Josie is 8 Months

Happy 8th month to Josie!
This has been a month full of first for Josie! She sprouted her first (and second) tooth, went to her first wedding, tried puffs, started army crawling, and said her first word - dad.

Since this isn't a month where Josie gets a well visit at the pediatrician's office, we don't have an official weight for her. Our scale says that she weighs 15lb 8oz, but I'm not sure how accurate that actually is. Josie is still in size 2 diapers, but I bought a box of size 3s for whenever she runs out of the other size. She is in 6 month clothes, but she can still wear 3-6 month items, too. I am starting to put those away now though, and I'm pulling out 6 month fall items.

Josie still loves to eat. I've been wearing out my Baby Breeza by making all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables for her. She loves pretty much everything, which excites me more than anyone could ever know. Her favorite foods so far are squash, sweet potatoes, and pears. She doesn't seem to like my homemade peas or green beans, but loves store bought ones. (I honestly don't care if she eats homemade or store bought. As long as she eats I am happy.) She has also started eating puffs and Cheerios this month. She LOVES feeding herself. It is getting to the point that when she starts fussing we will sit her in her highchair and give her some puffs. That cheers her right up.

We started out this month on a Momma-Daughter road trip to Nashville to visit one of my very best friends, Tara. Josie was a perfect road trip companion. She did not make a peep the whole way there! I actually got nervous a few times and thought something was wrong. She loves being in the car though, so her good behavior shouldn't have surprised me. We stopped about half way there and I fed her, changed her diaper, and took my own bathroom break. That was definitely an adventure. (I didn't want to take the car seat in and put it on the dirty floor, so I had to hold her while I used the restroom - very difficult. TMI, I know.) Josie was such a good girl while we visited. She slept through the night, played happily, snuggled with me so she could fall asleep for naps, and was a sweetheart. The only time she really was fussy was when we went shopping; she doesn't like waiting around and keeping still. She fell asleep after an hour though and we were able to enjoy the rest of shopping trip. Our trip home went just as well the trip down. I am so glad that I was able to have that time alone with Josie. It was definitely a bonding experience for us, and it made me fall even more in love with her!

As I mentioned before, Josie started sleeping through the night while we were in Nashville and she has continued to do so once we got home. There was one or two nights when she had a hard time sleeping, but that was because of her tooth that was coming in. I think part of the reason that Josie is sleeping through the night is because she stopped taking her early evening nap. It used to be that every day around 5:15 she would take a 30-45 minute nap. When she woke up she would eat, play, get a bath, play a little more and then go back to sleep. That nap is gone now and she really wears herself out, which means sleep at night for everyone. I forgot how wonderful uninterrupted sleep can be!

Both of Josie's bottom teeth have erupted and are working their way out. The one that appeared earlier this month is half of the way through. Her newest one just burst through her gums a few days ago. Josie is gnawing on everything and drooling all over the place! She's had a few rough days (and a rough night or two) but overall has done pretty well with teething.

The first tooth

Both teeth at the end of the month.

Josie has started to say da-da! Since the day she began saying it she hasn't stopped. All day long we hear, "Da-da-da-da-dad-dad-daaaa-da-dad-dad..." She will get so into that she pushes her lower jaw out and show off her new teeth. It is so cute!

Josie is army crawling all over the place and I absolutely love it. At the beginning of the month she would squirm around a little and then roll herself to what she wanted. Now she is full on army crawling! I love watching her zero in on an object and make her way over to it. She is getting so fast! She will get up on her hands and knees and rock, but she doesn't quite know what to do next. She just falls forward on her face and goes back to army crawling. Gone are the days of my stationary little baby. I can't wait to see her speeding along on the floor, chasing after Sophie.

Getting her to keep on her back and pose for pictures is pretty much impossible now. 

Here are some more pictures from the past month:

 Josie sits up so much more now (but she prefers laying on ground). She still can't gracefully get down though and usually just face plants onto the floor.

I celebrated turning 30 with my two favorite girls! Josie really wanted to grab my cake. 

Such a happy girl!

I tried letting Josie feed herself one night. It didn't go so well...

She loved playing with her food. 

Ice cubes in the mesh feeder have been one of Josie's favorite things this month. It really helped with her teething.

We let Josie try out a sippy cup. She was able to drink from it a bit, but she still isn't quite there yet. 

The only (somewhat) decent picture I have of Josie at her first wedding (the wedding of Joe's cousin, Mike).  

Josie enjoyed the teether cookies I made for her. 

Teething sucks!

I had some really cute visitors at work one day! 

First Word

We have been waiting and waiting for Josie to say her first word. Earlier in the summer I could've sworn that she said dad, but she never said it again for me to be sure so it didn't count. She has said something that sounds like "hi" a few times, but it has never been super clear.  She has been making a mmmmm sound for a while now but never said mom or mama. A few days ago while she was laying on the floor in the living room, I got up to go do something with Sophie. Josie saw me and started to cry. She gave a few mmmmmm's while crying and it sounded like she said, "Mama". She was fussing too much though so once again I couldn't be sure and the word didn't count. Last night I was changing her into her pajamas she was babbling and very clearly said, "dad!" This afternoon while she was babbling she said dad once again. This time Joe was there to hear her. So now it is official - Josie's first word is dad! I am a little sad that mom wasn't her first word (of course), but I'm so excited that she is becoming verbal!

First Tooth

Josie's first tooth popped through today! It is the right central incisor. All week long I have felt a big bump on her lower gums. She has been gnawing on things like crazy and has been fussier than usual, so I knew her tooth was coming soon. Tonight Josie was gnawing on Joe's finger and he felt the sharpness of a tooth. It had finally busted through! I hope that she isn't in too much pain. 

Josie is 7 Months Old

Where the past seven months gone?! I feel as though I blinked and the months flew by. 

Josie weighs about 15 1/2 pounds (according to our scale at home). She wears 3-6 month and 6 month clothes as well as size 2 diapers.

Josie continues to be a really good eater. Due to the fact that she enjoys food, I bought a Baby Brezza and have been making baby food this month. She likes all the foods that we tried last month as well as squash, peaches, mango, and beans. We tried some broccoli but she hates it! I think it just isn't smooth enough for her yet. Plus it smells pretty bad, so I'm okay with her not liking it. I also try taking some teether biscuits. They look more like cookies and aren't very hard, but she loves gnawing on them and her high chair during dinner time. I can't wait to try more and more food with her. It is fun having a child who actually enjoys eating!

Josie is not crawling yet. There have been a few times where she has been up on her hands and knees and lifted her belly off the ground, but she isn't sure what to do next. She will get there though. Until then she is perfectly content with rolling all over the place. She gets to where she wants to go this way!

I'm not sure why we keep the blanket for her on the floor anymore. She always rolls herself off of it.

Josie isn't sitting up completely on her own yet. She can sit up and has been doing that for a while now. However she gets too distracted and quickly and falls right over. Even when I put her in her Bumbo she goes off to the side. She does the same thing in her highchair. I'm not sure what that is all about. She enjoys laying on the floor more than sitting up. I keep working with her but I'm not going to push her. I know that she will do it when she is ready.  One thing that I had picked up about her is that she can do things and when she does it she kind of loses interest. Maybe she likes to challenge herself and once the challenge is over she doesn't care as much anymore. Who knows.

We still have not heard Josie say her first word. This summer she it sounded like she said 'dad' once but we never heard it again. For the past two months or so she has been making a sound that sounds like the word 'hi' in the same exact drawn out way that we say it to her. I don't count this either though because i cant be sure what she is saying. I long to hear her say mommy to me. I know though that whatever word she finally says will sound so sweet. 

Josie's sleeping habits continue to improve. She takes a few naps during the day, including an early evening nap around 6pm. She goes to be for good around 7:30-8pm. She only gets up once at night now, which is usually between 11pm and 1am. She is still pretty easy to put to bed. We just have to give her a pacifier, her lovies, play her music, put her on her side near the side of the crib and she is good to go. She falls asleep on her side, but usually ends up on her back or stomach throughout the night. I can't wait until she sleeps all night long!

Josie doesn't have any teeth yet. There have been times where we thought that we felt something around the gum line but it turned out to be nothing. She doesn't seem like she is in a lot of pain though so I'm guessing that she is not close to getting a new tooth. She does love teething toys though, so who knows.

Sophie the giraffe is Josie's new best friend.

I can't wait to see what other fun and exciting things happen with Josie next month! Until then, here are some more pictures from this month:

I had a hard time getting Josie to look at the camera and to keep her legs down!

Sophie kept cracking up when Josie was grabbing at her. She loved the attention that Josie was giving to her.

Sophie decided to 'read' to Josie so that she wouldn't grab at her face anymore.

Trying puffs for the first time...

...not so sure about them. 

Josie getting her first pedicure from Aunt Sara.

There is one section of our driveway that puddles when it rains. Sophie loves jumping in it, so we thought we would let Josie try it out, too.

I love that sweet little face!

She looks so disappointed that the ice cream cone is plastic!

Puddles and pink piggies

Josie is fascinated with different textures. She spent a good 5 minutes one day just playing with the carpet. She looked so concerned and intrigued. You would think that it was brand new carpet as opposed to the stuff she rolls around on every day.

She loved this shaggy carpet (though not the taste of it).

Josie and Grandma Jenny

Grandpa Marvin and Jo Jo (as he lovingly calls her)

Zoo day with friends

We visited Daddy at his new job. All his co-workers swooned over the girls. 

Passed OUT!

Meeting Aunt Deanna for the first time.

Quality time with cousin Anna.

Getting some lovin' from big sister Sophie.