Cate is 8...

8 months, that is... That is pure craziness! Once September hits and preschool starts and holidays begin to fly by, this little girl is going to one-years-old before I know it! How is that possible?

Is it lame that I tear up about it on a constant basis? 

Anyways... I try not to think about it too much... so here's a glimpse into what Cate is up to... currently:

Caitlin is currently eating...

anything in her path (literally). She especially likes paper, spoons with remnants of ice cream or chocolate, and anything Andrew leaves on the floor (which is a lot of stuff).

This little girl eats like nobody's business... and she is serious about her food. She loves pieces of string cheese, cheerios, pieces of fishy crackers, hunks of bread, and any baby food she tries. Today she pounded a jar of stage 2 carrots and licked the jar clean. I don't think Andrew EVER finished a jar of anything before it went bad. 

She also is great with picking up small things between her two fingers and shoving them in her mouth. This comes in handy at church or when I am making dinner. Yesterday she sat in her high chair for over an hour and played with her cheerios (while I attempted making a new recipe for dinner)... most of them made it in her mouth and several got thrown all over my kitchen floor. 

She also thinks she is bigger than she is and makes a big fuss when we take big kid things away from her... like spoons, Andrew's toys, Andrew's food and our food... etc.

Caitlin is currently moving...

CONSTANTLY! She is grumpy if she isn't standing. 

You'd think she'd won the Nobel Prize with how excited Andrew is about her new standing skills. 

Sometimes I totally want her to just veg and hang out on the grass at the park with me... but Andrew "knows" what Caitlin wants better (or so he thinks) and he will tell me, "No mom, Caitlin wants to be standing." He also tells me she wants to be standing by herself or with his help (not mine). 

He is such a great big brother.

Miss Cutie moves all day in the exersaucer too. If you start bouncing and say something about her bouncing, then she'll imitate you and get the biggest grin on her face and bounce and bounce.

(I promise she grins... :) just couldn't get a picture of it)

Caitlin is currently loving...

To smile and laugh! She laughs hardest at anything Andrew does. It is so adorable that we will repeat whatever she thinks is funny 100xs just because her giggle is so adorable.

She also loves clapping and waving her arms up in the air when she is excited!

Little Miss also loves to chew on books... and sometimes read them, but mostly just eat them.

She loves keeping an eye on her big brother and me. The second I leave the room she gets in a panic, unless Andrew is there to cheer her up.

And mainly she loves playing with Andrew. 

She is rarely grumpy or bored if he is around. I can actually put them in the family room with toys and get a few things done in the kitchen because she's content to watch him and play near him.

Today I got the first glimpse of some fighting in our future- at least it looks cute now :)

Cate LOVES to steal Andrew's toys. We call her "Swiper" and Andrew says, "Swiper, no swiping!" when she steals his toys from him. Typically he doesn't get too bothered... but it is pretty funny to watch. It is like she has a radar for anything that is his. She looks at the baby toys I put in front of her and immediately moves away and looks for Andrew's toys.

Chugga-chugga- choo-choo!

Cate also loves dancing. When music turns on she immediately starts bouncing to the beat. She also lifts her arms up when hymns are played at church and starts waving them like she is conducting.

She is my little cuddle bug and goopy kisser. She gives BIG WET kisses with her mouth open right on my cheeks. They are absolutely adorable.

Although she is a cuddler, She LOVES to be anywhere BUT in my arms these days (during most of the day) and is always shifting her body in some weird way to try and reach something on the floor or get out of my arms. She wants to be on the go!

She loves scooting backwards and has discovered that she can go much quicker on the wood floor. Andrew was yelling to us that Cate was moving the other day and we didn't believe him. Sure enough, when we came over, she was several feet away from where we'd left her. Pretty soon life is going to get really interesting with her all over the place. 

Caitlin is currently wearing...

Size 9-12 months clothes and size 4 diapers. I have no clue how much she weighs or how tall she is... but I swear she grew an inch or two just this week. My biceps are getting much stronger too... so I think she's at least 21 pounds... if not more. Crazy!

Andrew loves to say, "Caitlin really loves me... We love each other." I love watching him tell all of his friends (who aren't really interested) about all the cool things she is up to. It is really adorable when he yells, "Look guys! Caitlin is trying stand up! Isn't that amazing?" 

Currently we are absolutely smitten with this girl. I think the 13+ hours of sleep she gets every night helps with me loving her too. Now if only I could get myself to bed earlier so that I could benefit from all of her sleeping :)

To celebrate her 8th month b-day I made these ice cream scoop popsicles. She didn't get one, but the rest of us did. They were yummy :)

Happy 8 months Catiebug!