8 months: A comparison

Everyone always wants to know if Avery and Olivia look alike. Honestly? I usually say yes they look very much alike... until I did this comparison. They definitely look like sisters, but they look less 'identical' than I thought. 

Olivia: 8 months!

Weight: 22lbs 9.5oz

THIS MONTH YOUR BABY MAY:

• "rake" small objects toward her and pick them up as her coordination skills and dexterity continue to develop Yep! This is especially true of food. She is always hungry!
• clap and bang objects together as her muscle coordination improves Clapping is her favorite!
• use her arms to invite someone to pick her up She has recently started reaching for mama when she is being held by any one else. She is a real mama's girl.
• reach for the spoon when you feed her at mealtimes We usually offer to let her feed herself  so she has always been grabbing the spoon or my hand or whatever is holding the food.
• turn away when no longer hungry She definitely knows when she is done and will hit the spoon/food away or move her face away.
• babble random consonants: "di, ba, ma" Olivia has really blossomed with the sounds she makes. It's so cute! Words are to come soon.
• understand "no" (although your baby may understand the meanings of other words by now, the word "no" is key because she’ll also understand the actions she must take when hearing it) Oh yes. And she does not like being told no at all.
• understand a rough idea of "in" and "out" (the first instance of recognizing a spatial relationship) I'm not really sure actually. Maybe though.
• add tongue movement to change the sound of a word She really likes to make sounds with her tongue. Her favorite is making the kissing sound with the her tongue on the roof of her mouth.

Zzzzzz

 Nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby... except two sleeping babies.

Traditions

When I was a kid my grandma had a tradition of making her cookies for the grandkids to frost at Christmas time. Now she lives far away so I was left to carry on that tradition -- with a little twist. This year I invited some friends to join us in a Christmas cookie decorating party.

Avery had so much fun helping me make the cookies to get ready and even more fun at the party. Thanks to my friend Christina for the photos on party day. 

8 Months!

Excuse me while I take this moment to bawl my eyes out at the fact that my baby is 3/4 of a year old. 

:::::::::::::::::moment of hysterics:::::::::::::::::

We now resume your regularly scheduled blogging. 

 

THIS MONTH YOUR BABY MAY:

• "rake" small objects toward her and pick them up as her coordination skills and dexterity continue to develop Avery has been doing this for a while, but she is getting really good at it.
• clap and bang objects together as her muscle coordination improves She has discovered this within the last week or so. She thinks it's just hysterical to make as much noise as possible.
• use her arms to invite someone to pick her up If anyone gets within 5 feet she will reach up. She's not picky either. If you have arms she wants up.
• reach for the spoon when you feed her at mealtimes We have always let her attempt to use the spoon and she is getting a little better. She is best at things that are pretty "sticky" like cereal not runny like yogurt.
• turn away when no longer hungry This was one of the important cues we looked for to determine when she was ready to start solids, so she has been doing this since about 6 months.
• babble random consonants: "di, ba, ma" She definitely babbles and is getting very close to saying 'dada' -- although if you ask Justin she already says it multiple times a day.
• understand "no" (although your baby may understand the meanings of other words by now, the word "no" is key because she’ll also understand the actions she must take when hearing it) If she understands no she sure doesn't follow directions well. We redirect her attention each time we say no so that she learns what is expected when she hears the word, but so far she doesn't do it herself.
• understand a rough idea of "in" and "out" (the first instance of recognizing a spatial relationship) I have no idea how I am supposed to know if this is true.

• add tongue movement to change the sound of a word She is definitely exploring her tongue. She likes to see what it does and spends many minutes with it just hanging out of her mouth. Like this: