She is.....

...8 months old!

...the smiliest of babies

...occasionally serious, more often curious

...a ham, but a beautiful one!

....adored by her big brother!

...a papi baby

...an opportunistic sleeper

...a waver

...one of 5 Hiler grandchildren 2/13/10

(& not happy about having an ear infection)

...a lover of bath time with Jackson

2/7/10

...a pizza eater 2/13/10

...my Valentine!

...our joy!

Emerson turned 8 months old on Tuesday. She is growing so much lately, which I'm so glad since I was convinced after her 6 month appointment that her growth was stunted. She currently weighs almost 16 lbs and is 25 1/2 inches long. She is a wonderful eater of solids - she loves everything! Newest additions to her foods are pizza (see picture above), cranberries, Moo Goo Gai Pan and red bell peppers. I got some okra for her to try also. She can also easily pick up small foods with her thumb & forefinger, so she now eats about 100 puffs or yogurt melts a day. She loves the Gerber Wagon Wheels also. She still does not take a bottle well, although some days are better than others. Last week, she refused her bottle 2 days in a row, so her teacher's just mixed the milk in with her cereal. I have been watching for signs of dehydration and she has none of them - 5+ wet diapers a day, real tears, skin elasticity & fontanel are good, etc. Today, she has sucked down all her bottles (she drinks 3-4 6oz bottles a day) with minimal fussing. She loves her bed & really won't sleep for very long anywhere else. As I stated earlier though, she is an opportunistic sleeper & will take short cat naps anywhere, but takes the good 1.5-3 hour naps only in her bed. At school, she will only sleep in the swing. Her new tricks: waving hi/bye, says Mama when she cries but won't any other time, and she watches our mouths closely & tries to mimic it's movement (not the sound, just the movement). She is very curious, constantly grabbing at things. I just now had to take my earrings out because she was fascinated with them. No signs of crawling yet, but Jackson was a late crawler too. Same with teeth. Emme is the sweetest, most easy going baby & I thank God everyday that He sent her to us!