8 months!

So my munchkin is 8 months! Before I know it she is gonna be a year! We had a couple fun things to end our summer. This is going to be a very long post, but its for Brailey to read in the future so I want her to remember lots! Okay, its for me too, but I want to remember everything as well ha ha.

We went up to our family cabin and spent the time with some amazing family. A couple siblings were missing, and though it wasn't the same, it was still fun. Brailey had a good time too. She enjoyed spending time with everyone and seeing all the new people. She loved the 4wheelers and we even took her on a very slow ride up the road. Overall, a great time. And I am so excited for my two cousins who are both going to be welcoming their babies this winter! I can't wait to meet them!

With Cousin Chantelle who is preparing for mommyhood! :D

Funny Faces. :D

Blue Eyes

Push Ups. ha ha ha.

Sleepy Baby

 She doesn't fall asleep on me often, but when she does it is amazing. I love watching her sleep and having her in my arms. :) She is beautiful.

4wheeling with Mommy and Daddy :)

Sucking on her toes

The other event to end our summer was going to the Hogle Zoo with my sisters, nieces, and nephews. We had a great time. Brailey loved seeing the animals and she enjoyed the train ride. She loved the Carousel though. It was fun spending time with my sisters, getting to talk, and just having fun with our kids. Its definitely good to spend time with my nieces and nephews too. I love watching them grow and learn new things and say the funniest stuff. I can't wait for Brailey to do that too. :) Pics will be with the following info about Brailey now that she is 8 months old. :)

• She's army crawling now. Its SO cute! Honestly, I keep wondering what finally connects in their little heads and says "Oh if I just do this then I can move forward" lol. She started out just being able to get up on her hands and knees, occasionally doing a push up instead, but she couldn't ever figure out how to move forward. Randomly, one day, she just started moving herself forward. She still tries to crawl normally, but I think she needs to build up more muscles to do that. 

• She LOVES necklaces! Oh my goodness. The first thing she grabs, if anyone is wearing one, is the necklace. I don't know what her fascination is with them, but she absolutely LOVES them. They don't even have to be all bright and sparkly. They can be plain and simple and yet she still wants them... even more than her toys.
• Speaking of toys she has a favorite (other than the necklaces) she loves her rattle-blanket giraffe. Its pink and so I started calling it Pinky. She gets so excited when I bring Pinky to her. 

• She knows how to wave "bye-bye" or "hi." She doesn't always do it on cue but she does it quite often now. Sometimes when i am feeding her, sometimes when i am changing her... but she does wave. :) Its adorable!
• She's starting to eat her veggies better. I don't know that it means she likes them, but she doesn't spit them out as often anymore. She does at least like sweet potatoes. She also doesn't really like sour stuff. I made her own mashed peaches and they were a bit sour so she kept pushing them out with her tongue. 
• She's been going down for naps SO good lately. Again, I don't know what suddenly flipped a switch in her mind, but it happened. (For those of you that don't know or don't remember from previous posts, she was a bit of a drama queen when it came to going down for naps. She would cry for about 5 minutes and then finally turn over and go to sleep. NOW, however, she doesn't cry at all. She just goes right to sleep as soon as I put her in her crib... unless she is already fussy prior to nap time. 
• She's been teething a lot lately, and while she still doesn't have any teeth I can feel the gums on her bottom front and it feels a little raised now so I think she might be getting them in. Plus she has been chewing on everything... and she has had her really fussy moments.

• She is great about going down to bed early. I get her to bed by 7 so that I can get to bed by 8 since I work in the early am. Most days she goes right to sleep, but other times she just talks to herself.
• She tries to feed herself all the time. She likes to grab the spoon and then she attempts to make it into her mouth. Usually, this ends in food all over her face and possibly her clothes. I try to help her with it, but boy is she strong! So for now I just let her hold her own bottle. 
• She also likes juice and drinks from a Sippy cup regularly. And she can also drink from a straw. Such a little stinker. I decided to give her a taste of my gingerale and she loved it... took her a bit to get used to the bubbly, but she kept wanting more. She kept reaching back for it and leaning for it and opening her mouth to it. Ha ha... guess I am gonna have to keep pop out of the house from now on so she doesn't get addicted to it. (even though its caffeine free). 
• Since the doc gave us permission to give her bits of food from our plates I have let her have different tastes of ice cream, yogurt, bread, crackers, and I am now giving her those bits of gerber graduates. She loves it all! She watches me eat constantly and I can tell by the look on her face that she wants to eat everything that I am eating. 

• She loves it when I tickle her... and she is very ticklish.
• She's got such a laid back, funny, smart personality. She just enjoys being in new places, playing with new things, seeing new people, learning new tricks. Don't get me wrong, she still has her dramatic side, but thats to be expected in most girls anyway. lol. 

She's so much fun to play with now that I don't have to be as careful with her anymore. We play airplane, and horsey, and swing (not with a real swing), and many other games which I have yet to make a name for. Don't worry, I am still careful with her. :) 

I love how big she is getting. Still miss the tiny stage, but I love this stage. I love her so very much and she is and always will be a blessing in my life. She is the light of my life. Couldn't have asked for a better gift from our Heavenly Father.