Say what?

It's started...I've already caught myself saying crazy things to Evelyn. Examples?

"Please get your finger out of my nose."

"There's a blueberry in your ear."

"No, no. You can't chew on Mama's dirty sock."

And my favorite...

"Don't touch the toilet with your carrot."

Yes, I said that to my daughter. She was gnawing on a baby carrot. I had to use the bathroom and I was afraid to leave her alone with the carrot, so I brought her into the bathroom with me. She has discovered the toilet and thought it would be fun to touch it with her carrot. Nasty!

8 Months

Our Sweet Evelyn,

Another month has flown by and you're now 8 months old. Just when I didn't think it was possible, you have become even more of a delight this month. Your personality (and temper) has developed a lot this month. You have matured and grown tremendously. All of this growing has brought a lot of fun, but also some challenges.

The biggest thing that happened this month is that you have mastered crawling. I think it was just a day or two after you turned 7 months that you started crawling. One day you were doing a scooting/sliding action across the living room floor to get to Wesley, and the next you were crawling across the bedroom floor. You have figured out how to get what you want pretty quickly. Last week, you figured out that you can move a lot faster if you get up on your hands and feet. Honestly, you look a little like a gorilla, but it's still cute.

Crawling has brought on the need for discipline. Like a normal child, you are very curious about what is around. For the most part, you are over playing with the lamp cords. Wesley's bowl is still very tempting to you, but it has been better since we moved it. It's neat to watch your little mind work as you figure out that you're not supposed to be doing something. You enjoy following me around the house, but get mad if I don't acknowledge the fact that you worked so hard to crawl from one room to another following me. We enjoy playing a little game in the kitchen where you grab onto my pant leg and I have to get free and run to the other side of the kitchen. You think that's just hilarious.

This past week you have started pulling up to standing more and more. You were doing it here and there before, but now you will crawl right over to the couch and pull yourself up. You also like to pull up on the tile ledge of the bathtub and against the mirror. I've considered spanking you for pulling up because I'm not quite ready for that milestone.

We have been having more fun with food this month. Food is still very much fun and entertainment for you. New things you have tried this month are: peaches, blueberries, black-eye peas, frozen green peas, black beans, mashed potatoes, chicken, turkey, ground beef, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, pumpkin pie (thanks to Daddy), and chocolate pudding (again thanks to Daddy). You love peaches and blueberries in the morning. Frozen peas are a lot of fun to keep you entertained while I'm working in the kitchen. We celebrated your first Thanksgiving this month. You had your own little feast with us at the table. You had turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato, broccoli, green beans and carrots.

You have started to really like fun, silly songs. Of course, all of the classics are fun (ABC, Twinkle Twinkle, Row Row Row Your Boat, etc). Pat-A-Cake is one of your very favorites. You usually start clapping your hands as soon as we start singing. You also like "I'm a Little Teapot, " complete with the motions. A medley of any of the songs will usually work to keep you happy for a few minutes if you're on the verge of getting upset.

I am very thankful that you are very content to entertain yourself on the floor for quite a while. Since I like to enjoy holding you for naps (and that's about the only way you will sleep for more than 20 minutes), I have to get things done while you are awake. You will usually play with toys, crawl around following me, or chase the dog for 30 minutes to an hour before you get bored. You love to play with balls. You will play fetch with yourself, throwing the ball and crawling to get it. When you get tired of playing by yourself, you are happy to get on my back in the Ergo and ride along while I work.

Your temper has become more apparent this month. You will throw a temper tantrum if you get something taken away from you. We have started disciplining for throwing fits, which happens quite often. It's the most pathetic thing when you stick that poochy lip out. You have also started throwing yourself backward when you're mad. That's a lot of fun...not.

I'm pretty sure you're going to be a talker. You are constantly jabbering, from the moment you wake up until you fall asleep at night. And most of the time it's loud! You have added two new sounds this month: "na-na-na" and "mmmm." We're still trying to figure out if "na-na-na" is "no" or "Mama." You certainly hear both a lot. You say "mmmm" when you're eating something especially tasty.

You are such a happy baby. For the most part, you really are easy to entertain, you just need to be busy all the time! You can sleep for 30 seconds and be awake and happy for 2 or 3 hours. It's crazy. You love to laugh and smile. You are ticklish under your chin, but only when I pretend to "eat you." You are also ticklish on the chubby part of your thighs and booty. A good squeeze there can get big, belly laughs out of you.

You and Daddy love to play and be rough together. You love when he tosses you high in the air. It makes you squeal with delight. You also love when he puts you on his shoulders. You just smile and pull his hair. Daddy and I love to just sit and watch you play or play with you. You have become a lot of fun. We love throwing the ball and watching you crawl to get it, getting you to "talk" to us, playing peek-a-boo, or letting you crawl all over us on the floor.

You're a delight and pure sunshine. I love having you crawl around at my feet. I love when you want to cuddle after you've been spanked. I love when you come crawling toward me with your mouth open for a kiss. I love you, sweet girl, even when I've had to correct you for the fifth time in three minutes.