8 months old!

Dear Liv Riley,

There are only four short months until your first birthday! It's just unbelievable how quickly you are growing and changing. Most of your dark brown hair is just a memory. All the hair growing in is, dare I say, blonde??? It's definitely a light brown to dark blonde color and it's coming in fairly thick and straight. You have the brightest, prettiest blue eyes under the sun. Everywhere we go people always comment on the color of your eyes. They are gorgeous. You still have your sweet dimples when you smile big and laugh. You are also sporting two new pearly white bottom teeth that popped up this past month! You are working very hard on getting some more. You've done really well with teething. You chew so much all day long (and have even tried to chew one of our tables into pieces) but you are never very fussy about it. You're really not that fussy ever. You are so happy and fun to be around. You love playing with toys, especially whatever Ingrid has. It always seems to interest you most! Your sister's new favorite thing is to get one of our toy buckets and take out every single toy and pile them all around you! It's quite a funny sight. She tells you what everything is, in great detail, then asks you if you want to see it or play with it. Then she answers for you in a "little tiny Livy Riley voice" that yes, you do want to see it or play with it! Liv, you think everything she does is absolutely hilarious. You laugh at her so much throughout the day. You are still eating great! You eat cereal, oatmeal, or yogurt for breakfast and a fruit and vegetable for lunch and supper. You love snacking on puffs and melts. We are still working on your sippy cup. You are getting better with it, but you definitely do not have it mastered. The thought of taking your bottle away in a couple of months is so crazy to me!! How are you that old? I'm definitely going to crack down on sippy cup practice this month. You are sleeping about the same as you were last month, except your naps are shorter than before. I won't make any more comments on your sleeping habits this time! You are still faster than lightening, crawling and pulling up on everything in sight. You did a new trick this past month! You will pull up on something and let go for a few seconds and balance all by yourself! I really can't believe how well you balance and how strong you are for such a little, tiny girl! You go to the doctor for your well-check next week, so we will see just how big (on small) you are! I'm going to savor every single day I have with you this next month because I will be going back to work in August and missing all your snuggles. You are such a bright light in my life.

Love you,
Mama