8 months

J's best friend Burton. J was playing on the balcony one morning and I turned my back for a second. One turning back around, I found Burton with his tongue right in her mouth and when I yelled at him, the two of them gave me the guiltiest of looks..... already a duo!

Interactions: J is making a lot more eye contact, and will hold the gaze of both strangers and family members for much longer periods. She has also become quite insistent upon almost always being in the same room, if not actually touching you on some days. This can lead to some loud complaints from her when Chris and I actually try and get things done around the house, but if she's entertained (or Burton is amusing her!) she can stay engrossed for about 5 minutes. Burton is quickly becoming her best friend and she lights up when she sees him.

Moving: She is sitting up straight, completely on her own, and has begun to reach for items around her. Accidentally, J rolled over twice, but seems to shave no interest in intentionally rolling. When forced to be on her stomach, she has begun to push herself backwards and we often find her in the crib after sleeping in much different positions then we put her down in.

On the changing table she is a squirmy-mirmy though! It's hard to get the diaper on her somedays as she flips her body this way and that.

Newest Trick: Bottle holding is something we are working on, and she's just beginning to grasp the bottle herself, but can't quite get the angle of it. I practice by placing a pillow and blanket on her lap and let her go at it. When it starts to slide, she does actually grab for it and guides it back in, but it seems to be a bit to heavy for her still to get it fully up.

Eating: We are up to 3 meals a day and 4 bottles, each between 6-8ozs. J enjoys strongly flavored food, and will gladly accept anything coming from our plate. We often give her a piece of crusty bread while in the restaurant to keep her happy for a bit, but she's beginning to realize this is a distraction method and that there are much better things on our plates!

Sleeping: Still a great sleeper! 12+ hours at night and 3 naps a day. Her awake time is shorter in the morning (around 1.5 hours), then moves to about 2 hours and finally about 3.5 before her final nap. J has also begun just hanging out in her bed upon waking up from her night time sleep or a nap. This leaves Mommy and Daddy very happy b/c they then have time to make the tea, or just lay there for a few extra minutes. On a good day, J will lay in her crib for over a 1/2 hour, just playing with her toes and stuffed animals.

Talking: We're moving through the consonants: Dadadada was a few weeks ago, and a hot one at the moment is Nananana. No connection has been made between Dada and the actual person, but she enjoys practicing quite a bit! J is not one to hold her feelings back, and when not happy about something will complain quite loudly about it for LONG periods of time (or until is stops.) She doesn't cry, just loudly voices her opinion.

Overall, Jocelyn is a very happy baby that smiles easily and loves to be snuggled.