Happy 8 Months baby girl!

This has been a huge month for Gray. It seems as if she is doing something new everyday… I can hardly keep up, obviously!

1. Gray is clapping. We clap whenever she does something well, like taking a big bite of food. And now she has learned to clap too. She seems so proud of herself - just like we are!

2. Gray is pulling up on everything! Seriously… everything. We have had to "redecorate" in order to put things out of her reach.

3. Once she is up, she moves from the coffee table to the sofa, to me, to Bubba! She twists and lets go to reach to her next spot.

4. She stands on her own. And she stands for long periods of time without sitting down or leaning over. She even took a step {unsuccessfully} on Christmas Eve. Pretty scary!

5. My favorite thing to watch is how she sits down from standing. She sticks her tush out as far as she can and then plops down. Pretty smart considering she does not have far to fall once she does this. There is so much that I need to get on video…

6. She is making funny faces. She scrunches up her nose and snorts while making the funniest face. Apparently I did this same face as baby - maybe she does have a little bit of me in her after all!

7. She is definitely saying Dada. She has been doing this for a few months, but I did not realize it… Whoops! I think she even says Mama, but it is usually when she is upset. Plus I am pretty sure I have heard her say "hi."

8. She is eating so much better. Even opening her mouth for food AND keeping it open when I bring the spoon to her mouth. This is huge since she has been slow to eat solids. She loves to feed herself puffs and small, soft pieces of banana, peas, carrots, pears and avocado.

9. Gray definitely knows her name and loves to look at herself in the mirror. I guess you could say she is developing self awareness.

10. She is really loving other babies and children. We went to decorate cookies at a friend's house and she was the youngest child by a year, but fit right in with the group. It was crazy to see her as a "big kid" instead of a baby. She also really likes to see other babies her age and wants to play with them. Such a social little lady!

As I mentioned before, I can hardly keep up, but it is pretty exciting to see what she will do next!