8 Months of Raising a Wildflower

I typed the number 8 and then paused, staring at it for a good five seconds, wondering how the heck we ended up here so quickly. I know, I know, I say this every month. BUT, for real, I am now more than ever before in this mindset where I am forever thinking about your first birthday. From the theme, to pinning a million corresponding ideas on Pinterest, and what you will wear - I am on it! I also think of the milestones you will have accomplished by then, like walking, or saying "Mama", and my heart feels like it could just burst when imagining you in this not so distant future! You know I am dead serious about all of this when I already have your outfit for your birthday photos hanging in your closet. If that isn't enough, your birthday gift has been in the box in our basement since June. What I think all of this means (other than the fact that I am crazy), is that I am actually so excited to see you growing and changing and becoming more self-sufficient. Not that I don't love being your Momma and babying you when I can, but the look of pride that radiates on your face, and that smile that I swear to god, extends from ear to ear when you stand on your own for a few seconds, or take a step forward using your walker toy without falling, is priceless.

I am already so proud of everything you've done, and every single day you just become more of the person you were always meant to be in my life, and in this world, and it truly is a joy to get to see you shine every single day, as I sit front row centre to the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. That's all you, little girl. My Rowie P, my remarkable, bright, effortlessly stunning and contagiously happy daughter, who blows far past every expectation I ever had (EXCEPT, I always said that you would dance when you enjoyed whatever you were eating, and this month you proved that to be true, soooo just call it Momma's intuition, sweet girl!) Like every month prior, this one had it's many own attributes that made it so special, and I am so excited to speak of all of them!

8 month stats for Lil' R.P.

Birth weight: 6 lbs, 11.5 oz, 19 inches long

8 months: we weighed you a couple weeks ago at Bryce's house and you were 18.2 lbs! Still under 20.

Eye colour: stunning

Diaper size: 3 (also, I am sad to say that I am on my very last box of diapers from the stash I received at your baby shower, yikes!)

Clothing size: Nothing under 9 months anymore! I've already reduced your summer clothing to a single drawer because your beautiful fall haul is taking over! All of it is size 12-18 months. I've also gone kind of wild this past month and have been finding mad deals and clearance items for the future, so you already have a mini stockpile of 2T going on! FYI: This is called "smart shopping" and is therefore totally justifiable.

Nickname: "Rowbie" (Obie Obie Obie) is one I call you often, as well as "Rowbean", or "Beaner". Your Uncle Joey the one day mockingly said "Bug-A-Lug", thinking that is what I call you, when we all know you're my "Bug Bug!"

What Momma has observed

about you at 8 months young

Okay, not only do I have a list of notes on my phone this time, but they are categorized in the same headings that the blog follows to ensure that I have left out next to nothing! Hello, I am your mother, and I have serious OCD. Let's just say that this has been by far thee FUNNIEST month of you to date. I am serious. I have never laughed because of you, or at you, more than I have in these past four weeks, and that is due to a plethora of reasons that I will jump right into.

First and foremost, the dancing. I can't even tell you how this came to be. You do it so often now that it's hard to think of any time prior when you hadn't yet. Maybe it's because of the incessant playing of songs on Sesame Street, or the radio we often have on, perhaps the ungodly singing I do when no one but you is home to suffer from it, but the rhythm, my dear, inevitably found you. It began with a simple head bob, then the shoulders got into it, and now you dance to any music, whether it's a commercial jingle, a full out song, someone singing to you to deliberately get you to dance, or the best of all, when you dance to no sound at all, which is just the greatest thing I have ever seen and makes me laugh every single time. I can't even sing you to sleep anymore because it has the opposite effect. It used to knock you right out, but now you just become more alert and start dancing... I had you sitting in your Bumbo on the counter the one day, and I started playing music to see if you would shake it, and sure enough you did. You haven't stopped since and that was on August 6th. You look like a heavy metal head-banger when you do it standing. Later that same day, you grabbed hold of the chair leg at my desk and started banging your head back and forth to Blink 182. I kid you not. The one morning you were sound asleep in bed. Gramma came by to see you before work like she often does, walking in our house singing "Good morning, good morning!" A ridiculous little song she sings to you every. single. morning. (if not in person then on FaceTime... which you LOVE, by the way. You legitimately beam). You shot right up, and instantly started dancing. I just stared at you like you were clinically insane. Or how about just the other night when you, Daddy and I were all laying on the couch catching up on America's Got Talent. Your father had just finished saying that he wasn't a fan of the song that someone was singing, I agreed, and then we looked over at you, sitting there doing your head-bopping dance. Clearly you disagreed entirely. Whenever music played for the remainder of the episode, you didn't miss a beat. Though all of these snippets are amazing, and I'm not even touching base on the daily little dancing episodes you do when you're eating (I always joked that you were dancing in my tummy when I was pregnant and eating something delicious), or hear music playing when we're out, or dance along to The Sesame Street Alphabet, the single GREATEST dancing episode occurred just the other day. I was on the couch and you were sitting on the kitchen floor, staring at your reflection on the front of the stove. You were being way too quiet to not be up to something, and as I glanced over, I caught you smiling at yourself because you were watching yourself dance... A-mazing. I actually caught a couple seconds of it on tape and thank the lord I did, because that is NOTHING I want to ever forget. I feel like I couldn't dream you up any better even if I tried. Just couldn't be done. You're the best, kid.

Another habit you now have is hitting your belly when you want something. Daddy calls you a gorilla because that's legitimately what you look like when doing this. Whenever you get excited you do it, or when we hold up a bubba and you really wanna get your hands on it. It's as if you're marking your territory and saying, "mine!" Again, no clue where you learned this, but that seems to be the common-thread here.

The pointing finger. Plain and simple, you point to things now, but mostly people. Whenever Daddy or myself tell you "no", you point your little finger at us as if to say, "hey, I am the boss". The funniest is when Daddy points his back at you and you slap it away. "Get your own thing, Dada". Your finger-pointing pairs well with your relentless curiosity and nosiness. Now people really know you're intrigued by them, creeper.

The head tilt. From side to side, you now slowly lower your head down when you're staring at me in your Bumbo while you eat. You wait for me to copy you, and when I do, you giggle uncontrollably, or clap... You also like to get up in my face if you're on my lap and I am not paying enough attention to you (RARELY). If I am looking over you to watch TV, or down at my phone, you will get super close to my face and start doing the head tilt until I follow along. You're so strange.

You can feed yourself! The one night we were at Gramma's for supper and she made chicken souvlaki. Your first Greek experience. You had your own little plate, consisting of soft pita bread, tiny bits of chicken breast, and cut up cucumber (you even tried tzatziki!) Though I had previously tried to get you to feed yourself, your hands always seemed to throw your food down on the floor rather than lift it to your mouth. This time, however, you succeeded! Not only did you feed yourself, but you were so happy doing it. Ever since, you've only required minimal assistance. You still can't maneuver a spoon, and sometimes you try to cram way too much in your mouth at once and I have to intervene, but you have undoubtedly made such progress! Just this very morning you worked away at chowing down on the bits of pancake I had put on your high chair tray in front of you. It's so nice to be able to multitask while you feed yourself. Good work, Rowbie!

Aside from clapping just because you feel like it, you also clap on command. Not kidding. You are very smart! I don't even have to prompt you by clapping myself. You simply know the word and connect it to the action. It goes to show how well repetition works. You also clap to the song "Patty Cake"! You can thank Gramma for that one, because she always plays "Patty Cake" with you. I call this one your party trick, because whenever you do it on command people are always impressed.

You also know the command "on your bum". If you're standing, trying to climb, or are bopping around while you eat, I can point to the ground and say, "Rowan Penelope, on your bum". You just look at me and slowly plop your bum down. Such a good girl! This also works when you're trying to get up in the tub.

Speaking of standing, not only do I mean up against things like the couch, but you have been caught standing all by yourself for a few solid seconds a bunch of times now! It's almost as if you don't even realize you're doing it by yourself, then you notice you aren't being supported by anything, panic, and fall. But it's happening more and more often, for longer periods of time, which means that you will soon be walking! You got up the one day and used the couch to walk from one end to the other, which was awesome. Zia and Chris even bought you a walker toy, which you love to play with but aren't too keen on actually walking with yet. You took a giant step the first day while holding on and scared yourself, so I think you still have to realize that it's there to help you. My bet is still that you will be walking before Halloween!

You have a whole new love for bath time, and for a few reasons. 1. You have realized that you can see yourself in the silver piece under the spout (and continuously say hi and wave to yourself). 2. You are newly obsessed with watching the water drain when you're finished bathing (and watching the toilet flush for that matter...). 3. You play for way longer now once I am done washing you, and this includes throwing your soaked washcloth or toys out of the tub and watching me pick them up. Basically, you love your bath!

You somehow managed to rip off the child-proof lock that I put on the cupboard in the kitchen. Here I was thinking that I had outsmarted you and you would no longer be able to open the cupboard and grab the pots and pans, but you of course found a way around it. I looked to see what you were playing with and realized that it was the lock itself. So there goes that, on to better quality ones because I live with Houdini Junior.

I swear to god that one of your favourite pass times is still pulling the books off of your rowboat shelf, and like a fool, I pick them up a million times a day. This week you sat pulling them off instead of standing while leaning with one arm on the shelf and the other destroying things (your normal stance), and a whole pile of them fell on you. Of course this led to a meltdown because your books had attacked you. Now you'll return with vengeance I am sure.

Though you haven't yet come out with a clear and indisputable "mama" or "dada", you sure do mumble and babble a whole lot more. "Wow" is still your go-to word, and there have been times when your Daddy and I swear you've started saying "Da..." or "Maaaaaam", but I keep saying that unless we are absolutely sure it doesn't count! I feel like when you're really tired at night and whine, you cry while saying "Maaaaaaam", but again, zero clarity thus far. Next month, it's happening! As a side note here, Uncle Joey swore he heard you say "bubble" one day... Then again, he also thought my nickname for you was "Bug-A-Lug".

Oh, the realness of your OBSESSION with Abby Cadabby's "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" Song. When I play it on the app, or you see it on the show, your whole face lights up and you look at me, smile, look at the TV, dance, then keep doing this for the duration of it. It's a sure fire way for us to get you to dance. Just this past week when we were coming home from a hangout with the babies and their Momma's, you were having a meltdown in the back seat of Stef's vehicle. We legitimately had to sing this to you over and over again for pretty much the whole way back to our house from the mall. Thank GOD for fellow understanding mothers, who don't even blink an eye and jump right on in, singing like an idiot alongside me to make you feel better.

Whenever I wear glasses you must think that I am pretty funny looking, because you stare at me and smile as if you're not sure why I have them on. Regardless, it's adorable so I should wear them way more often.

Okay, this other thing you've started doing is terribly funny, and I do not intend for it to be at all racist, but it's a perfect point of comparison. You tend to squint your eyes now, for reasons I am unaware of, but you do so while talking in this high pitch "Korean woman" voice (as I call it), and you sound like this old lady who used to work at a convenient store when I was a kid, who would yell at people to buy something or get out. So you do this high pitch rant-style business while squinting your eyes near shut and I die laughing because I have NO idea what you're saying, or WHY rather, but I can care less because it's truly hilarious. Sometimes I can get you going by making the noises myself and then you go off, but not without squinting those eyes... Weirdo. You are so wonderfully weird.

Your third tooth emerged on August 11th! The weird part is that it was your "fang" as I call it, known to people who know more than I do as the "left upper lateral". So you currently have these adorable two middle bottom guys who poke out and cannot be unseen, your upper lateral, and just tonight I noticed that the upper middle one right beside it is showing. Four teethies! Considering all of this progress, you are handling teething like a champ! Whenever it's noticeably bad, it's nothing some baby Tylenol can't fix and then you're golden. ALSO, you now grind your teeth and it sends chills up my spine. The sound is so unsettling and I always try to make you stop! My little gummy smile girl is long gone!

Lastly, your hair is for sure going wavy. This is evident whenever you come out of the bath and it starts to dry on it's own and sticks up in every which way direction. Whenever I get you ready in the morning, I usually have to wipe your hair down with a baby wipe before I brush it, but it never stays tamed. You have started waking up with this Alfalfa-like sprout on your head, and let me tell you that this piece of hair does not stay down. I've given up and have decided to just let it be free. Somehow even as an Alfalfa look-alike you are so stinking cute and it fits into your wild child personality.

Things you absolutely love

It's a little overwhelming how long this portion can be if I legitimately knew ALL of the things you love, because you are just a really ridiculously happy baby who oozes joy. The simplest of things make you happy, from playing with a sleeve of plastic cups on the kitchen floor, to realizing that you know how to turn the knobs on the radio to change the station or volume (you do those things), you are just so damn content.

You LOVE being in your element after a busy day out and about. You can be throwing a tantrum in the car, but once we're at home and settled, you become your usual happy self again, like magic.

You also LOVE being around people. Daddy and I can't even leave the room without you coming along. Seriously. The other day we were hanging things up in the mudroom we just recently fixed up by painting and tiling, and you were on the other side of the baby gate watching us, and you CRIED until I grabbed you and brought you to the other side. You don't care what it is we're doing, you just want to be a part of it! You also love being around your baby pals, which is great because you get to see them weekly now! It makes me so happy to see you smile and interact with them, getting socialized, learning to share, and legitimately feeling content.

Other honourable mentions: waking Momma up with your ever-so-gentle slaps, Sesame Street (DUH!!!), going shopping or running errands with me, using your sippy cup as a hammer and smashing it down on every surface possible, drinking out of Momma's water bottle, or cup, or eating whatever Momma has simply because it is mine, yanking the scrunchie out of my hair numerous times a day, being hung upside down in the air by your legs (you die laughing), holding books in the car while you're in your seat, whenever Gramma tickles your head in the car, FaceTiming Gramma (you start smiling even when it's dialing and she hasn't even appeared on screen yet), playing peek-a-boo (you think you are hidden when you sit in your baby gate and poke your head out every so often), EATING, whenever Dada comes home from work, when we pretend to chase you, taking my canister of coffee (which is now in the cupboard for this very reason) while you sit in your Bumbo on the counter, and throwing it into the sink so it's all wasted, still love staring at yourself in mirrors, or reflective surfaces, or watching videos of yourself, sitting in shopping carts, standing at the tub to watch it fill up before I put you in it, going for walks in the jogging stroller, Momma's homemade Skinny Chunky Monkey Cookies (baby-friendly!), when people give you any sort of attention, playing with toys at Grandma and Grandpa's house, the "Good Morning" song Gramma sings to you, smashing your crib aquarium on and off, your good ol' faithful pal, Bubba, napping on Momma, cuddling at night time, and of course, you're a BIG time Momma's girl.

Things you aren't so fond of...

Always a short list, but there are always new additions as the months continue on! Apparently you aren't a fan of sitting in the cool firetruck buggies at Canadian Tire. Gramma and I tried to sit you in one (thinking you would love it), and you must not have felt secure, because you freaked right out! Complete meltdown mode. You also don't like when someone doesn't share food with you... which is why 99.9% of the time we do. You hate being left alone, being told "no", you still don't like going into your crib, you HATE loud and sudden noises (the vacuum, the blender, when someone yells unexpectedly), you do not like being put into your car-seat (especially once you have been out for a while, either held or in your stroller), you do not like staying still to be changed, or having anything taken away from you.

Eating Habits

Oh my goodness! You are such a fantastic little eater! You're basically eating like a real person now, having three healthy meals a day, along with 24 ounces of your bubba over the span of 24 hours, and of course, you have little snacks throughout the day whenever hunger strikes. Though your bubba acts like more of a filler now, it is still very much so a crucial one, and is the only thing you want after your bath in order to relax and fill that tummy up before bed.

It's been nice to rely less on your bottles when we are out and about, and packing little snacks for you is much easier and more fun anyways. I usually cut up some fruit, or bring along a container of apple sauce, yogurt, or cottage cheese, and even cheese strings! Since you eat way more now, snack and meal options are pretty endless.

This past month, you have tried so many new things, such as:

• chicken souvlaki

• steak

• stuffed peppers and lasagna (with lean ground meat and homemade tomato sauce)

• eggplant parm (not breaded or fried!)

• pita bread

• cheese strings, cottage cheese and regular cheese

• apple sauce

• tzatziki sauce

• plums

• peaches

• grapefruit

• black olives

• quesadilla

• Skinny Chunky Monkey Cookies (my go-to healthy cookie recipe)

• popcorn made in coconut oil (the soft parts)

• pancakes (with homemade whipping cream...shhh!)

• frozen Greek yogurt drops and popsicles (Momma's healthier alternative)

• healthy baby French toast (my other healthy alternative: whole wheat bread dipped in mashed banana and formula, then grilled in avocado oil and cut into sticks)

I legitimately love preparing your tiny meals, and am always looking for new and healthy ideas for you. I am taking full advantage of you being an excellent eater and never turning your nose up at anything. I've been serving you many of your meals in a small 6 cup muffin tin because obviously it looks nice, but more than that, it gives me an idea as to what you like and flock to most. "Picnic" meals as I've called them since I was a kid, are the best because they provide you with a nice little variety. I am still all about our matching meals, and to tell you the truth, I don't really have to go out of my way to make you separate meals because you eat A LOT of what I do! It's a win-win situation since it keeps me on my toes about eating healthy and making better decisions.

Sleeping Pattern

This morning you napped for a half hour in your crib (yay!) Also, this past week you set a new record of a whopping 75 minute nap in the crib, so it's the world's slowest progress, but it counts! I still try to get you in the crib for your naps, and some days it's frustrating, but other days I see the light and believe that eventually we will get you there permanently. For now, you comfortably sleep the night away nuzzled up next to me as close as possible without being back inside my womb. You are also the world's most aggressive alarm clock. When you decide it's wake up time, that's it. You touch my face, pull my hair, babble, but all the while with a smile on your face because mornings are your favourite! The odd time you will wake up when we transition you to bed and think that it's time to play. That's when we spend a while coaxing you back to sleep, while you crawl around the bed laughing like a goofball.

Playtime & Development

It's official, the baby gate is up! You boot it around all over the place now, you pick up any little bit of anything off of the ground, and you can't be left unattended for more than three seconds. We live in a constant state of books everywhere, toys scattered about, and you leaving as many of them as possible under the couch for me to find when I clean. This happens partly because you love to throw things... Except for the night Uncle Joey was over and was trying to play catch with you and you seriously would not let go of the ball in your hand, even when I would make the throwing motion WITH your arm. The death grip you had on it was too strong and we couldn't stop laughing.

In addition to your new walker toy, Momma got you your very first dolly from Toys R' Us. You like to poke it in the eye and chew on it's head, but I am sure those things are done out of love... We will work on the whole importance of being gentle thing when you have a sibling on the way.

You also love playing with this small wooden spoon that Gramma bought you at Superstore. No, it isn't a children's toy; it's legitimately a small cooking spoon, but you love the damn thing and clobber everything with it.

Your activeness is off the charts, your energy is endless. You can play by yourself, but you love when someone joins. You love your Sesame stuffies, your stacking donuts, your coffee pot and cup, these tiny plastic bowls, and of course, anything that I give you to hold and occupy yourself with while I am getting ready or cooking, like measuring spoons, combs, or my scrunchies that you love so much...

Dates & Holidays

It's been waaay too hot to go on our walks to the plaza as often as we were, but you and I have filled our time with new routines, lots of playing and hanging out together, and getting out of the house with friends. I had mentioned that you now see your little buddies weekly, and it's been so great for the both of us. Aside from taking turns hosting play group on Thursdays (which you love), we also have been venturing out to places like The Black Sheep Lounge for coffee as a group, or lapping the mall and doing some shopping together. One night you even came along with me to watch Bachelor in Paradise at Ashlee and Bryce's house and stayed awake for the entire thing (wedged beside me on the couch, eating popcorn and all)! You're my little gal pal who is a part of everything I do and everywhere I go.

We checked out a newly opened coffee shop called Font in Fonthill this past month as well. You, Gramma, Lindsay and I were there the day it opened, and you even brought along your toy coffee mug. The owners got a kick out of you as you made your presence known, saying hi and babbling to everyone who passed by.

Just this past week, on August 20th, it was Daddy's 28th birthday. (Last year when he turned 27, you turned 27 weeks in my belly!) Since he accidentally lost his RPM embroidered hat to the wind when he was fishing out on the water one day (and was super bummed out about it), you and I got him a brand new one to replace it! You also got him a Cookie Monster birthday card for obvious reasons. That evening we went out for dinner at MT Bellies to celebrate with Grandpa, Grandma, and Marielle. You were so well behaved and terribly confused when they sang happy birthday to your Dada there.

We also booked your baptism this past month for early September. We have since met with the priest as per standard procedure, and had to go watch a movie at the church in preparation. You were the oldest baby within this group by months, and spent the duration of the movie waving to the other parents, doing your head tilt from side-to-side at them, and throwing your Cookie Monster stuffed animal around. Thankfully Daddy was there to walk around with you while I sat looking like I was paying attention. I've already ordered your baptism dress and have it all ready to go. Though it isn't a traditional baptismal gown, it's dainty and pretty, just like you, and you will look beautiful in it.

Lastly, from your Momma's perspective

I recently said that if you were a colour you would be yellow. I said this because everything about you is radiant, you make everyone including myself happy, and being close to you brings about a warmth that I swear to god, I feel in my heart and soul. So this is also why I've been known to say that

"[you] ARE sunshine!" It's a pretty perfect comparison seeing as how you light up my whole life and seem to have this influence over people that brightens their day as well.

You are a true joy to share things with, which is why bringing you everywhere with me is something I love to do. There are many moments when I sit back and watch you, as you play, or interact with others, and I am overwhelmed by the love and thankfulness I have because you are mine. It's so crazy how in the beginning I was so overwhelmed in general - by love, by the newness of it all, and with that of course came the overwhelming impact of fear, anxiety, exhaustion, and self-doubt. Now, however, those less flattering overwhelming things fade far into the background, and at the forefront of it all are these strictly beautiful things I am so fortunate to be taken aback by. At the forefront of it all is you, my sunshine girl, just gleaming.

The one night this past month, it was just you and I at home. You had your bath already, drank your bubba, and were playing to tire yourself out before bedtime. I was sitting on the floor outside of your fort, and all of the sudden, you crawled in my direction, plopped yourself down directly in front of me, held my hand and smiled at me. There aren't even words for how I felt at the moment. You just make me a kind of happy that I've never known before. It's a kind of happy that takes having a child to know and understand, and one that therefore only your child can fulfill. I'd like to believe that what you did was your own way of silently letting me know that you love me too. I felt it, Bug. I really did.

Look at the stars, look how they shine for you, and everything you do, yeah they were all yellow.

I came along, I wrote a song for you, and all the things you do, and it was called yellow.

So then I took my turn, oh what a thing to have done, and it was all yellow.

Your skin, oh yeah your skin and bones turn into something beautiful. You know, you know, I love you so. You know I love you so.

You ARE sunshine, always remember that.

Happy 9 months earth-side, Bug!

I love you so much.

Love, Momma