8 Month Cutie.

Our petite 8-month old cutie (last week):

Hi all.

Oh Annalee, how you light up a room with your smile. If you turn out to be timid, quiet, introverted and inclusive, we will surely all be surprised.

Some Annalee-isms to record:

• When you pick her up she automatically tries to turn around to be facing forward. I've rarely worn her in my moby wrap thing 'cause the only way I ever used it with Eli was baby snuggled up facing me. She does not go for that. Greg puts her outward facing in the Bjorn when he washes bottles and she is happy as a clam. She has to know what's going on.
• She puts up with big bro quite well. He often will run up to her full speed ahead and near smack her... he has much affection for her. There is much hugging and petting. And she takes it very well. She lights up when she she sees him each morning.
• Annalee must be watched much more closely than her brother ever was. She will get into anything. She will chew on cords. She ate paper last week. If she doesn't end up in the ER by the time she's 3, I will be surprised and extremely grateful. When she learns not to put everything in her mouth, that will be a nice day.
• She eats like a champ. I have much mom guilt over not making her baby food from scratch but she doesn't seem to mind Gerber. She opens up wide when the spoon is coming at her. Not a huge fan of peas but I can usually get a few bites before she utters her disgust. She loves peaches. And mum mums.
• Since I stopped pumping a few weeks ago (oh yes, there was great rejoicing), she's been doing fine on formula and my frozen milk (which we probably have a month supply or more of). She is gaining weight still so I think the transition is fine. She sees a bottle and gets VERY excited. She grabs that thing and plops it in her mouth with a surprising quickness. She also has been holding her own bottle this last month!
• 16lbs, 12ozs is her current weight at 8 months plus a week. With short legs for sure.
• She takes a soothie binkie still at night but not as fervently. Sometimes at naps she doesn't even use one. Other times is a must. Go figure. 
• I let her sleep with a muslin blanket now and she seems to like to finger it but it's not a must have either. I think she sucks on her lips (like Greg did when he was a baby) for soothing.
• This girl never gets read to. I feel really badly about that. Her brother still gets 20+ minutes of story time before bed, but Annalee has no calm time. She goes from happily, active playing to "I'm ready to eat and go to bed people, hurry up."
• She goes to bed around 7:30 - 8:30pm and wakes up usually around 10 to eat, then sleeps until 7am or so. This has been fairly consistent the last weeks. It is much better than life before we slept long stretches.
• She has begun to really babble. Sweet, sweet, to hear most of the time. Occasionally we comment "was that Annalee?!".
• Our littlest entertains herself much better than her brother ever did... she can play/crawl/explore for long stretches without our input (as long as she's in a baby proof area, of course). 
• Annalee still loves her Grandpa better than all else but the rest of us are loved and get her attention too (even Grandma!). She doesn't give out her smiles excessively but she usually has a smile for Grandpa, she is always aware of where he is in a room.
• She wishes she could walk, this sweet girl. Her favorite thing is to have someone hold her hands and help her walk along. She pulls up and climbs things... and gets stuck sometimes. The other day she tried climbing up the stairs to get to her bottle on the second stair. I am bummed that Eli's mail walker toy is in storage because I know Annalee would devour it. 
• We had to put the baby gate up because she can move from one side of the room to another in a few seconds flat. 
• I played horsey with her on my legs last night and she giggled out loud with pure joy. 
• Ketia is her Haitian daycare lady and Annalee likes her but she really likes Ketia's oldest daughter that's home from school now. She always is holding her when I come and Annalee smiles lots for her. Annalee also plays with her cousin Alexia at daycare and they've seem to come to a mutual understanding of each other (and we hope that means they will be friends!).
• Annalee is looking more and more like her daddy, I think. She's already wrapped around his finger.
• I call her Missy Moo Moo. No idea why.
• She still sleeps in the storage room but I sure hope that's not the case two weeks from now!

Again, this girl is loved and a joy to her mom and dad and overly affectionate big brother: "I wuv you Annawee".

-Heather