Eight months!

Maggie turned eight months old last week! Eight months is a delightful age, and Maggie is such a delightful baby. We're really having a great time these days! She remains an incredibly happy baby; we get comments all the time on how good-natured she is. However, we're finding that she can also be pretty stubborn and strong-willed, and boy does she get upset when she doesn't get her way. These days that usually occurs when she is made to sit still for diaper changes, isn't allowed to climb all over the slippery tub during bath times, or has some choice item (power cord, mama's [oh so tasty] sandal, daddy's beer bottle) taken away from her. Let me tell you, this girl has some lung power and isn't afraid to exercise it. Luckily, she gets over even the most egregious wrongs pretty quickly and returns to her usual sunny self. :)


We've seen quite the change in Maggie's eating patterns this month. She's figured out how to feed herself finger foods, and now she doesn't like to eat from a spoon (except for yogurt, which she loves.) Of course, this development occurred approximately 30 seconds after I finished stocking the freezer with homemade purees. :) She likes all kinds of fruit (especially blueberries, cherries and honeydew), eats a variety of vegetables, and also enjoys crackers and cheerios, but above all she adores cheese, and it's always the first thing to go. Here she is at the start of a typical meal:


(She's started putting her head over to the side like this -- she knows she looks cute and that we can't help but smile at her.)

And here she is just a few minutes later:

You'll notice all the cheese has disappeared. :) You can also see her top two teeth in this picture -- they made their appearance this month. Which is great because now she can tackle more substantial foods, like melon:


Maggie still enjoys chasing Frank Jones around, though she isn't quite as fascinated with him as she used to be.


She's crawling all over the place, and fast, too. She pulls herself up all the time, and she's gotten good at lowering herself back down, so she hasn't had nearly as many falls recently, thank goodness. She's cruising around the furniture, and she "walks" all over the place, with the assistance of her high chair, her rolling push-cart toy, or any toy that provides a sturdy enough base but still slides across the floor.


She's become much more affectionate and snuggly this month. She climbs my legs, asks to be picked up, crawls into our laps, and give big, slobbery kisses. Very sweet. She also likes to be held and carried around much more than she used to. She's showing some signs of separation anxiety lately, but only when she actually sees Patrick or me walking away from her.

(in case you can't tell, she's kissing her book here)

Lately, Maggie really enjoys pulling things out of things -- pulling toys out of a bowl/toy box/basket, pulling laundry out of the basket, etc. She hasn't gotten around to putting anything back yet, though. She loves looking at books and turning the pages. And she's recently discovered playing with balls -- she loves when we toss them to her, and she'll set one to rolling around the room, then chase after it.

She's constantly on the go, and constantly entertaining us. I can't wait to see what next month will bring!