Dear Hadley: Month 8

Dear Hadley:

You turned eight months old a few days ago and as usual, this last month was a doozy! I know I tell you every month that that month was a big one, but believe me, this last month could not have been any bigger unless you stood up and walked into the kitchen to make a sandwich. And honestly, I kind of think you might do that any day now. You spent this last month perfecting your crawl, learning to pull up, starting to "cruise" on furniture, and mimicking us. It's so amazing to watch you learn all of these new skills. It just seems like it is all happening so fast. In no time, you will be running around, talking, and asking to borrow the car.

Your Maggie, my mom, frequently exclaims about how "busy" you are-- just like I was at your age. And, oh, are you busy. You are constantly moving, moving, moving. You are crawling on your hands and knees like a champ now and you are super fast. If we lay you down on the floor on your back, you immediately flip to your tummy and start crawling away, usually to a piece of furniture so that you can pull up to standing. If we are holding you in our laps, you roll over and try to slither away or if we won't let you turn over, you squirm constantly until we put you down. You're so cuddly wuddly like that.

Maggie babysat you for about an hour last weekend so Daddy and I could run a few errands. That one hour exhausted Maggie. You are just that busy. And just think, I spend every hour of every day with you. That might be why Mommy is so tired. Lately, we can't take our eyes off of you for a second or you will be in the next room. In fact, yesterday, I tried to run to the kitchen for a glass of water and I turned around and you were sitting behind me in the middle of the kitchen floor. You must have crawled about 100 feet from the living room to the kitchen to get to me.



You have also perfected your crawling to sitting and sitting to crawling maneuvers. This has made life somewhat easier since you can now crawl to the toy you want, sit up to play with it, and then crawl to the next object you want. Recently, you have been doing a lot of crawling/ sitting and then crawling some more and sitting. You love to sit up, look around and smile at me and then take off crawling again. I just love those smiles.

This last month you started saying "mama" regularly. You seem to say "mama" most when you are crying, though, in a "ma ma ma ma" chant that is just heartbreaking. You will sometimes say "mama" when you are happy, too, but most of your happy babbling is "dada's" and "baba's." Daddy says this is because you need me for comfort and him for playtime. I have a sneaking suspicion that this pattern will continue long into your childhood years. Daddy is just so much fun to play with.

You are also mimicking things that we do now. You started shaking your head "no no" on Easter day and since then, when we say "no," you shake your little head. You also copy us if we shake our heads. It is so cute. We are working on teaching you "yes," too, but for now, you just laugh when we nod our heads at you.

You have also learned to clap your little hands when we clap or when we say "yea." Your little fists flap wildly together when you are happy. It doesn't always look like a clap, but it's close. We have been working on teaching you sign language for a few words that will make life easier for all of us, like "eat," "more," and "all done." You now recognize each word and sign and are trying to wag your hands in the "all done" sign.

And, you try to repeat us when we say your dog's name, "Bella." Your version sounds more like "bewaaaa," though. Bella doesn't mind. In fact, she adores you-- and the feeling is entirely mutual. You are in love with both of your animals, Bella and Allie. As you know, Allie, our cat, doesn't let you get too close to her, but Bella is more than willing to let you pet her. Your version of petting, though, usually includes some fur grabbing and pulling. We are working on teaching you to pet easy. You love to crawl up to your Bella and play with her fur or her feet. Bella has learned to get up and move when you are getting to be a little too much for her.

But, oh, how you love her. Your little face lights up when you see your animals and you let out the most endearing squeal when you see them. A few nights ago, Daddy was consoling you while you were fussing before bed. You turned your head and saw your Allie and immediately went from crying to squealing and laughing. I love that you already adore animals.

You had some fun adventures this month, too. You celebrated your first Easter and had your first visit from the Easter bunny. I had no idea that you would love your Easter basket as much as you did. You loved looking in your basket and pulling things out to play with. Easter was really the first day that you sat unsupported and didn't terrify me. Although you have been sitting for months, you still swayed and crashed when you got tired of sitting. This month, you finally learned to catch yourself when you wanted to lay down or crawl.

You also visited the zoo for the first time this month. Your love for animals didn't seem to extend to the zoo wildlife, but I think you might have been too distracted by all of the people to really notice the animals. We plan on taking you back to the zoo again soon, though.

I know I tell you this all the time, Sweet Pea, but I want to make sure it is in writing since I doubt you will remember much about this time of your life. I love you. It's that simple but that complicated, too. I also can't wait to see what this next month brings. Given the speed with which you are learning new things, I wouldn't be surprised if you are out mowing the lawn by June 1. That would make Daddy the happiest father ever!

I love you, Hadley.

Mommy