8 Months

Miss Autumn Ann is 8 months old!!

This girl is growing up far too fast! I blinked and she went from a newborn to an 8 month old.  I'm obsessed with this little girl. She is such a sweet, fun, tenacious and strong little lady. She is just a delight; happy to explore, snuggle, laugh and play.  She still sleeps great at night and not so great during the day, however, she will nap just about anywhere (the car, the Ergo carrier, etc), so she remains very portable and flexible to be toted around on our various adventures! Her 8th month included Dada's first trip to Asia since she was born, during which time we were fortunate enough to have Grandma move in to help out.  We went on a long weekend trip to Kansas City with Grandma, Dennis and Uncle Brice. And we had all of our fun Halloween festivities, including a trip to the pumpkin patch, the Trick or Treat Train, and of course, Halloween itself! She can now pull herself up to stand, and does so at every possible opportunity. She babbles a lot and says "mama" quite often, but we can't tell if she's babbling or actually saying "mama." Sometimes she says it in a moment where it seems like she is intentionally saying it, but it's hard to tell if that's just a coincidence or not. Her newest favorite pastime is ripping up paper products - hand her a tissue, a paper towel, or piece of paper and she will be just delighted to sit there and rip it up into tiny pieces. She is a great eater, eating three meals a day now, and eats so much we are not sure where she fits it all (2+ pouches at every meal!) We are interested to see how she stacks up size-wise at her next appointment.  She still just has her two bottom teeth, and there are no signs of anymore on the way, although she still ravenously chews on anything she can get her hands on.  She still absolutely adores her big brother and is always fascinated by everything he does and is always incredibly happy to see him and watch him do this thing. Can't wait to see what the next month holds!

Trying on her Mrs. Peanut hat

Daddy's home!!

Standing Girl

This lady is now able to stand up, holding on to something, for brief periods of time! She has been clearly trying to pull up to stand, and when we propped her up on her standing toy she stayed put.  She is continuing to try desperately to be able to pull up to stand, and hasn't quite mastered that yet, but she's very close, and tries every day! Slow down, little girl!! 

Kansas City Trip

This past weekend we jetted off to Kansas City with Grandma, Dennis and Uncle Brice.  We decided to take advantage of a 4-day weekend and go have some fun of our own while Dada is in Asia on his work trip.  Autumn was a complete traveling champion, doing great on the plane and throughout all of our travels and adventures. She happily tagged along everywhere we went, and was just a trooper! She got to hang out with Aunt Tracy and Uncle Tim, and Uncle Dave and Aunt Nicki and a bunch of her cousins.  Everyone was dying to love on her, but unfortunately she was being a bit clingy to Mama and wasn't loving having anyone else hold her.  She did warm up for brief periods of time here and there, though, and everyone loved their peanut time, even if it was brief! Our last night at the hotel was a bit rough, Autumn just did NOT want to sleep in the pack'n'play, so she ended up getting some Mama snuggles all night long.  But all in all it was a great trip and she did amazingly well on her travels!

Snoozing on the airplane

Weary travelers

Hanging' out at Hi-Boy

On the carousel at the Independence Center

Hanging' with Aunt Nicki 

Looking adorable matching her brother

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Hanging with Aunt Tracy

Lots of car napping

Hangin' out at breakfast on our last day 

Taking a long snoozer on the airplane ride home. She was tuckered! 

Pumpkin Patch

Autumn took at trip to her first pumpkin patch to kick off the Fall season.  She had a great time tagging along and taking in the sights! She didn't get to ride on the tractor to the actual pumpkin patch because she was snoozing, but she didn't see to mind too much. ;)

Best Teether Ever

We have discovered the little known best teether ever - a cold can! Autumn somehow got her mouth on one at some point and it was all over... she loves gumming on the rim of the cold can. It must feel great on her gums. When she sees a can, she will go nuts trying to get it in her mouth.  It's hilarious and adorable (oh and we learned she cannot chew on open cans after she repeatedly cut her finger by sticking it in the open hole! Ouch!)

Favorite Songs

Miss Autumn has developed some clear preferences for music that calms and soothes her to sleep, almost like magic! The big hits are:

Blackbird by The Beatles
Build Me Up Buttercup by The Foundations
Almost anything by The Decemberists

She's got good taste, that's for sure!