Maryjane - 8 month update

This month was the shortest month of the year, and it for sure went by very fast!!!!!  But I'm counting down the months until my girl's 1st birthday! 

MJ is such a gem.  I am so lucky!!! :) I love the stage she's in, and I'm happy and excited to have her.

For her 8th month birthday we went on a nice family walk around the neighborhood because it was a pretty nice day!!!! it was such a nice walk for all of us!!!


This is what MJ was up to this month:


SLEEPING (or lack there of....): the first part of this month was much like last month, she got up WAY too early, and sometimes woke up in middle of the night once too!!! Toward the middle of the month this got way better, and I found out the trick to get her to sleep all night again!!! (it doesn't work EVERY night, but still...)  I just make sure MJ doesn't get a long evening nap. She usually takes a long nap or a couple naps in the morning, and I'm sure she would still take naps at night, but I try not to let her.  She does get way cranky sometimes, but I try to keep her distracted and try to wear her out!  Sometimes during a growth spurt, or when she's sick she passes out in the evening whether I want her to or not!
And she doesn't always sleep through the night anymore....she does alot better but not the best.....
I think it's because when she wakes up at night she'll wake herself half up and climb her crib and then cry and cry and eventually fall and hit her head and cry more, but then she'll fall asleep for a few hours.  We don't feed her much during the night anymore.......except when she was really sick (which was recently, so I'm still trying to get her back on schedule!)

MJ does go to sleep (for naps and night) pretty great on her own now. In fact, she really doesn't like being rocked to sleep :(....except when she was sick, and I enjoyed it then as much as I could! I was so sad she was sick but happy she wanted to cuddle :)


EATING:  Some new foods MJ tried were cherries, corn, potatoes, green beans, blueberries, and chicken, I'm not sure what else....
She usually loves to eat solids unless she's sick.
She loves her bottles, especially in the morning and before bed :) she's such a good little eater/cuddler.
Gave MJ her sippy cup again, but with only water in it! and she loves it! I don't know if she actually drinks anything from it, but she loves chewing on the spout.


PLAYING/MOVING:
At the very beginning of the month, MJ started dancing to music, especially when her daddy plays guitar....  She does this when she's excited too, not just to music. haha. it's sooo cute!
Whenever she hears a song, instrument, or sometimes just when we tap she starts swaying back and forth.

One night Caleb and I were playing with her and she was standing when grabbing Caleb's hands and she was excited (because she loves to play with both of us at once) and she was wiggling all over and dancing, while standing. ha it was cute.

MJ still LOVES to climb anything she can.  She'll climb her playpen to look at us or watch tv.  She climbs her crib everyday!! (and night, dangit)  She climbs her dressers, random walls, anything. She is even starting to try to stand up on her own in the middle of the room!
She's done it for 30 seconds without falling!!! :) She gets a huge smile when she's doing it, and just looks at us and smiles! :)

When she's trying to fall asleep, it's funny to watch her because she lays on her tummy and humps, and lately she'll keep her head down but do a downward dog, (I hope I'll get a picture of it soon!)

MJ's climbed up a few flights of stairs on her own (I let her do it occasionally)...with someone right behind her of course.





Teething:
At the beginning of the month MJ's second bottom tooth popped out and those two teeth grew together. They are about the same size, and I love when she smiles big enough to see them :)  Which happens alot more lately!
After she breathed on me with really rancid baby breathe, I decided I need to start washing those bad boys.....so I just use a washcloth and some water...and dont do it everyday. Soon I'll get her a little toothbrush I think! 
She definatly still has "teething" days, cranky days where she drools a TON and always has her fingers or something else in her mouth....today is one of those days, so maybe this month her 3rd tooth will make it's appearance.


DAYCARE:
Well...I don't like or trust MJ's daycare much anymore.  The main lady that works there, and is the only one there every time I drop MJ off, is such a jerk to me!!!! She doesn't listen to what I have to tell her......(hey I brought more clothes, MJ was up all night, she needs a nap soon, etc....) she doesn't even look at me, and SOMETIMES says a one word response, sometimes doesn't say anything at all....... It's the same lady who got me all worried about MJ "attacking the other babies". And after that whole thing, she's just been even ruder to me. IDK....but then when other people are around she's much more bubbly and responsive.

I (literally) cried like 5 times I dropped MJ off this month.  It sucked.....but what can ya do?

I met a mom and she told me about a different daycare she takes her daughter to, and she loves so maybe I'll check them out for next semester!




Being sick:
MJ got sick for the first time, well she's had little colds, and stuffy noses but this is the first time she had a noticable fever, and I had to pick her up early from daycare because her fever was 102, and the next day it got up to 103. I took her to the doctor and everything was fine, he said to bring her back if she doesn't get better, but she did!


TALKING:
MJ said her first word this month!!!!! (that we think she meant) and guess what it was???? MAMA! ha I'm a lucky lady.....but I'm not sure she knows I am her mama. She says it alot (and some days not at all) She's just sit there going.....mamamamamammamamamamama. It makes me happy:)
She mostly says the MMMM sounds when she's whiney! dangit.
One day I tried so hard for her to say "dada" and everytime I said, "say DADA" she looked at me and said "MAMA". ha it was cute and I wish I got it on video!

MJ loves to make noise, and her newest thing (which she's done before, but the past few days she's done it ALL the time) is making the gross fart/spitting noise! 


RANDOM:
On February 11, we watched 101 Dalmations (not the cartoon unfortunatly) and everytime she saw the dogs she got all excited and talked/ yelled at them! I think she's a dog lover already! :) She's also a TV lover......but we try not to let her watch tons

MJ officially loves to be read to!!!(she used to just think it was ok......) I got her a bunch of new board/toddler books at the DI because they are the ones that interest her the most! Some of her favorites are Who's Hiding, a Black and White animal book, The very hungry catepiller, and Waddle (a sweet book grandma mary got her and the animals really look like they are moving when you turn the page!)

After she was done being sick MJ took some sweet naps, where she passes out in her highchair towards the end of the month. It was so sweet!!!!!

MJ enjoys baths alot, usually.....She is facsinated by the water coming out of the faucet, and doesn't much care for bath toys....She usually slips at least once per bath and gets her face wet, and chokes some, it scares me alot, but I'm always right there to grab her.....hopefully she'll learn!!!!  Sometimes she tries to stand up in the bath too, but not as much as she used to, thank goodness!

We have this fuzzy green pillow that I think my mom got me a year or so ago, and MJ LOVES it! She loves to be "thrown" on it, and always puts her face in it and rubs it. ha

MJ loves the cats, but the only one who REALLY loves her is Mr. Fursciante, the gray kitten boy! He always jumps in her crib with her, and cuddles with her and lets her grab him! He's a dummy because she's not very kind to him............I consider Mr. to be MJ's cat because he loves her so much......
Kiedis the other kitten doesn't get near MJ much anymore, he's learned........but he did give her a pretty big scratch by her ear the other day!!!
Indi, our older siamese, has never gotten near MJ and I don't think she ever will! ha

MJ loves sensi (my boxer mutt that lives at my parents)  and sensi is sooo good with babies!!! She loved when Jack was about her age and crawled/climbed up on her, and Sensi loves when MJ does it now too!!! 


Well see ya next month! will we have a walker by then?????