two thirds

Dear lia,

Eight months here and gone! Holy cow. It's like you've always been just a little baby in the house. One blink and I realize you're turning into another little kid. My little baby chubalub, growing up in a blink!

You have quite the personality now. It is so much fun to watch you wander around the house exploring (still getting stuck backwards). You of course love the tv and all its bright shiny buttons. Growling has reached a new level. Sometimes it's for attention, but mostly it's when you're concentrating or engaging in a great physical feat (such as standing up). We're pretty sure you might be a gremlin, and thus feeding you after midnight might prove to be a bad idea.

You scream when you're standing up and lose balance, or when you're tired or cranky or just want Bella to pay attention to you. You love whatever Bella has and fight vehemently when she takes anything away from you. And yet, she is your mini idol. You guys could spend an hour just giggling at each other (when she's not attack hugging you).

As for us, our conversations usually consist of Heh. Heh heh. When you're on my hip you lean over and sway your head into my line of sight and stare at me until you catch my attention. You spend the rest of your day growling, whether you're playing alone, goofing off with Bella, or on a mission to find a new toy (or raid the dishwasher... I mean, really. Who can resist all those shiny little spoons?).

Dinner time is so much fun. You get to join Bella in your own eat seat now, gnawing on bread, gagging on bits, and sprinkling it all over the floor. Bella does her best to get you growling, shrieking and giggling through dinner. I thought for sure you'd be my child that eats, but no such luck. You refuse most foods, but seem to enjoy paper and bits of lint from the floor. We're going to have to work on your taste, methinks.

My darling, after our first few months together i dreamed of the time that we would finally fall into a rhythm and learn to speak each others language. I just never imagined that it would be a language I already knew. How is it that you do it so well? When you need to reconnect, you press your forehead against mind. There is nothing sweeter in the world than that feeling. It is exactly what I did the entire time I labored with you- the counter, the cabinets, my hands. Strange little world, huh?

You made it through all our colds, too. You have become the Queen of Snot Bubbles. You were a superstar at the ER and even made it through a chest xray with...minimal screaming (and no vomiting for once!) To verify your tubalubitude, you've got 22lb on that little 28" frame of yours... It's no wonder I can't get pants to fit over your thighs.

Let's just say you have made quite a mark on this family and we love having you here.

You are my squishy ray of sunshine.

Love,

mama