Grace is 8 Months!

Grace turned 8 months old on June 17!  It seems like these months are just flying by!  Grace's biggest accomplishment this past month was being able to sit up.  Her sitting abilities improved a lot this past month.  She no longer looks slumped over when she sits and can sit for long periods of time.  I still put the boppy pillow around her though because she hasn't mastered getting down yet, and she also tends to just lay herself backward on the floor and I don't want her to bonk her head. :)  She is also now very good at reaching forward to pick up a toy and then sit back up to look at it.  She still hasn't gotten up on all fours yet, but is working very hard.  She has started to try to get her belly off the floor, but then just pushes herself backwards instead.  She gets up pretty high, but still can't get her abdomen off the floor.  I have seen her on all fours two times, but it was in the middle of the night when she had woken up.  She will sometimes sleep with her bottom in the air and her knees under her, when she wakes up she usually pushes herself up with her hands, so there have been two times I have found her in the middle of the night on all fours. :)  Another thing from this past month is that Grace started sleeping on her belly.  She has liked sleeping on her side for quite some time, but now I always find her on her belly.  I still lay her down on her side, but she always rolls to her tummy now.  Since she has been sleeping on her tummy, this has improved her napping abilities.  I quit putting her in the Ergo for her afternoon nap too this past month.  (I had quit putting her in the Ergo for her morning nap a while ago).  She still isn't very consistent, but since she sleeps on her belly, it has helped her take longer afternoon naps.  She was getting so heavy for me to carry around in the Ergo for so long on my front, it was just time.  She was also getting uncomfortable sleeping in the Ergo because she would want to move around and couldn't.  Grace has also started to roll all over the floor towards the end of the month.  She will roll from back to tummy to back to tummy again to get where she wants to go.  I will sit her down and go do something and find her across the room from where I left her when I come back.  Grace has had lots of different foods this month.  We added fruits, and her favorite is definitely the bananas.  So all together she has had, carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, green beans, peaches, apple sauce, bananas, and pears.  She loves the carrots, sweet potatoes, and bananas, we are working on broadening her tastes. :)  Grace's temperament continues to be so easy going.  I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but she is so laid back.  Erik and I talk about this all the time that it's a good thing she is so go with the flow because otherwise we'd be in trouble.  She always waits until everyone else's needs are met before we go and help her.  She is so content most of the time and rarely cries.  When she cries it's usually because she is hurt, and she definitely has a certain cry for when she is hurt!  She also has this sober look that she gives most people that she isn't familiar with.  It's hard for a new person or people she doesn't see that often to get her to smile.  The other thing everyone comments on is her hair.  It's dark, curly, and kind of out of control sometimes. :)  It's almost long enough that I'm going to have to do something with it every day!  Here are some pictures from this past month!

8 months!

She gives us this look a lot :)

Hi mom!

First ponytail!

Checking me out ;)

Wearing one of Norah's old dresses!

Playing with her baby 

Bath time!

More sitting

Smile!

Play time!

Hanging out outside

VBS 2014

Kyler went to vacation Bible school this year at Nazareth Church.  He went last year too, but this was the first year that he was old enough to be part of the "rotation".  My good friend Kimbo is the leader of the Children's Ministry at Naz, so I have helped her with VBS for a long time.  I always enjoy helping her out with rec.  It was hard to believe that I actually had a kid old enough to attend this year!  But it was also fun to see Kyler at rec every evening!  At Naz, every night they rotate through 4 different "stations", rec being one of them.  Kyler loved going to all the different things, and especially loved finding out about Chadder. :)  Another special thing about VBS this year was that Grandma Deb was one of Kyler's teachers!  She volunteered to help in his class, and he was excited about that!  He also enjoyed spending the week with his good buddy Ayden, they always have so much fun together!  Although Norah isn't old enough to go to the "official" Bible school, she did go to the nursery where they played outside, had a snack, and did a craft.  She called this "her class", and although it was a bit of a struggle to get her to go at the beginning, she always had so much fun, especially being with her friend Ahnie.  She also loved the music and doing all the actions with the songs.  Here are a few pictures I snapped when Kyler was out visiting me. :)

Kyler with Ayden ready for a relay!

Ready to play rat tail tag

Water balloon fun with parachutes!

More fun with parachutes

Norah singing with the songs :)

Doing the actions :)