The Tolbert Family: 8 months old today!

Happy 8-month birthday, Anna Kate! You sure have grown up a lot this month! You seem so much older to us just in this past month because of all of the new things you are doing! It feels like you change every single day and we can't even blink or else we miss it! Here are some of the ways you are growing this month:

~You can now push yourself up to sitting from laying down. It's quite the cute little push-up. You have to roll over to your belly, do a full push-up (with pretty good form!), and then pull your little legs under you.
~You can also pull yourself up to standing from sitting! We practiced and practiced for weeks, but you weren't interested, then all of a sudden, you just did it in your crib! You sometimes do it on the furniture in the living room, but it's hard to get a good grip, so usually you just do it when it's time to get up from naps in your crib!
~You have also started to do some crawling on your hands and knees. Granted, your preferred method is still the army crawl, but you have shown us that you CAN do it when you want to.
~Speaking of crawling, you have figured out that when Mommy walks out of the room, you can just follow her! You love to crawl all over the house, following me as I do my housework. It's always so funny to see you poke your little head around each corner!
~You still love to walk to the park every day, but lately you have been wanting to do more than just swing. You love to sit in the sand or the grass and feel the different textures between your fingers and toes. I have to watch you like a hawk though, because you also like to put said sand/grass in your mouth...
~One of the games you love to play at home is to knock two blocks together. You don't just do it the regular way though; you have to put one of the blocks in your mouth and then knock on it with the other block. We're not quite sure why you do it that way, but you do, without fail, and it's pretty cute! Maybe you just need to keep one steady.
~You have tried lots of new foods this month and have yet to find one that you don't like! Some of your new favorites are carrots, yogurt, and mommy's pear sauce.
~You also have started to eat some finger foods and are figuring out that "pincer" grasp with your thumb and pointer finger. You have tried little bits of spaghetti, homemade crackers, sweet peas, banana chunks, and bits of strawberries!
~I can FINALLY see little teeth about to pop through your bottom gums! You have actually had some pretty restless nights the past couple of nights because they are really swollen and bothering you pretty badly. They haven't poked through yet, but I think it will be any day now (at least your mommy and daddy hope so)!
~You can now say "Mama" and you say it constantly! We're working on "Dada" too, and we think we heard you say it once, but you definitely say "mama" and I never get tired of hearing it!
~And speaking of Mama, you have become quite the mama's girl this month. Whereas until now, you were one of the happiest babies in the nursery at church, now I can't so much as think about leaving or else your world ends. So lately, I've been having to keep you with me in the service, or Bible study, or youth group, or whatever I happen to be doing. I do love that you love me, but I am kinda hoping that this is just a phase!
~While you are a mama's girl, and cry whenever I leave the room, the only other person who can make it all better is your daddy. You LOVE your Daddy! One of the new things you have been doing with Daddy lately is a silly pillow peek-a-boo game that you made up. You like to play it while Daddy makes the bed in the mornings (after you snuggle with him for a little while while Mommy makes the coffee)!

Well, sweet girl, we love you so much and love watching you grow up each day. But don't forget that no matter how old and grown up you get, you will always be our baby girl!

And here are your pictures!

1 month old!