Navy Bean is 8 months

The Navy Bean is now 8 months old. I can't believe that much time has passed. She is so big now and more like a little girl than a little baby. I guess that's why I still like those nighttime feedings (ok, I would like ONE nighttime feeding, the rest can end).

Look at my beautiful teeth,

and not the uni brow I got from daddy.

She is such a joy to be around. Her middle name is Hope, because I hoped she wouldn't get my stress, my anxiety, my depression, but it should have been Joy, because that's what she is and that's what she gives to me.

Playing with Nana.

She can stand anywhere, using just about anything. And more and more, she lets go and just stands there by herself. And she is smart. She knows how to get back to the floor without falling. She seems to be learning so fast. She is already cruising around. Wes thinks she'll be walking by 9 months. I wouldn't be surprised, but I do wish she would slow down just a little bit.

Reading with Grandpa.

She's loves books and squeaky toys. She loves to be kissed all over and to laugh. She has two laughs, her real laugh, and her silly laugh, which sounds like a coughing machine gun. She is a VERY happy baby. She can play by herself, but loves it when I play with her.

To celebrate her 8 months here, she started climbing the stairs.

She loves classical music and the piano. Whenever she hears either, she stops what she is doing and dances. If she's crawling, that just means rocking back and forth, but if she's standing up, it's a strange combination of headbanging and the butt. She often crawls to the piano and stands up to play it. This makes me very happy.

Waving.

She also starting waving at people. Sometimes she gets very enthusiastic and waves with both hands, which is fine, because the one hander kind of looks like a heil Hitler. She wants to be a big girl so badly. And she is big. But she'll always be my little Navy Bean.