Sweet sweet sweet

Sailee is 8 months old now and I never imagined life could be this much fun. She is such a happy baby and unless she is hungry or tired, or in pain from teething, she just never complains. The other day we took her to a restaurant after feeding her and because we overfed her and put her right into the carseat and she overheated during the ride there, she threw up all over herself, and then just started laughing and smiling when it was all over!

These days, Sailee is on the go go go. She loves to stand and move and jump and wiggle. She will never crawl. We have just decided. She just wants to be upright like everyone else and sees no advantage to being on all fours. If I sit in front of her she will reach for my hands and use them to pull herself up to stand. She can stand unsupported if she is up against our sofa or ottoman and has recently started to slowly move along toward an object she wants...very slowly. She gets really excited about just being able to stand there, and if that gives her a more advantageous view of what Chewie is up to, even better - she squeals with delight.

She is curious curious curious and is constantly noticing and inquiring about everything around her, especially our facial expressions and reactions to things. She doesnt fuss if we take away a toy, unless she is hungry and it is satiating her temporarily (how rude of us!). She invented a sign language when she was about four months of pumping her fist next to her mouth when she was hungry. Now this has evolved into an alternating of opening and closing of the fist and an up-down motion with intertwined fingers to indicate she would like some food now please. When she is happy she says "da-da  da-da" or "ba-ba ba-ba" with little pauses in between, and when she is tired, wary, or upset she cries "mamammamamammaaa."

My favorite is that when I sing to her at night, she hums along, not to to exact tune or anything, but she hums. Like she just knows it's lullabye time. ABC's are still her favorite to fall asleep to. I imagine this will either cause her to learn her ABCs early, or never learn them at all because she will be overcome with sleep every time she hears it! When she awakes, she will lay in her crib and talk to herself, which is the cutest thing to listen to. She's a great eater, and loves absolutely every food we have made from her. So far, no real preferences except for a dislike for avocado, which I still argue was not properly mashed. She loves her bath and also loves to test my reaction if she shuts off the faucet. Naughty little gremlin!

Such a loving baby, when I walk in the room and acknowledge her she gives me a smile that makes my whole day, whole life, absolutely complete in total undescribable fulfillment. And Neil, he is her favorite and I just adore the way she adores him. Her daddy is her very own personal clown and her eyes just dance when he moves around her. And Neil just cant help himself - regardless of whether she is hungry or tired or just bored, he finds it his own personal mission to keep her laughing. And she laughs laughs laughs. She just fills our hearts. A love like this I could have never imagined. I tell her I love her every day and I cannot wait until she knows what those words mean and can say them back. Sweet sweet baby girl. I still cannot believe she is mine.