Dear Riley- 8 months

8 months old today!

Wow. I can't believe I am writing my 8th Dear Riley "monthly" letter. I can't believe I am taking your EIGHT month photo and placing it right here on this blog... I'm sending your 8 month "Dear Riley" letter to your email... I'm writing MONTH 8 in your "R" journal... I can't believe it. EIGHT months... I feel like I say it every month, but WHERE DID THE TIME GO?! It so does not feel like it has been 8 months RIGHT NOW as I am typing this that your daddy and I were getting ready to meet you.


You're the light of my life, Riley Quinn. You have made me so happy and I hope and pray you will understand just how much I love you. I thank God every single night for bringing you to me. I have never not known how much I wanted something in my entire life (if that makes any sense at all!).

I can't believe you are trying to walk already. You are able to stand on your own for a few seconds without falling and you can walk all over the place pushing your walker or holding onto the couch. You can say momma and wave and say bye bye and today you said papa. You have said dada, but not consistently and I am not sure your daddy has heard you yet. You need to get on that, RQ! :)


You are eating like a good girl, but you're definitely still loving to spit it allllll over whoever is feeding you when you are finished. You think it is hilarious, and well... it still is. Avocado is still your favorite and today you had some blue berries. You had some chicken when me and daddy baked some the other night. You are basically eating whatever we eat for dinner now. I'm not really pureeing anymore food for you because you are so good at chewing. Last night you had sweet potatoes that were cooked in the microwave for about 6 minutes. They were nice and tender and you loved it. You LOVE to feed yourself too, so the purees aren't really working out. (Miss Independent!) I buy some store bought stuff still since we're always on the go and it's easier to take with us. Mainly the squeeze pack foods (again- so you can feed yourself) You love the pumpkin! You're only drinking four bottles now. You drink anywhere between 7.5-9 oz each bottle. You have your bottles around 7:30-8am, noon, 4-4:30pm and then bedtime which is anywhere between 8:15 and 9:15 (or 10:30 if your ma-lolo has been in Key West for 4 days and comes home and lets you taste sorbet from the yogurt shop and you are on a slight sugar high from 2 bites of sorbet...)

10pm and you are wiiiiiiiiide awake ;)

You love the beach. We've spent most of the couple of months at the "Boogie Shack" and we are actually home this week for a little time. You sleep so well at the beach, like you know you are meant to be there. You don't even think it is "somewhere new" because it's not. It's so wonderful to me that I get to raise you on our little island just like I was raised. Your daddy says he is planning to keep it that way too! I told him how much I hated coming as soon as school got out as a kid because I wanted to be home with my friends - but how I am so glad I did and how I came to love our island and how it kept me with the "good" and not the "bad." He wants the same for you and so do I, Riley Quinn. I am so glad we are fortunate enough to have that opportunity for you. You even love the ride there. It's like you know where we are going. Luckily it isn't a far drive at all and we can come home and see daddy frequently and he can bounce down and see us for a day or so no and then- so we aren't apart from him for long. 

you and your beach chair in the boogie shack

you love our morning walks on the island before or after mommy jogs

All of our island family loves you so much. Everyone says you fit right in (as if that was ever questionable!) But really, you do.You have your own little get up under the Boogie Shack. Your car, pool(s), swing, wagon, stroller, bike trailer... you are quite spoiled, little one. But we love every inch of spoiling you... You love to play on the beach. This past month you have spent several days up there. You love the sand and you have even taken a two hour nap on the beach. You will play and play and play and you love it. It's wonderful. We hosted the last FFF at our place and you had a blast-

you in your bike trailer with your cute giraffe helmet 

Here are some of your firsts from this month. I have already blogged about them. I can't really think of much else.

Some of the newest things I am loving that you do---

• you get super excited when ma-lolo or grandy come over or we go there and you start jumping and kicking in my arms
• you cry when daddy goes to work (it's sad but shows how much you love him)
• you wave and say bye bye
• saying mama
• when you fall you get this look on your face like "hey, pick me up" and you don't even cry
• you giggle at EVERYTHING- but the thing you laugh at the most is a pony tail 
• you will fight us to watch a tv if it is on in the room (you are your daddy's child!)
• you LOVE coach and you say "ca" which we think might mean Coach
• when we are out to eat you coo and chat with everyone around us and make friends everywhere we go
• you follow us everywhere and you still crawl with one leg up and one down just like you have done for the past 4 months... i don't think it will change- lol

That's all I can think of for now, boogie. I love you more than you will ever know- well until you have a little girl of your own one day. Then, I think you will know.

xoxo

Love, 

Mommy



I can't believe it's been so long- I feel like you were just 11 weeks old.