Tess Is 8 Months Old!

It's amazing how big she is next to this bear now!

Little Miss Tess made a beeline through April and hit the 8-month mark already!  It's amazing how fast time is going, even though I am with her almost all the time.  This month's photo shoot was quick because our sweet girl is SO active right now; it's impossible to get her to sit still for anything, let alone take a decent picture. 

It seems like the milestones are flying by, too! Here are some of the latest:

~ More crawling: While we were in Dallas over Spring Break, she figured out the "army crawl." Once we came home to wood floors, she was ALL OVER the place.  She still hasn't figured out an actually hands-and-knees crawl, but I hear that some babies never do. 

~ Eating "tiny bites" of "real" food -- strawberries, bananas, peas, carrots, pasta....Also added to the pureed food diet are black beans, corn, peaches, blueberries, Greek yogurt, and cottage cheese.

~ Figuring out the sippy cup....it was totally foreign to her at first but we are making lots of progress.  She loves holding her own bottle and cup, and will even crawl over to one and pick it up. 

~ Bathtime in the kitchen sink! It's the perfect size now that she sits up so well.

~ Clapping! Some mornings she starts clapping as soon as I lay her on the changing table....YAY for fresh, dry diapers, I guess!

~ MORE babbling and interacting. We're hearing lots of "Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma" (although not directed at me, as far as we can tell) and lots of blowing raspberries back and forth.   Ppffftthhhh!!!

~ Sitting up!  She's been sitting up on her own for a while but now she can go from crawling on her belly to sitting up all by herself.  It was strange the first time I went into her room after a nap and found her sitting up in her crib!

 ~ Standing up! Well, not by herself -- but she loves balancing against the coffee table and practicing walking. 

~Baby yoga!  Not really, but she can do a mean downward dog when she's trying to stand up on her own.  It's VERY cute to see her tiny toosh in the air.

Here are a few more pics from our little 8-month photo shoot.  It's amazing how many you have to take just to get a few keepers!  Good thing I'm such a shutterbug....I just reached 1,000 Tess pictures on my iPhone.