Milestones...

*Gillian,

    As of today you are just a little over a week shy of turning 8 months!!! The first time I saw you, you were only 2.76 cm long :) Who knew that something so tiny would make me feel so wonderful, so complete. And now you are 26.5 inches and 17 pounds, and yet you still manage to make me feel a million times more wonderful and like the most important person in the whole world! You have grown so much and have learned and done so many new things! You are currently crawling and cruising along the furniture, daring to let go for just a second before reaching out to hold on again! I'm sure it won't be long before you start walking!I'm barely getting used to the idea of you crawling and figuring out ways to trap you in the living room :)You have been eating homemade baby food since your 6 month birthday (which I still need to post pictures of). Your first food was brown rice cereal. Mommy tried making it and mixed some breast milk in for you and you made the funniest faces!!! You definitely did not like it! Not until the next day, when Daddy made it and he actually made it correctly, then you loved it! Next Mommy baked a sweet potato which you devoured :) not all of it in one sitting of course. Mommy pureed it and put it in an ice cube tray which gave us 16 servings! You have also had sweet peas, baked apple, pears, carrots, zucchini, blueberries (another favorite), bananas (didn't like too much), avocado (we mixed it with peas), and most recently butternut squash! You are very good at eating all your papa most of the time :) I love hearing you go "mmmmmm" as you eat LOL You also have been practicing to drink from your sippy cup since you were 6 months. Since you started teething, you've been gnawing on it more than drinking from it :) You do like drinking nice cool water though from a straw. Not directly from the cup, but Mommy gives you water with a straw. Lately, you think it's funny to blow raspberries when you eat or spit out your water. On December 10th 2011, you sat up all by yourself. You have already been sitting up on your own, but this time you went from belly to your knees, to pushing yourself all the way back to sitting position! You were so excited! You gave me a big smile! The rest of the night you kept throwing yourself forward and kept practicing sitting up. It was very cute! Two days later on the 12th, one of your bottom teeth finally broke through! The second tooth broke through not too long after that, maybe a day or 2 later. I'm not sure because every time I'd try to see you'd close up like a clam! You saw your dentist for the first time at 6 months and she said everything looked great! She gave you a little toothbrush that you could brush your own teeth and gums with, a sticker, and a little toy :) You have also learned to say mamamama or amamama. It's beautiful music to my ears! You will say it throughout the day, but when you are really tired and ready for a little snack and nap you always call me, whining "amamama" and you will put your little head down on the couch or ottoman! We are working on "papapa" or "dadada". You are so cute Gillian! You keep me occupied all day long. You still sleep in Mommy and Daddy's room. You start off in your playpen and always end up in bed with us sometime in the middle of the night. I don't mind, I know you won't be little like this for long. We are so blessed to have you Baby Girl! Your beautiful little smile makes everything else seem so unimportant! As soon, as I see it, I am filled with happiness! I can see Daddy's face light up every time he gets home from work and you give him a big-o grin! You are such a Daddy's girl! But you definitely have him wrapped around your cute little finger! We all love you so much! All your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins too! Te queremos mucho mucho! ♥♥♥

Love,
  Mamamamama♥