Happy 8 Month Birthday Gracie

One more month has come and gone and my baby keeps getting bigger and bigger! We have had a great month with some not-so-great highlights. Namely, the cutting of 2 teeth. The first of the two broke the skin yesterday. I'm hoping that helps put an end to the fussiness but I'm not confident. This girl has had such a rough time. She cries or whines at least half of the time she's awake. Hands in the mouth. Tugging at the ears. Not eating solids. Not going down for naps well. Not good. We finally took her in yesterday to her pediatrician to rule out an ear infection. She came out of there with a good bill of health and great looking ears. Must just be the teething.

We have also had some great highlights this month. We took a last minute beach trip last weekend with some friends. Our good friends Leon and Angela scored a house (make that mansion) by the sea and we joined them and another couple for some good conversation, relaxation and wine :-) There was just enough new going on that Grace was actually really good the entire time we were there. Apparently she likes to save the fussiness for the privacy of her own home. Here was the view from the front window of the beach house. Beautiful!

Grace also spoke her first word last weekend at the beach in front of everyone. The girl likes to be center stage. After MONTHS of trying to get her to say mama, her first word is officially dada. Go figure! Aaron, of course, loves it. I'm still working on mama but feel as though it's a lost cause. I wonder if 'kitty' will be next?

She also waved bye-bye for the first time this month. She loves looking at her reflection in the mirror, or as we like to call it, the baby who lives in the mirror. I always hold her in front of the mirror and wave to her. She thinks it's neat. Then, one day, she waved back! So adorable. It's a skill she picks and chooses when to use. Not something she does all the time. Aaron hasn't seen it yet. We were at our friends Darcy and Lucy's house yesterday and Lucy and Grace started waving at each other. It was adorable! They were both very proud of themselves.
Finger foods....
Another first was Grace working on our taxes. Apparently she is more than just a deduction, she is also our CPA. She takes her job very seriously and doesn't like to be interrupted.
Hmmm, let's see...carry the 1, divide by 4, plus the standard deduction of the new baby and the interest on the house......
Another fun first is her love to sit up in the bath tub. Her absolute favorite part of bath time is playing with the water as we fill the tub. She loves it. I attribute her love for getting splashed to swimming lessons. This picture cracks me up. Her arms look kind of buff. She went from Olive Oil to Popeye in an instant!

Who, me?
And my favorite picture of Grace to date....