Isabella at 8 months

Isabella is 8 months old today. I used to wonder what it took to be considered a firecracker, but now I know. In a word, Isabella is a firecracker. Okay since she is only 8 months old, maybe she is more like a party popper. You know those little plastic ones with the tiny little string attached. They look nice and simple, but once you pull that string, there is no way to anticipate just how much is inside. Isabella is the same way. There is so much more to her than you would ever expect. She can't sit still; she is always on the move and really wearing me out. She thinks she is much bigger than she actually is. She even thinks she can walk, which she is far from doing! Don't get me wrong, she can cruise on the couch a little bit and walk a few steps when I hold her hands, but the girl thinks she can out and out walk. Just yesterday she was standing at the corner of the couch holding on and decided she would "walk" over to her activity table. It's a good thing I was sitting there because her version of walking was just letting go of the couch and falling forward like a tree being cut down. Thank goodness I was sitting right there and caught her.

She officially has four teeth, and as of now has a pretty big gap in between the top 2. (Just like Mommy did!) You can't help but love that smile. She is also really loving food and has turned into quite the garbage disposal! So far she has only really rejected one food- beef vegetable dinner. We aren't giving up on beef-we will try again maybe in a few days. Who knows, maybe she will be like Mommy and not like beef after all. I guess it truly was her first taste of beef since I never ate it while I was pregnant. Do you suppose that would actually have anything to do with it? She is even working on feeding herself and gets so excited when I praise her. It's pretty darn cute! She is also doing great with the sippy cup. I used to have to demonstrate to her how to drink out of it before giving it to her-which she just thought was funny- but now, she's got it down. I just hand it to her and she drinks away. She thinks she is pretty cool.

She is becoming more social, but only in small groups. Large groups still intimidate her; I guess she thinks I am going to leave her or something. But I love how friendly she is becoming. I really hope that it isn't just a phase. I love that she is finally letting other people see the silly, giggly, smiley, happy Isabella. The sweet Isabella that Joe and I know and love. She still loves when I sing to her, which is pretty much all day. We have a few songs that we sing on a regular basis, but sometimes I will slip in a new one. Her current favorite is Duffy's "Mercy". Thank goodness she can't catch on to the fact that I only know the chorus. And even if she could, I don't think she would care. She thinks her Mommy has the voice of an angel :)

Isabella is kind of waving. But mainly she only does it for Lucky and Lulu. Now that I think about it, it could just be crazy "excited arms". But she looks like she is waving nonetheless! We are working on saying "Hi Dada" and "Hi Mama". She will say "Hi Dada" but I'm not sure she really knows what she is saying. The other morning when I brought her down and into our bed, she crawled toward Joe saying "Hi Dada, hi Dada" over and over. So who knows. I expect this should take some time and serious practice.

She has learned so much so quickly. I still have moments where I can't believe I have an 8 month old, that I was pregnant and already did that whole song and dance. Before I know it she will be turning 1, but I can't think about that now or I will cry. So until next time, check out the awesome pictures that Theresa took this past Sunday. It is so great having a sister-in-law who is also a great photographer. She is so good to us by taking Isabella's picture so often. Oh, and Isabella is also one of the stars on Theresa's website- check her out at http://www.theresabass.com/

Isabella and Aunt TT

Isabella and Daddy

Isabella and Paw Paw

Silly Isabella and Mommy

Thinking about eating the flower...

Cutie Pie

What a big girl!

Mommy's sweet girl

And finally eating the flower! (Don't worry, I was there in 1.5 nanoseconds!)