Eight Months of Avery

Dear Avery,

Today you are eight months old. Well, technically today you are eight months and one day.  That’s fitting though, because your whole life I have felt like I was prepared for what I anticipated next and then all the sudden I was caught off guard when it actually happened. As you reach more milestones, that continues to be true. I’ll probably still feel this way when you graduate from college.

This has been a very busy month. We had a lot of fun and a lot of celebrations… and a few less pleasant things. In the first seven months of your life, you never got sick. Not once. In the last month, you’ve been sick twice, two colds you probably got from your brother. I got both of them, too. We’ve spent a lot less time sleeping this month. Hopefully next month will hold more sleep and less sickness.

Now on to the fun things! We celebrated your first Christmas. You loved it, and of course got way too many presents. You took it all in and wanted to be a part of every moment. You spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day charming all of your family, especially those who don’t get to see you as much as we do. You seemed to do well with everyone as long as you couldn’t see me. The moment I walked into a room when someone else was holding you, you started fussing. It was a busy Christmas, full of family and festivities, and you kept up with all of us. In fact, you may have had more energy than we did after all of the celebrations. Christmas Night you were so amped up you didn’t fall asleep until hours after your bedtime.

You’re crawling quite efficiently now, earlier and faster than your brother. You are determined to crawl to every bookshelf and attempt to eat every book. Don’t tell Carter, but there’s now a Diego book missing a corner. If we had caught you 30 seconds later it would probably be missing the entire cover. You’ve also continued to find your voice with great exuberance! You make a few odd noises that can really only be described as growling. A few days ago you started clapping. When you first started trying it a few days ago, you looked at your hands like you couldn’t figure out who was moving them for you, almost bewildered. Then, you slowly started moving your right hand with intention, smacking it against your stationary left hand. Now, only a few days later, you’ve got all the timing and coordination almost down. It is so amazing to watch you figure out the world and your place in it.

I usually feed you first thing in the morning, and those still quiet moments with you snuggled in bed are one of the best parts of my day. I spent 10 days at home with you and your brother and I loved being home with you all day. I was sad to go back to work, but thankful for our time together. We celebrated New Year’s Eve with dinner out, where you were determined to grab everything you possibly could (and a lot we thought you couldn’t reach) and chuck it all on the floor. You didn’t make it to midnight, but you were up shortly after. As we took a moment to reflect on the year, we had so much to be thankful for. You are without a doubt the best thing that happened in 2011. I’m excited for 2012, to watch you grow and see where this year takes us. I’m just so continually thankful to be able to experience each new day with you.

Love,

Mama