8 months...

Dear Clare,

Here we are, another month has gone by and you're still as cute and sweet as ever. I could go on and on about how you're getting so close to your first birthday and how I've already started planning it (and thus crying over it) but I will spare you that... Instead, let's look at all you've done this month!

You got two more teeth and now have two teeth on both top and bottom.

I bought you little hair ties and have started doing pigtails on you. It may be the cutest thing I've ever seen. All the old ladies at church think you are just precious. You love being a little ham for them too!

My favorite thing this month is you now give kisses! Talk about melting our hearts...

You also started clapping. Anytime you do anything you promptly sit and clap. We all cheer "yay Clare" and you light up and clap even more excitedly until you inevitably bounce/fall over.

Crawling is still going well. You can sure move quick too! Also, you are into everything! EVERYTHING!!! Your favorite things to try to explore are shoes, the garbage can, the dog food bowl, and the bathroom. Seriously girl, could you have picked anything more gross.... Sigh.

No real first steps yet. You are still cruising around on furniture, and you love to walk holding our hands. You've attempted to stand yourself up a few times but haven't managed that yet. You have let go while standing by the sofa (etc) a few times and can stand independently for a few seconds. As fun as seeing you walk will be, we are in no hurry sweet girl.

You say Dada, something that sounds kinda like dog and something that sounds like cat. I am still something that sounds like boo. Although most animals are "cats" for some reason.

Damian is still your favorite and you love to chase each other around. He's nice enough to crawl around and let you follow him. You really want to do everything he does. Thankfully you're pretty laid back about the fact he steals all your toys. 

We won't talk about your sleeping habits. I will say you've started taking naps pretty consistently and that has been wonderful! WONDERFUL!!! And because you are able to sleep for a of a longer stretch the first part of the night, Mommy and Daddy had our first date since you were born. So I guess I should thank you for that bit of progress. Whenever you want to sleep through the night though, we are ready to have that happen!

That's all for this month! Looking forward to all the fun ahead.

Love you so much sweet girl,
Mama