Mio has been getting better and better at standing on her own every day. It’s incredible how much she’s progressed in only a week! Check out this video we took of her on Friday night, where she pulls herself up from a sitting to standing position using the Bumbo and lets go for a few seconds, balancing herself to stand up.
We’re so proud of our precious little Mio!
Happy eight months, Mio! It’s been remarkable to watch how much you’ve continued to grow and develop over the past month. Here’s how you look at 8 months old!
(I’ll be taking photos of Mio sitting in my white desk chair and wearing her monthly onesie every month until she’s one year old.)
Previous Photos:
One Month Old • Two Months Old • Three Months Old • Four Months Old • Five Months Old • Six Months Old • Seven Months Old
Stats: You weigh 20lbs 8oz now, but believe it or not, visibly you have slimmed down slightly thanks to all the crawling and standing you’ve been doing. You have a little less of a tummy and your arms and legs are a little trimmer, but your signature chubby cheeks are still all there. (Thank goodness for that — I’m not ready for those cheeks to go away just yet!) Four of your top teeth have started to grow in, and you now flash us grins that show off two rows of pearly whites. Your hair has slowly started to grow back, and the hair on your sides has gotten noticeably longer and curls a little, which makes us suspect that you may have inherited your Mama’s naturally wavy hair.
Things You’re Doing Now: Although you’ve been able to stand with support for a while, these days you are actively pulling yourself up on your own. Tables, chairs, boxes, crib rails, trash cans — you grab onto whatever you can get your hands on and pull yourself up to a standing position. Since you first showed us you were able to stand for a few moments without support last weekend, I’ve caught you practicing it on your own from time to time — you’ll let go of whatever is supporting you and you will wobble a little but successfully be able to keep your balance for a few seconds. It’s really a wonder to watch! I love the way you smile to yourself whenever you successfully pull yourself up or stand up on your own, even when you think no one is watching; you’re definitely proud of your accomplishment, and it makes me smile, too! It’s scary to watch you stumble from time to time, and I have cried with you over a bruise you recently sported as a result, but I have to remind myself that it’s all part of the growing process and I just have to do my best to watch you and make sure you are safe. In terms of feeding, you’ve started to eat mixed vegetable purées (instead of pure purées of single veggies), and we are thinking of ways to introduce more protein soon with meats. We’ve started to give you organic puffs and Japanese baby crackers to practice self-feeding with finger foods, and you’ve mastered it in a matter of days — you have a healthy appetite and appreciation for food, just like your parents. 😉 We’re so grateful that you are so healthy and are such a lively ball of energy, even though it means that you constantly keep us on our toes!
November has just flown by, and I can’t believe that it’ll be December tomorrow! This year has been a blur — it’s gone by so fast, and yet I feel like so much has happened and we’ve made a lot of great memories. 2011 has been a very special year for us, and we hope to continue to love and laugh through what’s left of it!
One thing I forgot to mention is that over the past couple weeks, Mio’s top teeth have been growing in. She’s getting four in at once — crazy! I’m sure it’s uncomfortable for her, but she actually hasn’t been that cranky…. We’re thanking our lucky stars that Mio is a relatively mellow baby.
Mio’s grandparents in Virginia (my parents) sent her an early Christmas present of the P’kolino Little Reader chair. It’s super cute, and Mio can already sit in it!
Mio has pulling herself up to a standing position a lot in the past couple weeks, and yesterday she stood for the first time without any support for a few moments, while we were at our friends Tarrin and Jason’s for dinner. Apologies for the blurriness — the video quality of the camera on my phone leaves much to be desired. (We forgot our camera, so we used what we could to capture the moment!)
Here are some other photos and video from the past week, of her pulling herself up wherever she goes…
Here she is pulling herself up on a diaper box… she’s so strong and agile now, we really have to keep an eye on her because she’ll try to climb everywhere!
Before we know it, she’ll be cruising! We have a feeling she may be walking before her first birthday… yikes!
Yesterday was Mio’s first Thanksgiving, and also our first Thanksgiving as a family of three! We drove over to Dan’s parents’ house in San Lorenzo in the late morning, and helped out in cooking what would become a delicious feast.
We brought the Pack n’ Play with us so that Mio could play in it while we were busy cooking. Dan’s parents’ dog Choco was very curious and kept sticking his nose against the playpen. Mio was almost equally as curious about Choco, but she’d cringe and grimace every time he’d try to lick her on the face.
After everyone’s collaborative hard work, it was time to dig in… everything was amazing. I ate so much that at the meal’s end, I felt as stuffed as the turkey I ate.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Mio tried turkey and gravy baby food for the first time. Unfortunately, she was not a fan.
She did, however, love her sweet potato. No surprise there!
Here’s Mio, getting entertained by Grandma.
We were letting Mio play with a bottle of vitamins, and she started making funny sounds with it. She’s quite the musician!
After all the excitement, Mio was quite tired and fell asleep in Grandpa’s arms…
This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for family and friends both near and far, for good health, for the freedom and opportunities to do what I love, and for the ability to give, and enrich my life and those of others. I am especially thankful this year for our darling little Mio, whom I have grown to love more unconditionally, selflessly, and boundlessly than I ever have before.
We hope everyone’s Thanksgiving was also full of love, good cheer, delicious food, and lots to be thankful for.