8 Months!

Motherhood is sweet. Today I discovered my little girl is getting her first tooth. After waiting and being drooled on for months, she still surprises me. I am reminded of the unpredictability of this journey. I don't know what she will be like or who she will become but that's alright; I am so in love with her today. My love for her is the constant in this journey. I am reminded that I will never hold the same little girl of yesterday in my arms, but I look forward to every day she will learn, grow, and of course, change. It is with a little nostalgia that I look back to pictures of my newborn baby girl.

 Besides teeth, E is graduating to, well, lumpier foods. Gotta learn how to chew some time! She chases bits of banana and tomato around her high chair tray in an effort to pick them up and put them in her mouth. It is so endearing. :) She loves to stand in her exersaucer and bang on all the noisemaking toys placed around it. :) She especially likes to watch traffic from the window as well. I suspect we are soon on our way to crawling; she can get on all fours but has yet to master her technique. We say she has performance anxiety because she likes to try out her new moves in the privacy of her crib before debuting them for us. This was the case with rolling and now with crawling. Thank goodness for video monitors!

 We've welcomed summer with trips to the park and walks around the neighborhood. She is a fan of the swings...thanks to Daddy's encouragement and proper selection of summer wear (see pic below). We are slowly becoming more 'morning people', especially when that means we avoid the hot noon sun. I find it hard to sleep past 6 am anyways. Oh, where has the Leane of old gone??

As I look at my little girl, I am so thankful to have her in our lives...and for all the love she is surrounded by. So many family and friends have shared their happiness for us and their support through out our journey to become parents; it makes me very humbly thankful. I am grateful that in this unpredictable journey, my love will not be the only constant in her life. Eleanor, you are very, very loved. To all you who Skype, call, email, and visit, thank you.