8 Months Old!

Getting ready to go to the beach!

On our way out to dinner to celebrate our 3rd anniversary!

Walking with her Leapfrog push-toy

It took a little while, but I love my walker now!

Roaming down the hallway!

On July 24th, Taylor turned 8 months old! We have been thoroughly enjoy watching her grow every day while we are home for the summer with her. She is getting so big, she's almost grown out of her 6-9 month clothing! She has been babbling a lot lately- she is a very chatty baby! We listen to her babble in the monitor all of the time!

She has been progressing SO MUCH with her walking, too. I was at a garage sale recently and purchased her a walker, a Leapfrog push-toy, and a Leapfrog activity table. At first, she was terrified of the walker - she wouldn't even go near it! After about a week though, she realized that she could freely walk around our kitchen, and she absolutely loves it now! She also can walk with her push-toy across the living room, and stands and walks around her activity table. A few times, she stepped away from the activity table and stood on her own for a few seconds before falling down (we caught her of course!). It was almost as if she was attempting to take a step, but then got too nervous at the last minute! She loves it. She even throws tantrums (yes, REAL tantrums) when she wants to walk and we won't walk with her. We think she will be taking her first steps in the next couple of weeks.

During the month of July, we have enjoyed taking her to the park, to the pool, and to our first family vacation in Michigan, where she spent her first day (or hour and a half!) at the beach! She has been adorable in the water! When we went to the pool for the first time, we stayed in for about 2 hours total - she was so relaxed, she almost fell asleep in my arms! We're going to have to get to the pool a few more times this summer. She was a little more timid at the beach. She liked walking into the water on the shore, but once the water reached above her waist, she got a little nervous! And of course, no trip to the beach with a baby is complete without her taking a bite out of a clump of sand!! (the one SECOND that Sam and I were both looking away!) Yuck!

Here is an update on Taylor's likes and dislikes...
Taylor likes... playing in her crib, rolling around on the ground, WALKING, her jumperoo, her walker, her activity table, her push-toy, WALKING, books, mango puff snacks, water, WALKING, remote controls, dolls, brushing her teeth, putting things in her mouth, WALKING, exploring, listening to music, listening to mommy singing, biting things... oh yeah, and WALKING.
Taylor dislikes... when no one will walk with her, sleeping in new places, her bath (when she's too tired), getting her diaper changed, putting her pajamas on after her bath (she would rather roll around on our bed), becoming too tired, nightmares (she seems to be having them lately, though not too often), getting her nails clipped, and hearing mommy and daddy say "no!"