eight months

dearest Sweetpea,

this month you've really started to have a lot of fun playing with us -- and we have fun playing with you! you like to pull your blanket over your head to play peek-a-boo, and you wave "hi" and "goodbye", sometimes with your whole arm, other times with the cutest little flutter of your hand. if you're in your exersaucer, you'll push the buttons to play music, then wiggle and bounce with a huge smile on your face. and you love to clap, although you probably think your parents are cah-RAZY for how much we "ooh" and "aah" over your new tricks! such is the fate of the first born. :) you also take great delight in tapping your hand over your mouth to make an "ah-ah-ah-ah-ah" sound, especially in church or any other time you're supposed to be quiet.

i'm pretty sure that your favourite skill is ... starting to crawl! you started off at the beginning of the month by pulling your knees into your chest while lying on your stomach, putting your head down on the bed, and then stretching straight out like a little inchworm. now you've figured out how to get up on all fours and rock back and forth like you're trying to launch yourself into outer space. with a determined combination of pulling with your arms, pushing with your feet, and rolling, you can manage to reach whatever you're after. your mean mother likes to put your toys just out of reach so you have to practice your new moves, but it turns out that you're much more motivated to chase after the cats! they love you too, and are surprisingly tolerant of your affection, so it's a win-win.

you celebrated your first Fourth of July with the traditional chicken BBQ at St. John the Baptist Church in New Baltimore, where your daddy and i were married almost four years ago. you feasted on milk and crunchies, but next year i'm sure you'll be digging into the vinegar-basted chicken, macaroni salad, and rolls. you loved spending time with Grammy Sabrina and Pappy Joe, and hanging out with the rest of the Will family. we decided to skip out on the fireworks, though. maybe next year! 

we also explored our own city this month, taking you up the historic Monongahela Incline and over to the Mount Washington overlook to see the beautiful Pittsburgh skyline. i'm so excited to take you to the zoo, the Children's Museum, the aviary, and maybe even the Gateway Clipper when you get a little bit older! 

and closer to home, you and mommy have started walking the few miles up to our local farmer's market every Thursday to stock up on fresh peaches, blueberries, zucchini, cucumbers, specialty cheeses, and of course some treats from the Mennonite stand. all that fruit means lots of opportunities for you to perfect your pincer grasp ... and to slip little tidbits to Kaiser, although i don't think you really intend to be so generous with your food.

and last but not least, we celebrated a momentous occasion in Will family history when our very own pipe organ was delivered to the house. you were very excited by all the commotion. safely perched in your stroller in the entryway, you flirted with the men who helped bring it in the house piece by piece. now your daddy will be able to practice more from home -- and i'm sure that someday you'll be picking out tunes on the organ yourself! 

happy eight months, Sweetpea. we love you more than you can ever imagine!