Brynn Tracker: Eight Months

The Story
On July 18th my little snuggle bunny hit 8 months old.  EIGHT, guys!  That's 67%.  She's ALMOST passing infant-hood.  Say whaaaat?  I swear she was just a little sugar-fiend in my belly yesterday.  Le sigh.

Pardon my broken record-ness but MAN was it a good month!  She had crawling on lock down.  She could clear a room in the time it takes that Usain Bolt character to finish 100 meters.  Speaking of mobility- she digs it.  Big time.  She's quite the explorer and can frequently be found on top of things she shouldn't be.  What, might you ask?  Oh, the first step.  Sister's green chair.  Sister's potty (with the lid closed guys, relax).  You have to watch her like a hawk. She also started pulling up this month.  I don't have the day documented but she was a pro by the end of the month so I imagine it was sometime in June.

What. A. Doll.

This month Brynn also experimented with her ability to express herself.  I don't think of her as a baby who has about a million different expressions- she's generally either looking at you trying to figure you out or grinning like a cat who just got a canary.  In month 7 though she went through 2 facial expressions that had Ryan and I cracking up.  They're hard to explain and I never caught either on camera, but I'll try to document here.

The first was this funny cheesin' smile where she would grit her teeth, scrunch up her nose and brows and blow air in and out of her mouth and nose at the same time.  So think of like a bull snorting but a REALLY HAPPY bull.  It generally happened when she was eating.  I think it was her way of trying to smile at you but she also knew it made us laugh.

Whhhhy do you keep putting me back on this piece of paper and then having a fit when I try to eat it?!

The second one she still does periodically but not nearly as much as she used to.  She will round her mouth and say "uh uh uh uh uh" over and over.  It's usually accompanied with bouncing and flailing and it always convey excitement.  Ryan is the best at re-enacting it.

I would say this month Brynn really took to food.  She was slow on the uptake for sure but this month she really hit her stride.  She finally got the hang of puffs (after many near heart attacks from her Mama) and wasn't nearly as picky as she had been.  This might be partially because I gave in and started giving her more fruits this month, but I prefer to think that she's just tapped into her inner love of food.  So we will go with that.

This one?  Is this the smile you were looking for Mom?  (No.  No it wasn't.)

I know all parents say this, but I'm going to anyway- she's just so funny.  She cracks me up in a completely different way than Emery does.  I know this is going to sound nutty because she's an infant... but she just seems so at peace with things.  Oh, you're dragging me to the store now even though I haven't had a morning nap?  Ok- cool.  Whatever.  Oh sister's taking things from me?  Fine.  I'll just crawl over to the next thing.  I'm not bothered.  What, Mom?  Sister's loudly doing something behind me?  Can't even hear it.  I'm totally inspecting this block right now.

I included this because I love this kid's lashes.  LOVE.

Another source of entertainment to her father and I?  Her babbling/squealing.  When she's in a good mood she will just babble away.  That's how we wake up most every weekend morning- to Brynn loudly squealing or laughing at herself in her crib.  She also does it in the car quite a bit.  She went through a phase where she would try to babble over Emery and I's conversations each day on the way home from school.  Trust me love- no one is forgetting you!

Two other tricks she picked up this month were waving bye bye and making kissy faces.  She went through long and consistent enough phases that I know she's doing both on purpose.  Now she's over it though and will do them on her terms.  Generally her terms are after whomever I'm trying to get her to do it for has walked away.

Have I mentioned that she puts everything in her mouth?  She does.  I'm not kidding.  She spit up a leaf the other day.  True story.

The School Stuff
Brynn continued to do well at school and they still didn't have room for her in her next class.  So she spent some more quality time either in the exersaucer or pulling up and down on the mirrored wall at school.  Most days her teachers would tell me stories about her babbling at or playing with 1 of only 2 boys in her class.  I hope this isn't any kind of foreshadowing but I generally refrain from telling her Daddy anyway.  ;c)

Ryan actually makes this same face when confronted with a camera.

The Stats

• Height:  27.75"
• Weight: 17 lbs 6 oz
• Head:  16.75" (I tried)
• Firsts:  
• 6/28 - Easily getting puffs in her mouth without pretending she's choking
• 7/2 - Second tooth broke through (bottom right)
• 7/4 - Easily pulling self up and setting herself back down
• Diaper Size:  3
• Clothes:  6-9 months
• Feeding:  2-3 solids a day and a 6 oz bottle every 3 hours
• Foods Tried:  Peaches, Yogurt, Mangos, Apples, Spinach
• Sleeping:  She's a good little sleeper.  She is generally ready to be put to bed between 7 and 7:30 and sleeps until 7ish.  I can't recall  if I've mentioned it here before but this kid puts herself to sleep.  You lay her down, walk out and you're done.  It's nuts.
• Favorite Songs/Games:  She likes when you make faces or tickle her.  Continues to LOVE watching and "chasing" her sister.
• Other Notables:  Brynn is WAY more interested in Lola than Emery typically was.  At first Lola was a lot more tolerant of her than she was of Emery but recently she's decided she's just as afraid of Brynn as she is of Emery.

Annnnd... curtain.

Have you ever wondered what these photo shoots are like?  Close your eyes and imagine how you feel after a full day of work.  Then open them and look at this.  It's all that.  And a bag of chips.