8 Months old

I know I am a little behind on this 8 month post. We have experienced a lot of cough/cold sickness around our house this month. Sadly, I did not take Brooke's picture in front of her horse. She is now closer to 9 months old, so I am going to use a picture of her from our California trip. Here are some interesting things about Brooke this month:
*She weighs 16 lbs and 10 oz
*Still wearing a size 2 diaper
*she sits in a high chair at restaurants now
*she is instantly drawn to jewelry. if you are wearing a ring, necklace, or earrings she will try to pull on them.
*She has started to pull up on things like her crib and the pew at church
*She is sleeping on her tummy now with her bottom in the air. This is just how her cousin Claire sleeps.
*She is wearing 6-9 month clothes and 12 month pj's.
*She does the sign for car from her Signing time video.
*She loves the Mum Mum biter biscuits
*She is just starting to crawl. Her method is to scoot and drag the other leg behind her. This is very funny to watch.

My little Valentine

Brooke wore this cute little Valentine outfit a lot this month. We had a great Valentines Day this year. Brooke made us a Valentine magent with her face on it at preschool. She received her first Valentine cards from her Grams and Grammy.
Keith and I even exchanged cards and little gifts this year. Keith typically hates Valentines day. I think he caved this year because I kept pestering him to get me a sweet card.
Keith and Brooke were also finnally feeling better after being sick for over a week. Happy Valentines Day!!

Sick little baby

Brooke was sick for the first time this weekend. She had a cold and fever. I never realized how hard it is for a baby to have a runny nose. They cannot blow their noses; so it just drips out all day. When they sneeze it comes out like an explosion. Brooke had a couple really tough nights trying to sleep with congestion and snot. Luckily she seems to be on the mend today. She went to sleep at 9 last night and slept until 6 this morning. That is almost back to her normal sleeping schedule. Lately she has been quite the mover in her crib. I will put her to bed in one positon and she rolls and moves all over. It is even funnier to see how much she has moved in her giant sleep sack.

High Chair and play mat

We have offically graduated to the high chair. Brooke was eating in her bumbo seat up until yesterday. She was trying to lean back and tip over in the seat and now she is strong enough. So, I started securely strapping her into the high chair for eating times. Thanks for Uncle Ryan and Aunt Kell for such a great high chair.
I stole the idea from my friend Lindsey to get a puzzle mat. It takes of tons of space on the wood floor and it provides an extra cushion. Brooke is now sitting up really well, but will fall to the side if she reaches for a toy. This mat will also be great when she starts crawling. We used to put a big blanket/quilt on the wood floors for her to play. This is a definite upgrade. AND, another big plus, the dogs don't have any deisre to chew on it.
Lastly, we are amazed at how loud Brooke can be. She is such a happy baby, but it is a LOUD happy. When I'm talking on the phone people are shocked at how loud she is in the background. I have been tempted to start wearing earplugs when she is in her jumparoo. She also seems to think it is a contest for who can be the loudest between her and the dogs. When they start barking she starts screaming. Stay tuned for a video of that.