You've been in the world for 8 whole months now! Technically I guess it's really been 17 months but those first 9 were in utero and don't really count. Never mind... Why am I explaining myself to an 8 month old? So, what have you been up to since my last letter? Well...
You said your first word...da da da da da... I was in denial at first, saying that you were actually saying la, but there's no denying it...you really like your da da da. And you were so impressed with your newfound abilities that you said it all during church one Sunday...LOUD. I tried to give you toys to quiet you down but then you were just flailing your toys around talking about your dad. I tried shoving a bottle in your mouth, but you were too smart for that. Anytime the choir would sing, your "da's" just got louder. I'm not sure if you were singing with them or trying to talk over them. I believe you were probably just praying for your dad since he didn't make it to church with us, but I figured the Lord (and the rest of the church-goers) had heard enough of your prayers so we left a little early.
You carried on with the da da da for a few weeks and that's fine. I mean, I'm only the one who carried you for 9 months and birthed you and who feeds you and gets up with you in the middle of the night and bathes you and rocks you to sleep...but that's alright. No big deal. I'm not bitter. :)
Anyway, your next words would certainly be ma ma ma. So I would say ma ma ma to teach you and help you learn it. And you would say da da da and smile SO big like you knew just what you were doing. I even tried to coax you with Ma Ma Marley and Ma Ma Maya. Clearly ma is an important sound in our house. You should really try it out. I think Maya's feelings are getting hurt. She's sensitive, you know.
So, then you moved on to ba and then la. Your Papaw is convinced you said Papaw recently and your dad thinks you said Vanna while watching Wheel of Fortune a few nights ago. I'm sure ma is coming soon. Probably somewhere after 'indigenous' and 'pumpernickel' and 'meatloaf'. "Ma! The meatloaf!"
You're sitting up on your own and you do a worm-like crawl to get where you're going (which is always after something you shouldn't have). You 'cluck' your tongue, like you would if you were trying to get a baby to look at you for a picture. Wonder where you picked that up. Maybe the paparazzi that follow you around with cameras (aka your mom and Ms. Sheree). You've also started doing this thing where if someone is holding you and not looking at you, you'll move your head down and around so that you're looking directly up at them in their line of vision. Kinda like you're saying 'Hey, Booger Nose, pay attention to me.' Makes me and your dad laugh every time. (Seems like that should be 'your dad and I', but that's not proper grammar. Trust me.)
To make you happy in your moments of grumpiness, we go outside (we've been blessed with an early and beautiful Spring), go look at ourselves in the bathroom mirror (you still love that) or go to the fridge. You love to play with all the bottles in the door. Your dad likes that you like that "muthturd" bottle. That's some strange thing between him and his friends that I'll let him explain to you when you're a bit older. The fact that you like to play in the fridge is a bit strange as well but it makes you happy so that makes your mama happy...your ma ma ma ma ma.....
And now, a few 8 month photos...my subject is getting a little more difficult to work with these days, as you can see.
And this is one of my new faves
Mom
