Eight Month Update

Dear Birdzo-Butt,
Yep. That's what we call you these days. Not for any particular reason other than to mix things up a bit from calling you The Bird and Chunky Butt. Not that you're particular chunky. And not that I'm trying to give you a complex at a young age about the size of your adorable bubble-butt... but it's just so darn cute that we feel that we must incorporate it into one of your many nicknames.

Actually, we've been trying to call you by your given name of Hazel (sometimes with a Hazel-Bird thrown in there for good measure) because you're at that age where you're recognizing your name. And that, my dear, is completely awesome. But it's still hard for us to call you Hazel instead of Birdzo Butt. Because, when you get right down to it? I would have killed for a nickname like Birdzo Butt when I was a kid. Instead, I got stuck with names like Pencil Legs and Giraffe. Not very creative. Granted, this was when I was much older and not required to wear a bib at every feeding (as you are) because as much as I (you) liked to swallow my food, I (you) REALLY enjoyed spitting it out all over Mommy and Daddy. Ahem.

So, this month has been exciting. Really exciting. Like three ear infections in 30 days exciting. Yep. It's been that much fun. But through it all, you've been a total champ. You're still the happiest little girl at school and your face absolutely lights up when either your Daddy or I walk in to any room. There's nothing quite so ego-boosting and day-brightening than having your baby's face break into a beautiful smile at just the sight of you.

We had a get you a new car seat last month because you clocked in a 29.75 inches at one of your doctor's appointments (for another ear infection) and your carrier maxes out at 30 inches. So, on our anniversary, your Daddy and I decided to celebrate by buying a new car seat. When we walked out of Babies-R-Us an hour later, we were both reeling from sticker shock. HOLY COW that was an expensive anniversary gift.

You weren't so much a fan of your new car seat, and quite frankly... neither were we. I'd gotten pretty good at being mobile with you in your infant carrier. I could make a quick stop at Papa Murphy's, grab the carrier, run in, pay for the pizza, balance the pizza on one hand and the carrier on my other arm, manage to open the door, plop the carrier back in and start the car... all in less than 2 minutes.

Now? Well, now it takes me about 90 seconds to even get you out of the seat and then I have to carry you. And at 22 pounds and curious about the world around you? It's like carrying a 22 pound water balloon that's leaking all over my shoulder. Not the easiest thing in the world. And that's not the bad part. The bad part is getting you back in the seat because somewhere between taking you out of the seat and putting you back in the seat you have developed a massive phobia of the seat and O.M.G.... IT'S TRYING TO KILL YOU! It takes me at least 3 minutes to get you back in the seat and buckled up correctly. On a positive note, you've really got the arched-back thing down to a science.

I've actually bypassed a quick stop at the store for something because I don't want to deal with getting you out of your seat. It's that bad. So that's been fun. We're having to adjust our seat paradigm to get used to the new mode of transportation with you. As time goes on, you seem to be doing better and better with it. But you still have your moments. Nothing that a rattle can't take care of. But heaven help Mommy if the rattle is lost. Heads roll.

You're getting sooooo close to crawling. Your Daddy and I can't decide whether to be excited... or terrified. Because the house? NO WHERE CLOSE TO BEING CHILD PROOF. You're just so close, though, and we keep hoping that today will be the day that you finally put it all together and figure out how to move your legs and arms at the same time. Daddy also wants me to tell you that you clearly did not inherit your upper body strength from me. You are super strong and there are times when I almost hand you the jar of baby food to open the lid for me. But, hey... you got my butt. So, I've done my share.

Speaking of food, you are eating a TON of it. You're particularly enamored with sweet potatoes, squash and blueberries. Not so much peaches. I've seen you do full-body shivers several times now. And 90% of the time, it's right after your first taste of peaches. Not a fan.

Things have finally warmed up in Utah and you're discovering all sorts of cool things like the sun, grass and... naked time. Yes. You loves you some naked time. And apparently, Mommy and Daddy need to let you be naked more often because Holy Cow! Is this me? Is this what I look like underneath all those cute outfits? LOOK AT MY AWESOME BODY!!!



Uncle Ryan and Aunt Kaylene hooked you up with an awesome toy the other day and you love to play with it and see how the different shapes move. You've also started to pull it down on top of you... I guess to inspect how it works?

You also scored a couple of toys from Goodwill. Because Mommy cannot stand buying another $20 toy that you lose interest in as soon as you see a piece of paper... or a blade of grass. And surprisingly, the $1 toys from Goodwill? They manage to keep your attention. Your favorite toy teaches you about cause and effect and you love hitting the buttons to get the little animals to pop up. It helps that whenever you are able to get one of the animals to pop up, Mommy and Daddy got nutso and exclamations of "Yay! Hazel!" followed by insane clapping is regularly heard in the house.

Mommy also invested a whole 85 cents on a bouncy ball that you love, love, LOVE. We're not sure if it's the color that has you fascinated, or the bounciness of it... but you're a big, big fan.



You're also a big fan of dropping your toys from the high chair, and then watching as Mommy picks them back up for you. So that you can drop it again. Like I said, you're a big fan of cause and effect.

You're still sleeping 11-12 hours a night. Although you're taking just two 40 minute naps a day. You don't really want to have anything to do with naps while you're at school, so sometimes by the time I pick you up at night, you'll have been awake for five hours and are fading fast. The weekends are a lot better because we take the time to rock you down for your nap... but I guess at school, they just don't have the manpower for that.

What's really cool is that you know that for either a nap or bedtime, when we go into your room and shut the blinds, close the door and turn off the lights... it's time to sleep. And you snuggle up underneath our chin, stick your thumb in your mouth and just doze off. Sometimes you struggle... but when you do that, I just put you in your crib and pat your back until you fall asleep. You love your room and you know what you're supposed to do in there. It's all very magical.

We usually try to have you in bed by 7 p.m., but last month, we decided to take you to SLC with us to see some friends. We figured that you would fall asleep around 7ish and we could just put you in one of the bedrooms while we stayed up and chatted with our friends. Yeeaaa... that was the plan. But you had different plans and stayed up until 8. And even after we got you to sleep and put you in the room, you kept waking up. Probably because you knew that there were some shananigans going on outside and you wanted to be a part of it. In short, you RALLIED.

Last month, you started waking up every weekday at about 8 a.m. Which was awesome. But on the weekends? 6 sharp. We need to work on this, sweetie pie. You've got your days mixed up. Mommy can't do 6 a.m. weekends. She can barely do 7 a.m. weekends.

Last month, you got to go watch Daddy compete in his very first triathlon since you came into our lives. You and I had a good time at Willard Bay waiting for your Daddy to finish. I must say that spectating a triathlon with a kid is a lot different than spectating by yourself. But we made some new friends and did a little bird watching while your Daddy beat himself up in a race that he hadn't trained for and still managed second place in his age division.

And finally, last week, you managed to pop in your top two front teeth. At the same time. With only a little fussiness. With this new development, I know I should probably start giving you new foods to experiment with. Your doc gave the go-ahead.... but I just can't do it. I mean... what if you choke? I haven't had my baby first aid training yet. And the other night when your Daddy and I experimented with giving you some yogurt to help with the thrush in your mouth from the antibiotics? You gagged on a blueberry and Daddy immediately went into his training and took you out of the high chair, held you upside down and started pounding your back. Which I think freaked you out even more than the blueberry. I know it freaked ME out. I've started to give you rice-puff cereal snacks. But go figure... the one thing that you DON'T put in your mouth? Completely edible.

We are so blessed and happy that you are a part of our lives Hazel. You make every day better with your smile and your spirit. Even when you wake up earlier than Mommy was hoping for, when I walk into your room and see you smiling at me from your crib... my heart melts. I can't wait to see you every morning because of it.

Love,
Mama