This is such a fun age! We truly love it. Stroller walks, sunny park hangs, smiles …we are finally having all of the experiences that other parents have been having for a long time, haha. Of course there have been countless memorable moments over the past seven months that we will always cherish, but the current phase we’re in has so many more ups than downs that it’s hard not to gush about it. Y’know how you have a baby and people come out of the woodwork to instruct you to “savour every second ’cause it all goes by so quickly”? In the early days we took that advice as a comfort rather than a warning. But nowadays every milestone mastered and skill successfully learned is a reminder that this silly and determined baby girl of ours is trying to grow up as quickly as she can. Experience has told us that every phase is fleeting, so we are dragging out every cuddle and making the most of these long summer days before she becomes a toddler in just four short months!

Things We Want to Remember About Hennie at 8 Months Old: lately she keeps repeating “ich” like she’s about to say something in German. She is currently obsessed with her dad and needs to be held by him all the time. She gets so excited when she hears him come into the apartment after work and will push mama away quite roughly to get to him! She doesn’t laugh very easily but when she does she just lights up. Her belly and thighs are the most ticklish, but she has to be in the right mood (if not we receive the judgemental, chilling stare that she mastered much too easily). She still loves being in the wraps and carriers strapped to mama or dad and we’re so thankful for that because it’s nice to keep her close while we’re still able. At 20 lbs she may outgrow being carried sometime very soon! She has a cute little stink face that comes out when she is concentrating really hard on something.

New Skills: crawling, having teeth (though she is still working on how to chew properly), sleeping in her crib for all naps and night times (!!), interacting with more complex toys, joyously slapping her open hand against things, standing up, knocking down block towers, closing the fridge door (a game we play on repeat), trying new food flavours, and climbing on everything. If there is something within sight that she is not allowed to play with or is dangerous, she will do everything within her tiny powers to get to it. Her lack of fear is worrisome.