Eight Months

Dear Sofia,
At 7:06 pm tonight, you officially turned eight months old. You were crawling around the living room floor, looking for things that you could shove into your mouth. Sofia, I cannot believe you are eight months old! I really can't. You have grown so much it's amazing. And you are SO HEAVY. You weigh 20 lbs, 6 oz. You are very difficult to lug around now.

I never posted when you turned seven months, my love, and I'm sorry. During your seventh month you were on strike against solid foods, and you perfected your crawling technique. You practiced by rocking back and forth on your hands and knees. I thought I would fall over because you were too cute for words!


We visited San Antonio just after your seven-month birthday and had you baptized. We visited with your grandparents, you met your great-grandparents, visited the zoo for the first time, and played lots with your cousins. It was during this visit that your tastebuds miraculously came alive and you decided that solids are not so bad after all! Now you will eat cereal, oatmeal, squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, and all kinds of fruit! You still aren't a fan of green beans or peas, but you'll eat them reluctantly. We sometimes give you the mushy part of French fries and you love them. Please don't judge us when you are older. I know grease and salt are probably not a good idea for you, but we don't give you much. Oh, you also like mashed beans.

I cannot believe how well you crawl, Sofia. You are FAST. Your dad and I are trying to figure out how to best baby-proof the areas that are accessible to you. Just this past week you started PULLING UP on stuff!
Yes, we noticed it when we put you in your crib one day and the next thing we knew, you were standing! And you didn't stop there. You enjoy pulling up on the coffee table too, which scares the heck out of me because there is always so much miscellaneous debris on it, as well as all kinds of papers. And as soon as you get something in your beautiful little hands, you shove it into your mouth to explore. I don't know how you chew through things so fast with only two teeth. It looks like more are on the way, which may be why you go through some extreme whiny spells. You have also mastered the crawling to sitting transition, and it's so cute! You crawl and crawl and stop and pop up onto your little bottom.

You have more patience for books now, actually looking at and touching the pages when we read you a story. We read you Brown Bear and The Very Hungry Caterpillar a lot. You recognize the purple cat every time. Your dad and I are convinced that you try to say "kitty cat". Every time you see our cats, Buxy and Whiskers, you start saying, "kkkkkk...kkkkkk". And of course, your dad and I cheer you on! I can't wait until you say your first real word. You say a lot already, like "dadadada" and "tata...ta...tatata". Sometimes we can hear you talking to yourself in your carseat while we're in the front of the car. We giggle about it. We love hearing you talk, Wee!

We lost one of our cats this past month, Sofia. Her name was Trouble and she was a beautiful gray tabby. Someday we'll show you lots of pictures of her and tell you all about how wonderful she was.

You had your first Easter this month too. We went to Sacred Heart Cathedral in Galveston and took you to your first Easter egg hunt after the mass. You looked beautiful in your Easter dress. You liked chewing on the plastic eggs.


We took you out to take photos with wildflowers this month. We took photos in your baptismal gown and your Easter dress. You wanted to eat the flowers.



You still sleep in our bed. I still nurse you as much as you want during the night. You will only be small once, and I love having you so close to me at night. Listening to you breathe. You still love bath time. You always have your pescadito and your rubber ducky with you. You still hate getting dressed after.

My beautiful girl. I still can't believe you grew inside of me for many months. I often look at those pictures we took in the hospital of you so beautiful and tiny. They bring tears to my eyes. I can't believe you are the same little girl growing right before my eyes. Sofia, you are an amazing, beautiful, wonderful gift. I sometimes wonder what your father and I did to receive such a gift. We are so thankful that you have graced our lives. You make our lives so rich and happy. My beautiful Wee, my Sassafrass, my angel. I love you.

Love,
Mama