8 Months!

Realy?!?!  8 months???  It's so hard to believe.  I look at Riley daily and wonder how she's grown up so much already.  It's amazing to me how fast it's going.  Carrying her to her bed at night after she's fallen asleep on me always makes me realize just how big she is.  And heavy!  This photo shoot also made me realize how much she's grown...no more tiny baby laying sweetly while I snap away.  This was hands-down the quickest monthly photo shoot I've done with her because she wasn't into it at all and wouldn't sit still.

 

I recently sat Riley on my bathroom scale, still in her diaper and pajamas, and she weighed 18lbs!  We won't go back until the end of April for a check-up for her official reading.  Clothing sizes vary depending on the brand, but she's wearing 6-12months or 9-12 month clothes most of the time and size 3 diapers.  

  

This has been a HUGE month for Riley...she's learned to crawl, pull herself up and has cut three teeth.  It's amazing to watch her get herself where she wants to be, and it's so cute how much she wants to follow her brother around (though he doesn't find it very cute.)  She's also trying to clap and sometimes will start 'dancing' when she hears music. 

She won't leave headbands on 95% of the time now, pulls her baby legs off, and tries to eat her shoes.  One of her favorite things to do is take whatever Gavin's playing with to use as a teether.  Her favorite toys to gnaw on right now are action heroes, race cars, and train tracks.  Looking at books is a favorite activity, too, and she LOVES her blanket!  She's also started taking baths in the big tub recently, and loves splashing around with Gavin.

 

Riley was without a doubt a better sleeper as a newborn.  I think we're going to be doing some sleep training soon.  She's fallen into the habit (with my help, I know) of needing to nurse to sleep.  I love it, but at the same time I know we need to break that habit.  Teething caused a lot of issues with her sleep, and so our bedtime routine takes a long time because she wakes frequently after she first goes down, and then is up usually 2-3 times each night.

 

We've introduced yogurt and mango recently.  Bananas are still a huge favorite for Riley, and HUGE mess!  Riley + banana + mesh feeder = Disaster in this house.  But they make her happy.  She's eating 1-2 meals a day...lately lunch hasn't really been her thing, so we just skip it some days.