Esther @ 8 Months

Esther is now 8 months old! She is the most adorable little thing! I don't think she's gotten much bigger since 7 months because she's mostly still wearing the same size in clothes. She only has about 3 outfits left in 9-month so I guess she has gotten a bit bigger...12-month is definitely what we're going for now.

This month started out pretty rough for everyone with the move. We all were short-tempered and/or clingy and/or frustrated for a couple weeks. Thankfully we're getting out of that slump and starting to enjoy the new place. Best part about an apartment is it forces us to get out and walk Ruff. Esther usually takes a nap when we go out in the morning...I just strap her on my back in the Ergo and away we go!

My favorite new development just happened this past weekend. Esther started saying "Mama"! I love it! It's really clear, too. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but she really seems to only direct it to me.

Esther is now a pro at getting into a sitting position from her belly. She's also doing a bit of crawling, but usually just a foot or two so she can get whatever she wants. I've also seen her up on hands and feet but she doesn't know what to do after that so she sits (falls) back down.

Speaking of being on her feet...Esther's now pulled herself up to standing twice. Once during a bath in the sink I turned to say something to Isaiah and when I turned back she had pulled herself up. (I missed it!!!) The next time she grabbed the edge of her toy box and pulled up like she's been doing it for a while. The strange thing is, she's tried since then and not gotten anywhere.

I think Esther's favorite thing to do right now is to stand at her toy box and grab for toys. She can do that forever! Another fun activity is playing with her computer...she loves to close the lid! I open it and she closes it...over and over and over again. Peek-a-boo is still a top contender too.

Esther's had several rough days lately. I really don't know if its new teeth, an ear infection or something else but I'm leaning toward teeth. Low fever, diarrhea, super fussy, awful sleep. I actually realized I had lost (thrown away?) all the syringes for my baby Tylenol when the fever really showed up. Thank goodness Auntie Becca was still awake and able to bring us more medicine (with the syringe!) at 1:00 in the morning. Bestest Auntie to the rescue! Things seem to be settling down again, but night sleep still isn't quite back to normal.

We are all currently adjusting to Mommy having a job again. Yay! Part-time, working from home so we're having to work on a schedule that lets me get some things done during the day. I wish Esther would take a longer nap in the afternoon but when she wakes up Isaiah is available to play with her for a bit. (I'm not sure what's going to happen when he goes back to school!)

I've been giving Esther food when the boys and I have our meals for a while now and I've noticed she's really reduced her nursing during the day. I'm not sure how I feel about that. On one hand its nice to be able to leave the house with her and not be nursing in the middle of Target (I'm always worried about comments, never had any)....but I'm not even close to ready for her to wean!

One last big thing is Esther will now go spend at least part of the day with the boys when they are with Jeremy. Its nice to have a couple hours to myself, even if they are taken up by errands, cleaning and work. I'm somewhat surprised by how easy it was for her to start going with them but it seems to have been no big deal. She isn't doing all day yet, but I'm not ready for that either!

We have a bit of "down time" before the next thing that changes our schedule (school!) so I'm expecting some big developments from my Little Bit. Let's see what the next month brings! :)