8 Months Old!?!?

Goodness gracious, Annelise, I can't believe you're already 8 months old! You didn't have a doctor's appointment this month, but I know that you've grown in both height and weight. When I'm nursing you in the middle of the night, I look down at you in my arms and can't believe how big my baby girl has gotten.

This month has been very exciting for us, we started by going to a cherry orchard, cherries are one of your favorite foods. I wish they were easier to eat, but I can't just give you a cherry to gnaw on because of the seed. The next day we went to a Japanese baseball game, which is completely different from an American baseball game. The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles didn't win, but they had fun cheerleaders and mascots, including an eagle-like man, a pickle, and two dwarves. You had fun playing with the noisemakers that we got and Mommy got her first taste of Japanese rest stop food. I had some sort of pastry with ham and egg salad, it wasn't very pretty but it was very very good.

The next week we went on our Guamanian vacation, where you got your fourth tooth and started pulling yourself up on everything that will stand still for a few moments. You adored the beach, you thought that the ocean was the perfect place for splashing and loved licking salt water from your hands and eating sand. During our Guamanian vacation, you got to ride the train for the first time and were pretty good on the way to Tokyo. On the way back, however, you were tired and ready to get home and weren't very well-behaved.

Annelise Marie, you've been growing and growing this month, and it's not all because of Mommy Milk anymore! You love eating apples and grapes, as well as Gerber puffs. Your favorites are the fruit-flavored ones, you've got a sweet tooth like your mommy. You also tasted broccoli and chicken this month, as well as Mommy's ice cream. This will be a surprise to your daddy, but I just couldn't resist your sweet little smile and gave you some when we were in Towada the other day.

Speaking of Towada, we went to Lake Towada last weekend for the fireworks but were rained out. It's a good thing I bought a rain cover for your stroller because without it we would have turned around and headed home. The cover kept out the wind and rain so that you were much warmer and more comfortable than the rest of us.

This weekend is the Tanabata Festival here in Misawa and yesterday we dressed up in our yukata and strolled around town. For me, that meant that I wore a kimono and obi, and for you it meant wearing a cute little onesie-like outfit that I bought at Nishimatsuya (the bunny store). We looked beautiful together and had lots of fun. Sadly, I did not get another potato on a stick because I was full from eating my chicken fried rice.

You're so grown up, Annelise, you crawl all over the place and are now working on walking around by holding on to the furniture or your cage. You haven't gotten very far yet, but I'm sure it will happen soon. Your hair has grown so much in the last month; you're not ready for bows or pigtails yet, but it's better than it was. Your favorite words are mama, dada, and baba. We're not sure what baba refers to, but you say it all the time. Daddy is your favorite person, it's hopeless to get your attention when you're looking at him. Your next favorite person is Elmo, you refuse to talk to Babi or Grandma on the phone when Sesame Street is on and you love watching the Elmo's World DVDs that Daddy bought for you.

The next time I write one of these posts, you'll have been to the doctor again. I can't wait to find out how much you weigh and how tall you are! I already know that the doc will be amazed by how smart you are, your grasping abilities are above-average because of the way we feed you and you use your feet to pick things up and get them to your hands!

Well, my smart little baby, until next month! I love you so much!!