gotten over that hurdle and now she is an official meat eater.

I love the fact that we have been able to add some finger foods to her diet too. Mainly Cheerios, puffs, dried fruits, etc. I hate to admit it, but it's a great baby sitter when I'm trying to get Jack taken care of or other various duties around here. Not to mention, she absolutely LOVES it!

We've even given her a few tastes of our food, like banana, watermelon, steamed broccoli, bread, chicken (which oddly enough she devoured). Basically anything we are eating, she wants. It's a trick I learned when trying to feed her meat those first few times. If I pretended to be eating it--she wanted it! Whatever works!

I feel like it will be no time when she is eating what we are. Kind of bitter sweet.

Activity

I want to devote the activity section this month to a few of Maggie's favorites...

*Favorite Toy--her playmat, her exersaucer, or any ball

*Favorite Color--purple

*Favorite Song--Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

*Favorite Animal--dog

*Favorite Instrument--drums

*Favorite Daily Activity--bath time

*Favorite Book--Goodnight Moon

*Favorite Accessory--a bow in her hair

*Favorite Person--Mommy

*Favorite Outdoor Activity--stroller rides

*Favorite Class--Gym

*Favorite Part of Music Class--Dancing

*Favorite Smile Getter--blowing her kisses

*Favorite Position--snuggled in Mommy's arms (probably why she has made NO effort to crawl:)

Sleep

This is where I've seen the fewest changes this month, which is fine by me. Mags still snoozes from 7:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. Her bed time routine is the same...bath, bottle, books, and bed.

She is still taking 3 naps a day. Her morning nap starts at 9:30 a.m. and goes anywhere from 11:00-11:30. I have noticed that she wakes from this one more often as opposed to to be awaken. That's a good thing because we are usually waiting on her to get up so we can get out of nap jail!

Her afternoon nap is at 1:30. I've tried to push her to 2:00 for brother's sake on occasion, but it's not pretty. So we try to stick to that 1:30 time slot. This nap is kind of funny in that it can go anywhere from 2 hours to 3 1/2. I usually let her wake herself from this one. It doesn't effect her night time sleep at all, so why not?

And of course, my little Magpie STILL wants that evening catnap. We base the time she goes down and the length on her afternoon nap. I've tried to skip it if she snoozes late on that afternoon nap, but I find she gets crabby come bath time. She just isn't ready to drop it. On an average day she goes down around 5:30 and snoozes/rests for about an hour. And yes, she will still sleep through the night. I'm thinking Mags will be ready to let this one go in the next month or two.

So there is my Maggie at 8 months. She is turning into a feisty little piece of heaven. Her personality is blooming on all levels. She is a girl who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to ask for it. And on the flip side, she is my snugly, affectionate little lovebug. She has brought so much joy to this house, not only myself, but for Jack and Daddy. I'm thinking she's got Jack in training--he is smitten with her.

Happy 8 Months Maggie!--now, if you will just sloooow down.

**I just had to show off her yummy legs!**

The Teeth That Took Their Time

This is the story of the two teeth that took their time to come in. It all started well over a month ago...I know a long time, hence the title.

A once sweet baby was on vacation with her family at the beach. Within a day of her arrival, she came down with a fever, a case of the terrible snoozies, and a loss of appetite. "Oh dear" thought her concerned Mother, "Is she getting sick?". But as the week's vacation passed no other symptoms reared their head. "Hmmm...it might be teeth.", the Mother contemplated.

As weeks, 2 weeks to be exact, came and went, and no teeth appeared, this baby's concerned Mother dismissed the idea of teeth and moved on.

Well, this once sweet baby, had other plans. She cried...a lot. She whined often. She ONLY wanted her Mommy. And as a matter of fact, no one was even able to look at her, not even her loving Daddy. "Oh dear" thought her Mother, " this baby has severe separation anxiety." And so time passed, another 2 weeks.

Her Mommy was at a loss. "What happened to my smiley lovebug?". Her Mommy Googled separation anxiety and tried her hardest to follow all of the advice. But, nothing seemed to be working.

By week 6, this baby decided to pull out all of the stops, she added a runny nose and one terrible diaper after another to her already new persona. "Oh dear, what am I missing?" thought her distraught Mother. And just when things couldn't get any worse it all came to a close.

And now for the happy ending...that dear baby cut a tooth, a beautiful pearly white on her bottom gum. Her Mommy smiled, her Brother uncovered his ears, and her Daddy held her tight. They congratulated her and welcomed back that once sweet baby that they all knew and adored! That baby was so relieved that her family still loved her, a true unconditional love, that she decided to cut another pearly white right next to the first one on the following day.

And they all lived happily ever after...until that baby decided to welcome more teeth...

Four On The 4th

We spent a wonderful weekend as a family of 4 this Independence Day weekend. I mention this because it doesn't happen all that often. It's usually, "Will you watch her while I take him to XYZ?' or "I've got her while you two are gone". Ahhh...the joy of juggling two.

But, this weekend it just so happened that everything worked out for us to be together as a family of 4. Not to mention, our first July 4th as a family of 4. Somehow our social calendar worked perfectly with naps and feeding schedules, and that meant we got to spend a full weekend celebrating America's Birthday together.

And this is what it looked like...

On Saturday we attended a cook out hosted by the Zimmermans. Jack was in "all boy" heaven playing with Carson and Miller in the baby pool, which is really suppose to be a hot tub. Either way the boys loved it!

Maggie sat poolside and admired her newborn girly friends, Eliza Kate and Bradley. (and note two girls are dressed alike...oh no!, party foe pa...Maggie sure didn't mind though:)

Who needs the water? Mags was perfectly content gnawing on pool toys and watching all the action from the sidelines.

Mommies and Baby Girls! From L to R-Me and Maggie, Tasha and Karen, & Erica and Eliza Kate. I just realized there is a baby missing...where is Karen and Bradley?

Sunday was no less busy! We attended the neighborhood club 4th party and cookout. The Miccas and Harris' were even there--wow!, two days in a row?

When Jack wasn't making a splash or playing water chase with Sophia, he was checking on his baby sister. I swear this Big Bro is smitten.

And back in action...Jack asked me if I would take a picture of him "playing monkey in the pool". He sure takes his nickname literally. (check out that tan line too)

So after the 4th party at the club, this family of 4 actually did have to break up. My Maggie was done for, so we headed home for sweet dreams. The boys hung back and stayed up until dark to watch the fireworks! I in no way would have guessed that Jack could have made it. But, he surprised me once again. Upon retuning home he said with wide eyes, "they looked like stars in the sky". And then he crashed...hard...until 9:15 am the next morning. I wish I could have been there to see his first fireworks experience. I guess I'll catch it when Maggie is 3!

Gym Baby

I finally took my camera to Maggie's Wednesday Gym Class and got some pictures! She has been a student of Gym Class for a month now so it was about time.

Okay, let me just say this girl loves getting out of the house for her class. After keeping her quarantined for nearly the first 5 months of her life, I know she is thrilled to know there is life outside of her nursery walls. Not to mention, I love my Mommy and Mags time.

I've yet to determine what fascinates her more about Gym. It's either the other babies or the balls. She literally cackles at the sight of little ones her size. And trust me, there are plenty of them all around. She has also been known to let a few squeals/whines out when she can't get to the ball she wants. She prefers to have a ball in hand, or better yet, in mouth the entire class.

With her not being mobile yet, we are limited in some of the obstacles (no complaints here). However, since starting class, I've noticed a few lunges on her part. Give Mags something worth working for and she just might put a little effort into it.

Maggie is suppose to be learning to "share". In this obstacle she was to roll the ball back and forth with another gymmate. The only problem was when it came her turn to roll, she lunged on the ball, grabbed it with both hands, and squealed when it was time to release. Hmmm...she might pan out to be an interesting toddler.

Is it possible for a 7 month old to have a favorite color? If so, Maggie's is definitely purple. It is the first color she goes to when playing with these wiffle balls and if it happens to roll away she will not take her eyes off of it. It's crazy!

Did I mention Maggie likes balls?