8 Months Horray!

 I love chewing on wooden things, so my hair brush and blocks are great!

What Joy is doing: 

• Joy is moving very quickly but not in a crawling motion, more of an army crawl. She likes being on the tile because she can scoot even quicker. It was very hard to get pictures this month because in most of the pictures she was moving and not sitting all cute and smiley. 
• Joy has two bottom teeth.  They just poked through two days ago and we are glad! Poor girl was in a lot of pain (especially at night). They feel just like Rudy's puppy teeth.  
• Joy has been practicing sitting up and can finally do it unassisted. However, she only lasts about a minute because she wants to move and sitting is not conducive to movement. 
 

 

• Everything goes into her mouth still. Her favorite toys are dog toys or anything that isn't a baby toy. Rudy BRINGS his toys to her now, which is cute but defeats the purpose of us hiding his toys from her. I have started putting her toys on the bottom book shelf and she thinks they are not for babies and thus wants to play with them. She had discovered the dog food and water..so we need to find an new home for that.  

 

 Eats

• Nursing:Joy still eats every 4 hours and once during the night. While teething she wanted to nurse more, poor girl.
• Solid food: Joy is doing a great job with solid food. She is ok with lumps (although it still has to be very warm, no lukewarm food for this little girl) and eats three meals a day. I introduced her to the baby puffs and she LOVES THEM. They are a great distraction while we are out to eat, or while I am on the train and she needs to be quiet. I need to track down regular Cheerios, but I think they are hard to find here in HK. 
• Loves: pumpkin, carrots, green beans, apples, pears, avocado, peas, oatmeal
• Verdict is still out on: bananas  (a bit to slimy for her I think)
• Introducing this week:zucchini
• Need to try again: sweet potatoes (gave her terrible diaper rash first time)

Sleeps:

•  Night time: Joy still likes the swaddler loosely around her waist, but she has got the hang of sleeping on her tummy. As long as her bear is there (and her thumb) she is a happy girl. Her bedtime is still really early (6pm) and sleeps until 6am. She is a happy morning person and can play in her bed for 15 minutes, talking and playing with her stuffed animals.
• Naps: Joy takes three naps and now that I have cut out caffeine they are much longer and no fussing when she goes down. 1st nap: 40 min, 2nd: 1 hour and 3rd:1 1/2 hours. So I guess part of her nap problem was the caffeine. She goes to sleep without any fussing, it is amazing!  It is very hard for her to sleep in the carrier and unless I bring her bear it is impossible. 

Weighs: Joy weighs 16.2 lbs and is finally wearing some 6-9 month clothes. She has been in 6 months clothes since about 5 months.

Likes:
*Her bear is still her favorite and holds it while she sucks her thumb. While teething she got to hold bear  A LOT.
*She loves people and if no one is talking to her or smiling at her on the MTR she will start to cry.
* She loves going out and gets bored if we spend the day at home.
* Dog toys & Rudy, although he is really not to sure now that she can move quickly.
*Chewing on board books
* She likes crashing into things and tearing down the hallway in her walker.

                                              
Dislikes: I was holding a friend's 2 month old a couple days ago and Joy was VERY jealous. She  doesn't like it when I leave the room. Also she is a little wary of strangers holding her. Can we say  a little mommy attachment/separation anxiety!

Favorite event: Having a Saturday morning with just her and daddy while mommy was out to brunch with friends.

Dear Joy,
You are an amazing little baby. You are so very smiley and giggly. You make your dad and I laugh a lot. Now that you are on the move you keep me on my toes because you love to suck on the grossest dirtiest stuff in the house. You are not a very cuddly baby because you like to be on the move but you do like to have mommy and daddy close and we like being close to you.You are always on the move now and it is fun to see you explore the world around you.  Our lives are brighter because of the joy you bring us. Joy we pray for you every day and we pray that your self-esteem as you grow will be rooted in the realization that you are "God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:10).
love, Mommy and Daddy