to my growing lady

dear adelaide,

in 8 short months you have managed to turn my world around...i heard an interview with a new mom recently and when asked if she loved being a mom - she said "it's like my whole body just wakes up to love her". and i thought, i'm pretty good with words sometimes but that is the best way to describe how much i love you and love having you in my life. i remember every time i look at you how i thought i might not ever get to have someone as special as you in my life - and how i am filled with gratitude even in moments where loving you exhausts me.

and today, when it felt like a forever kind of day at school and it was only 10 am or so...i looked at a picture of you and everything got a little lighter. you do this for lots of people, grandma, nana, daddy, the ladies at your school, even strangers when we are out and about - you just seem to make the day shine a little bit brighter with your scrunched up sweet toothy smile and i love you for it!

you are getting so big, wearing 12-18 month clothing and of course the new winter hat we bought you was a 2T (no surprise). you don't love your veggies like you used to...but man, you would down a gallon of bananas or applesauce if i let you. you sleep with your bottom in the air which is freaking adorable and you still sleep anywhere...even sitting straight up. you are obsessed with buttons on anything - or tags - you stare at them intently and then dive in for the kill (sucking on them so hard i worry they will come off!). your 'fangs' are coming in causing you to twist the top of your mouth against the bottom making an awful sound...which obviously makes some of the pain go away. you are still hysterically funny and daddy and i just love listening to you tell us very loud stories. we think ourselves pretty darn lucky to hang out with you babe - you are 8 months of awesome.

things i can do that i now that i am a big 8 month old:

1. stand sometimes without holding on - this really freaks mommy out.

2. grind my top and bottom teeth together!

3. laugh to make others laugh along...

4. squirm and arch my back to show mommy its time to let me go and play...

miss emily said today at school that you are just itching to move - that you are watching your friends crawl around you and you are studying their moves to perfect your first one.