8 Months Old!

Yesterday marked Katelyn's 8th month in this wild world! We can hardly comprehend that she's much closer to her first birthday than her actual day of birth. It has been such a blast watching her grow and learn. 

In true Katelyn-style, she surprised us with two big milestones at exactly 8 months (well, we consider them big anyway :)

1.) Her first tooth is poking through on her bottom gum! I have been running my finger over her gums about every few days, but never felt anything other than... well... gums. Yesterday I felt a little something poking through!

2.) Big stander! She's learned how to sit up in her crib and pull herself up into a standing position. Needless to say, we'll be lowering her mattress today :)

Here's what Katelyn is doing these days:

~ She's sporting mostly 6-9 month clothing sizes and is in size 3 diapers. Her unofficial weight is 18 pounds.

~ She's still eating 6 times a day and is also enjoying pureed foods at least once a day. We were surprised that she actually liked peas last week!

~ She loves playing in her room on the floor with toys and books. She makes her way from her crib to the guest bed to the changing table in no time by rolling and "scooting."

(And this is when I questioned why I chose to do her monthly photos in this chair... lil rascal!)

~ Her favorite toys lately include anything that she can shake and make noise (her Teddy rattle and musical turtle are the ultimate faves), blocks, and also books. She still likes her Exersaucer too.

~ Katelyn loves clapping, waving (opening and closing her hand), and blowing raspberries!

~ She's still a chatterbox and says dada, mama, ooh, goooo, yeee, and lately she's been saying "eesh." Whenever she drops something to the ground (usually from her high chair), she says, "ooh" - I think because we usually say "uh-oh."

~ She never wants to miss a thing! Katelyn is constantly looking around, observing, and reaching for things. For the last month or so she's been riding in her stroller like a big girl (facing out) rather than in her car seat hooked into the stroller.

~ She takes 2-3 naps a day for a total of about 2.5-3.5 hours. She goes to bed around 7:30 p.m. and sleeps until 6 or 7 a.m.

~ She loves to squeal ... at the top of her lungs! Mostly when she's having fun or when she wants some attention. She loves it when people look at her - she'll always smile at them and then get their reaction. The other night when we were out to dinner, Katelyn was having so much fun smiling and giggling at a woman near us... I'm pretty sure that woman was a mom or grandma because she couldn't get enough!

We love every minute with you, Katelyn! You've taught us to live in the moment and enjoy right where we are today. Thank you for bringing so much joy to our lives! 

{On a side note, we had a new experience this weekend... how to take care of a baby when mom and dad are both gripped by a stomach bug. Team Mlakar was in full force, taking shifts between naps. We pray that Katelyn is spared of this bug... it's terrible. Thankfully it was a 24 hour thing, but arguably the longest 24 hours of our lives! We think we're on the mend, but it was difficult to take care of ourselves and little Katelyn when unbearable body aches were a constant companion. Here's to a healthier rest of the year!}