Ariya is 8 Months Old!

Ariya continues to learn and grow so much faster than I can keep up with. She is an absolute ray of sunshine in our days, 8 months in and I still can't get over what an happy, agreeable baby she is.

Every week I pull my camera out to take her weekly photo, she just poses and smiles her sweetest smile. The whole ordeal takes less than 5 minutes and somehow I still have the hardest time choosing just one photo - they're ALL so cute!

This month:  
Ariya earned her 2 bottom teeth! Her first popped through on Jan. 10 and the second showed up not long after. In true Ariya form, she cut those teeth without batting a sweet little eyelash (although many drools were certainly drooled!)

Ariya has her own room! At the end of January, Cullen decided he wanted to try sleeping in Avery's room (again) BUT this time, Avery decided he was ready to sleep on the top bunk. Apparently the stars aligned and this new arrangement finally took hold - which means Ariya moved into Cullen's old room and claimed it as her own.
 
She's grown out of her sleep-all-night-every-night routine a bit and often won't fall asleep until she's nursed and rocked about 3-4 times. Even then, she will get up at least once or twice a night, sometimes for extended periods of thinking it's morning when it's not. Despite losing her rockstar sleeper medal, she still wins the award for happiest morning baby- I really look forward to peering over her crib at her ecstatic little face in the morning! 

She either takes 2 shorter naps, one in the morning and one in the late afternoon, OR she takes one monster nap in the middle of the day. Every day is a little different and, being baby #3, her naps are often interrupted or taken on-the-go. Naturally, she is A-OK with wherever the day takes her, as long as she has us around she's happy.

Ariya EATS! She will gobble up 1-3 baby bullet servings for breakfast, lunch and dinner along with a bunch of finger foods. She loves to eat and is so good at feeding herself. Her current favorites are kale, apples, mango, sweet potatoes and avacado/pear. She tried some cheese for lunch today and pretty much thought it was the greatest thing ever -  a true Wisconsinite at heart :)  

The love Ariya has for her brothers is so strong and so obvious, she ADORES them and all of the loud and crazy games they play. The boys are so, so sweet- always making silly faces, kissing, singing or tickling her and she repays them by giving them nothing but smiles and giggles.

As long as I am nearby, Ariya is generally happy and oh-so-smiley with everyone she comes across. I love to watch her smiles light up everyone around her- her brothers, our friends, or perfect strangers at the grocery store. Her happy energy is contagious and makes my day - every day.
 

Ariya is a strong girl and her circle of destruction is growing larger by the day as she inches closer and closer to crawling. It will be a bittersweet day for all of us when she becomes fully mobile. Keeping her away from choking hazards is going to become my full-time job and although the boys try all day to get her to crawl, I don't think they truly grasp what this means. They love little sis like crazy, but they love her on their terms. We will see how well they adjust to her being all up in their business all day. Ariya, my dear, you're welcome to stay put just as long as you'd like :)

Ariya loves to play games that get a reaction out of us, this one was especially funny this day - that belly laugh!! :)