Dear Savannah,

Today you are 8 months old. I am having a lot of trouble admitting that you’re already that old! You’re just growing so fast, and in no time at all you are going to be a little girl running around.

This month had a lot of firsts for you. You got your first passport stamps! We flew down to the Dominican Republic for 11 days and visited some friends, including a little boy who is two days younger than you. You did great on the trip, which is good because you come from a family who loves to travel. You also had your first trip to the beach, which happened to be on a tropical island in the Caribbean, so I’m not sure how we’re going to top that in the future. However, you didn’t really enjoy the ocean – I think the waves scared you. You did like sitting in the sand and trying to eat it, though! You had your first hike, being carried by your Mommy in the Ergo carrier. You also played in a river and a swimming pool, and you had a great time in both – you didn’t seem to notice the cold water at all! This month marked your first Easter. You wore a pink dress and looked SO pretty!

While we were down in the Dominican Republic, your skin just tanned in the sun despite all the sunscreen I put on you! I guess you have your daddy’s skin after all, even though it has been the same color as mine until now. I am jealous! I got a bad sunburn, but your cheeks just got a little pink. You also got to ride around almost the whole time in our laps. There wasn’t enough room in the car for your carseat, nor were there seatbelts. I think you enjoyed being held – I know I enjoyed holding you! You took all the changes of being overseas quite well, and you also did well with your whole schedule being off (including naptime).

It was really fun to see you with Timmy. You picked up some things from him, like repeating syllables over and over when you “talk”. Now you have long strings of “ba-ba-ba-ba-ba” and “ma-ma-ma-ma-ma” – it’s really cute. You got really excited every time you saw Timmy – I guess you recognized that he was a baby just like you!

Timmy also helped you see that tummy time isn’t the worst thing in the world, and we’ve been able to get you to stay on your tummy for a little while! You still don’t love it, but at least you’re starting to work on your upper arm strength. You also rolled over! I knew you could do it. You have started moving a lot more, but you’re still not covering great distances. You will stand with straightened legs when I hold you up on my lap. You look so big when you do that! Your sitting up has greatly improved – you almost never flop over now, and you can pull yourself up from a 45 degree angle. You are also learning to wave! You’re not quite there yet, but we’re working on it!

Your hair is starting to get really thick, and I’m having to keep a clippy in it all the time to keep it off your face. Your bangs are starting to hang over your eyes! I may have to cut them soon; I haven’t decided if I want to just let them grow or cut them.

I took you to the doctor at the beginning of the month and you weighed 16lbs 4oz and were slightly over 26 inches tall (I think). This puts you in the 50th percentile for other kids your age, which is good in my book.

We’ve hit the separation anxiety stage. Most of the time, you will refuse to let anyone hold you but me. The past week or so you’ve gotten a bit better and will let Daddy hold you, which is good because as much as I love you it’s nice to have a break. :-)

You are starting to eat some solid foods like Goldfish crackers and Cheerios now! It took a little while for you to figure out how to eat them, though. You didn’t seem to understand that you had to let go of the food once it was in your mouth. However, now you are doing really well at eating them. It’s funny – every time you take the first bite of something I am feeding you, you make a face. I wonder what you are thinking! You seem to prefer salty things to sweet things. I have been giving you green beans a lot, which you like, and pears. You love crackers and watch me hungrily every time I eat one. You also really enjoyed the avocado I gave you. I had to put you straight into the bathtub after that meal!

I look forward to the next few months because it is going to be summer soon! I love summer, and look forward to sharing it and all the things that come with summer with you.

Love, Mommy