Blake Olivia: 8 months

What's been happening this month:

• Well I've tried everything (excluding CIO) and Blake is officially my 30 minute napper.  I give up.  It means we have busy days and not a lot of time to myself but oh well, babies are only little for so long right, so I'm enjoying our time together. 
• On the other hand, our nights have been much better.  We started co-sleeping out of desperate need for sleep but I always put her down in her crib first, at bedtime.  I have given up on the 3am fight and put her in bed with us if I need to.  It works out pretty well and her first stretch of sleep (in the crib) has gotten longer and longer and she basically sleeps through the night again now.  It's hard on my sleep (and my back) but I actually love having her close to me at night.  We are much less stressed about sleep now and way more rested.
• I still follow a loose schedule because a strict one just didn't work for us.  I like to have some order to my day but we aren't chained to the house because of a nap schedule.
• FINALLY she likes to eat food!! This was a huge breakthrough and she just changed one day all of a sudden.  She has tried lots of different things now and has had no allergies and really hasn't hated anything.  I'm hoping she won't be a picky eater.
• With her new love of food came the major poop change. It's pretty gross now and we will be installing a diaper sprayer at the new house.  Still, it's not that much harder and I'm sticking with the cloth diapers :)
• She cut her first tooth.  Her bottom left central incisor to be exact.  I'm sure it probably hurt but she didn't fuss too much about it.
•  She is giving kisses, sometimes, when we ask.
• She went swimming in the pool and had her first beach day. She loved both.
• She's getting more hair but it's still not a lot.
• She has a favorite baby doll that has become her lovie and she's sleeping with her now.
• She's scooting backwards but not crawling yet.
• She's babbling like crazy now.  It's started with nananana and now mmamamama, dadadada, kakakakaka, tatatata, babababa. 
• No more pacifier.  She just decided she doesn't like it anymore.  I hear that it's for the best and I won't have to wean her later but it would be nice if she had something to soothe herself other than my boob. 
• And one of the best things, her hair grabbing has really lightened up.  Thank god because I really couldn't afford to lose anymore than I already have.