Keeping Up with the Buckners: 8 Months Old

Ohh sweet little Addie Leigh,

As I write this, you are playing on the floor beneath my feet while big sister is napping upstairs. The house is quiet except for your sweet little squeals & jabbers as you play away with your toys. You are just the happiest little thing, almost constantly grinning from ear to ear. The amount of love and joy you bring your daddy and I is just immeasurable.

I love the stage you're in. Honestly its my favorite stage of the first year. The sitting stage: where you can sit in one spot and play with toys for hours on end.

Hailey loves to help you play with your toys

Perhaps you're behind a little bit in the gross motor department, but I'm not worried. I'm actually super content with the fact that you're not crawling yet or rolling all over the house. I have no doubt you'll get there in your own time.

Giddyup!

Some things you love right now are:
Playing peekaboo, clapping your hands, saying "bababa" and "vavava", blowing raspberries, eating ice pops in your mesh feeder, chewing on everything in sight, and playing in the bath & pool. It's been a fun summer with you so far!

We have gone lots of fun places this month, like the splash pad & pools shown above, the Butterfly House on Hailey's birthday, the Zoo on Collin's birthday, IHM's school picnic, Jeff City, and to countless parks & random errands. You are such a little trooper!

On the train at the zoo!

IHM school picnic

We always have a good time when Grandma Peggy comes shopping with us!

Your cousins Collin & Keaton were in town from Jeff City for 2 weeks this month. They love playing with you! Especially Collin - he is so sweet with you.

Your sister turned 3 this month and we threw her a super cute Circus party. You had a blast ;)

Playing dress-up at the photo booth!

You & Daddy celebrated your first Father's Day this month too!

Oh, and you and I are getting really good at mommy/daughter selfies ;)

Eating & Sleeping:

Hallelujah, you are sleeping 100% through the night! No more night feedings!! You sleep from approx 7:30pm straight through to 6:30am{ish}. It is a beautiful thing.

And then the schedule goes as follows:

6:30am{ish} -Wake & nurse then go downstairs & play for a while

8:30 or 9:00am - First nap, which is typically 1.5-2 hours long

10:30{ish} - Wake & nurse, play for a bit, then have some solids

1 or 1:30pm - Second nap, usually 1.5-2 hours

3:30{ish} - Wake & nurse, play some more, have solids around dinnertime

7-7:30pm -Nurse before bed.

You're a rockstar when you're on your schedule ;) See what I did there? When you're on your schedule.

When we are out and about, you can get a bit cranky when it's naptime and we're not near your bed. I try to accommodate play dates & errands as much as possible around the appropriate wake times, but it doesn't always work out. One day in particular I will never forget... It was Hailey's first little summer ballet class, which started at 9:30am, also known as "during your first nap". Well, I thought you might sleep in the car on the way there, but no, you stayed completely awake (much unlike your sister who has, since birth and still true today, ALWAYS fallen asleep the moment we drive anywhere). When we got to ballet, you unleashed some serious cries I've never heard from you before. Ear piercing, angry cries. I tried everything - holding you {=screams}, putting you in the stroller and walking around {=louder screams}, nursing you {=you bit me}. Nothing worked. You cried the entire ballet class, the entire ride home, and for 45 more minutes after that. It wasn't until I got you in bed and turned on your sound machine that you settled down, all by yourself, without any help from me.

I get a lot of grief for having such a "scheduled baby", but I don't care, because 90% of the time, having a schedule is a huge benefit. You are well rested and happy as can be during wake times, sleep soundly, and hardly ever cry because I anticipate most of your needs.

As far as food is concerned, I wouldn't really say that you love it or hate it. You don't eagerly anticipate each bite with your mouth wide open {read: I can hardly get you to open your mouth}, but you don't gag on food anymore either {win!}. Since getting a NutriBullet for my birthday, I've been able to concoct some neat little medleys for you :) A lot of times I'll mix a homemade cube of sweet potato, carrot, or green beans with part of a store-bought pouch of pears or other simple fruit, then toss in a few fresh spinach leaves and let 'er rip. Prune juice, breast milk, and yogurt are also popular additions.

We've tried puffs, and while you enjoy consuming them, you want nothing to do with picking them up yourself.

You're still not keen on the bottle, but I'm about to change that. I'm going on a trip to Boston with Grandma Peggy in August (2 months away) so you MUST be taking a bottle by then. I'm doing one bottle per day from now until then in hopes you can figure it out. Yesterday it took you 20 minutes to drink 2 ounces but hey, progress is progress right? I've also tried milk in a regular cup (which you actually liked, even when the milk was cold), and frozen breast milk cubes in your mesh feeder. You liked that too but the cubes are only 1 ounce each so that's not exactly efficient...

I also want to mention that you cut both your top teeth this month. Hailey didn't get those until her first birthday so I was shocked to see them so soon. You did not do so well with the teething either - lots of extra ice pops, teething tablets, and tylenol were in need for those cranky days. You also had some allergy trouble this month - coughing, sneezing, and runny nose - for which the doctor advised nasal spray, nose sucker, and Zyrtec. You certainly don't enjoy any of those things either!

I'll leave you with 3 more ridiculously cute photos...