8 Months

To pass the time between now and Wednesday, I thought I'd dedicate a blog to Kate . . . who, it was recently brought to my attention, is often left out of my daily topics. :)

Ahhhhh, my lovely Kate. She could quite possibly be the smiliest, most easy going baby on earth. What we did to deserve such a happy-go-lucky, go-with-the-flow girlie, I'll never know. She smiles when she sees you. She smiles when you hold her. She smiles in the tub, at the table, and when she's waiting for you to come pick her up in her crib. I love her.

At 8 months, she's right on track with any major milestone you could imagine . . . except maybe her weight, which is still on the lighter side. She sits up, reaches, grabs, talks, waves, blows spit bubbles, giggles, does 'touchdown!', and squirms on a daily basis. And she is allllllmost crawling. She is actually crawling backwards, if that counts. Her little hips get off the ground and her legs jut out from behind, somewhat like an inchworm crawl in reverse. She can spin circles on her tummy in an effort to grab something she covets . . . but the actual arm and knee crawling is still a few days (weeks, I pray!) away.

And beauty . . . I know she is my kid and we ALL think our own kids are beautiful . . . but Kate really is exceptional. I may be considered an unfair or biased parent when I say: I think Kate is a bit lovelier than Meg was at this age. Meg was a doll . . . but something about Kate is just out of this world. I often say, "Meg is my cutie, Kate is my beauty." Kate has such big blue eyes, that smile, rosy skin, and her blonde hair is coming in so nice and even all the way around her tiny head. She's petite . . . maybe that is what is so darling about her. Or maybe it's the fact that she still has that all-gums baby smile (no teeth just yet). I can't put my finger on it exactly, but I know I just can't stop staring at her sometimes.

Yes, I mentioned that she's still a bit on the small side. Just over 16 pounds at our last appointment. And I'm concerned these days because she is showing less and less interest in nursing . . . especially if big sister Meg is around. She'll eat solids like a champ . . . maybe too well, for her age. Her breastfeeding Nazi of a mom is concerned that she's trying to self-wean at this age, which I've heard is a common thing. I would guess that is our biggest hang-up at the moment . . . not sleeping (7pm-7am), not whining, not teething . . . but nursing. I hope we get through this phase because weaning at this age would mean nothing short of heartbreak for me.

I guess Kate doesn't make it into the blog as much as Meg these days because . . . well . . . Meg is my action packed kiddo. She's always got something to say or something going on that I feel I should share. Poor Kate -- 2nd born -- I've been through baby before, so I know that she's doing great and plugging right along toward that big first birthday. Stories of Kate may not be as extravagant as those of the 2-going-on-15 yr old Meg . . I did blog when she started waving, but I didn't blog much about our transition to solids or her constant babbling and drooling.

Maybe I don't appreciate every single tiny thing she does each day the way I did with Meg . . . but I certainly appreciate every single tiny ounce of my youngest baby in the exact same way I do her big sister. She may not be the headliner, but she's here . . . making headlines of her own that I will try and share more of as the days and weeks continue. And -- though she may go unmentioned at times -- don't worry about a shortage of pictures. I take a million of Kate all the time. Meg runs from the camera these days, but my smiley baby always lets me shoot away.

Happy 8 months to you, sweet Katy-did. We can't even remember what our life was like without you.