dear peanut {eight months}

happy eight months, miss elinor.

you are one cute little sassafras.

and i must be honest little lady, you aren't a typical baby-baby.  you are a complex little person.  you are contemplative, intense, serious.  dramatic eye rolls and plenty of attitude.  there is a whole lot going on in that noggin.  you are so eager to learn and explore.  you want to see it all and do it all.  be patient, sweet girl.  you will get there.  i know you are going to do big things tiny one.

you don't suffer fools.  but you are a sucker for the occasional silliness.  and we sure do make a scene trying to bring out those giggles.  and i am pretty sure that you think we are ridiculous.  you purse your lips and raise a brow and give us a demure "what on earth are you doing?" face.  and then, ever so kindly, you allow your demeanor to change and you humor us with a precious little smirk or laugh.

and speaking of laugh...you have perfected the faux chuckle.  it is your latest trick.  you have recently discovered the power of a cute laugh and you wield your tool masterfully, my dear.  this isn't your usual laugh.  the faux laugh is a horse of a different color.  it doesn't come from genuine delight.  but it is delightfully contrived and completely hilarious.  you mimic the sound of a true laugh but use it strategically, just to elicit a response from us.  and it works like a charm.  a perfectly reticent "heh, heh, heh" sound.  so very recherché.

you love your army crawl and your yogi moves.  you have the craziest toes ever.  it is so amazing to watch you grow and develop.  you are milestone-ing all over the place.  but you do it all in your own special way...and never on cue.  such a stubborn and determined little thing.  sometimes you push yourself.  sometimes you pull yourself.  sometimes you roll.  and sometimes you assess a situation and concoct some creative way to get what you want.  like pulling the blanket to move toys toward you.  you are a crafty one.  scary.  and also sooo cool to watch those wheels turning.

and let's discuss bathtime, shall we?  it is amazing.  you are a fishy indeed.  love, love, love the water.  whenever you are near a faucet you start flapping and kicking.  and we have been transitioning out of sink baths into the real deal.  sure, the sink works for a quick rinse.  but that won't do.  you are all about the full-on submerged, splash-zone style bath.  you want room to kick and smack the water and play with floating toys until your teeny toes get all wrinkled.  you don't even mind water in your eyes.  big bath is your new favorite.  and we are big fans.

you know what you are a big fan of?  frank sinatra.  seriously.  blue eyes strikes again.  he croons.  elinor swoons.  whenever his vinyl starts spinning, you are entranced.  your eyes get super big.  you kick your feet.  and sometimes you hum along.  i happen to think that it is adorable.  your papa, however, would like to take this opportunity to remind you that you are not allowed to like boys until after your 25th birthday.

oh little girl, you are so much fun.  you keep us entertained and on our toes.  you are getting so chatty and love to have long and loud conversations with us.  an endless stream of dadadada and mamamama and nananana and babababa.  you string all the sounds together like sentences.  and you look right into our eyes and talk.  even pausing so that we can respond accordingly.  so cute.  oh and we just can't wait until those baby sounds are replaced with real words.  words that we can use to communicate with you.  to tell stories.  to share.  won't that be amazing?!  for now, we will enjoy our own little language and savor these sweet sound conversations.  we will soak up all the dadadada's and mamamama's and nananana's and babababa's that you can dish out.

love, love, love,

your mama + your papa