Alaythia Ruth at 6-8 mos

ready for Uncle Cameron's wedding

It is hard for Hugh and I to believe that Alaythia is already 8 months old!!  The time has flown by.  We treasure this little one so much and love watching her grow and develop and learn.  She is such a gift with her sweet personality, her high pitched baby squeals, and her soft peach fuzzy head.  We can't imagine life without her, and are so thankful that God has been gracious to place her in our family!


Social- She absolutely loves her big brother & sister and especially likes it when they pay attention to her and talk with her.  At home she is quite the little smiler and flirt, but when we go out, she often has a very serious face and doesn't crack many smiles.  Alaythia has a very high, sweet voice that lights up the room, though it can also be loud enough to silence conversation.  ;)  At this point she can make "ba, da, na" sounds, but she still just says them at random in the midst of her babbling.  Another cute thing she does these days is dance.  Anytime Enoch plays music, she rocks her whole body and swings her little arms along with the beat. 

typical photo attempt with all 3 kids

Size- At her 6 mos appointment, she was 19 lbs, 4 oz in weight and 26.25 inches tall.  Her little thighs are so pudgy and cute, I just love them!!!  Although she can still fit into some 9 mos clothes, she is pretty much into size 12 mos now.

love love love those rolls

first time eating solid food

Eating- Alaythia began eating table food at 6 mos, and she moved from puréed veggies and fruits right into solids that were mashed up within a month.  I still try to feed her some pureed apples and prunes just to keep her digestive system moving along, but she really enjoys mashed bananas, carrots, sweet potato, etc.  She eats about 4 oz of solid foods 3x per day.  Alaythia also still nurses 6-8 times per day.  5-6 of those are during the day and then on average she eats 1-3 times during the night.  (Still waking up a few times at night to nurse is a bit of a bummer for me, but she is a quick eater (10-15 min at night), and I do so enjoy holding her when she is warm and snuggly and sleepy at night after nursing her.)

this baby loves her solid food now!

Sleeping- At this stage, she does best with two naps per day - one around 10 and the other around 1:30 (sometimes she only gets one nap per day in, like on our shopping day, but even with that she is such a little champ!).  Bedtime is typically between 6:30-7:30.  She often wakes up a few times per night (no rhyme or reason with that as far as I can see), but her morning wake time is consistently around 7:30 or 8 (she often squeezes in a feeding around 5 am but goes back to sleep after it).  Naps are at least 1 hr, sometimes as long as 2.5 hrs.  Through the Lord's provision, she has learned to fall asleep by herself.  It is so helpful for me because I need to be watching the other two kiddos when I lay her down for her morning nap.  Usually I get Enoch interested in an activity, put Karis in a pack n play with some toys, and then take Alaythia to her room.  I turn off the light, turn on the noise maker, and then shush in her ear for 30 seconds before laying her down awake and happy.  She is often asleep within 10 minutes and rarely fusses at all in the process.  What a blessing from the Lord!!!

bed full of rowdy kiddos

Playing- Alaythia is quite the little wiggle worm. Lately she has been very curious, getting into anything that is near her, and she really enjoys playing with toys.  She can manipulate some features on basic toys, but most of her toys still end up going in her mouth.  

Here is a video from a few weeks ago when Alaythia was first learning to sit up.  She is a quite a bit better now, though she still can't push herself up into the sitting position from laying down.  She can go in circles on her belly (while laying down) and can also scoot backwards in the same position.  When she is sitting up and reaching for a toy, she often assumes the quadraped position and can hold it for a minute or two, but so far she hasn't mastered any motion on her hands and knees.

 
Other memories-

• Alaythia is just entering into a phase of being interested in Karis enough to try to touch her.  Although she sometimes holds her hand sweetly, more often than not, she manages to grab a big handful of Karis' hair and pull.  ;)
• People comment frequently about how beautiful her big blue eyes and long eyelashes are.
• She loves being held by people and doesn't have much stranger danger at this stage.
• Overall she is so calm, content, and easy going. 
• Alaythia loves our dog, Cora.  She enjoys watching her through the back door, and she really loves getting big wet dog kisses right in the face.  Silly girl!

Other pictures:

playing at Granny's house

borrowing Enoch's hat

kicking that leg up, just like Karis

 enjoying some sun

 out on a walk with her favorite four legged friend

 living the dream at WalMart... in the cart!  

(I typically wear her in the ergo carrier because Karis is usually in the cart seat, but she gets to ride in the cart every once in awhile now that she's big enough to sit up.)

 brother loves

pumpkin tasting