Elysia - 8 months

Sweet Elysia,

You are 8 months old. 

 

I shake my head when I stop to think about this, that you have been with us for 3/4 of a year. Part of me thinks, "That's it?" You seem to have always been a part of our lives, and it is almost hard for me to remember what life was like before you came. And the other part of me thinks that time is going too fast, that you are growing up before my eyes and next week you'll be going to your senior prom or something ridiculous like that and how on earth did my sweet little baby girl get so big so fast? I savor every moment with you, as fast as they come. You are such a blessing to us.

This month you are reaching new milestones, namely the addition of four little teeth to your once gummy smile. The bottom two came in first, followed by your upper right buck tooth, and just today the one next to it came through as well. You have been such a trooper about it, though your discomfort is obvious. At worst, it has made sleep a little harder to come by, but let's be honest--you haven't been a great sleeper for several months now. Daddy is having just a teensy bit of a hard time accepting that you now have teeth (easier for me since you have decided to express frustration to me during inopportune moments!), because he loves, loves the gummy smile. But he loves your little "teefs" too, and we are so looking forward to seeing how your smile develops.

You have made new strides with army crawling (sorry for the pun) and can get pretty much anywhere you want to go. One night I laid you down in our bedroom while starting your bath water, and when I turned around you had crawled almost all the way down the hall to see Elaina getting her bath. We have noticed you starting to get up on your knees, too, so it won't be long before you're doing to full-on crawl. All this movement has stalled your weight gain a bit--you are still around 17lbs--but you continue to grow and wear mostly 6-9 month clothes with a healthy dose of 9 month outfits in there as well.

Your hair has been a popular topic of conversation, among those who know you and those who don't.

 People are surprised at how thick it is, which I find hysterical given how bald you were four months ago. 

 

We continue to watch it with interest and wonder how it will look in the sun this summer.

Yesterday, Daddy and I were honored to dedicate you to the God who gave you to us, who entrusted us to your care, who is teaching me more about Himself through you. Did you know that, sweet Ellie? That at not even a year old, you are teaching your mama new things? One of the greatest privileges of my life, other than to be your Daddy's wife, is to be you and your sister's mama. My prayer is that you always know how you are loved, by your parents, by your sister (yes, she is still crazy about her Elwe-Belwee), and by the Lord.

 

I love you, sweet baby girl. No matter how fast time goes by, you will always be my sweet Baby Jane.

Love,

Mama