8 Months Old.

Dear Aubrey.

Another month has passed and with it all new adventures and excitement have come into your world and ours. We started off this month with a trip to the mountains for a family reunion on Grammy's side. Aunt Kate came to our house to spend a few days with you before she'd have to share your sweet hugs with the rest of the family. Just like we did when you were in Mommy's belly, we took a hike in the Great Smoky Mountains. We celebrated America's birthday and Grammy's too. A week later, Mommy and Daddy celebrated not having to sleep on the edge of the bed. On July 12th, you spent your first night in your crib in the nursery. No more Pack N' Play and a little less co-sleeping with you sleeping in your own room but Daddy likes waking up next to you in the morning so still finds ways to sneak you into our bed every now and then. Along with sleeping in your big girl crib, you now take big girl baths in the big person tub. You get big girl messy too. You are eating all sorts of new and exciting foods...and by eating, we mean tasting fruits and veggies like avocado, broccoli, banana, plums and sweet potato while smearing pureed combos like peas and pears or squash, carrots, apples and prunes all over your face. The carrots, apples and parsnips mix smells really bad. But its good for you and making you strong and smart. Its hard to believe we used to get so excited when you were barely rolling over or trying to creep across the floor. You now completely pull yourself up into a sitting position...a good reason to abandon Pack N' Play sleeping. Swimming with your friend LeeLee is certainly good for you too. When not travelling by army-crawl or frog floatee, you like to cruise the kitchen and the cul-de-sac in your car. And while we're sure you were just trying to be social at the library, that newfound strength of yours gave one little boy a good scare. You grabbed him by the hair and pulled him down to the floor. On a sweeter note, you ate your first of likely many Mac's Pride McBee peaches this month. At MiMi's you also got a taste of her special biscuits. On that same trip, Mommy got some good pictures of you with Grandeddy's cows. It was, however, a photo of you in the sunflower field taken this month that got Miss Julia the most Facebook likes she has ever gotten for one of her pictures. Unfortunately, we haven't yet been able to capture the cute, new smile you learned to make on camera. You certainly do give us plenty to smile about everyday.