Meera Grace 8 Months Old

Meera turns 8 months old today. This feels like a big milestone for us because Kyle and Owen were 8 months old when we brought them home. The newborn baby baby infant stage that we missed with our boys was so wanted by us with this third child. We are sad to see this phase go. We wish Meera could be our baby baby baby girl forever and ever. And yet, of course, every new day and every new stage and phase is an awesome discovery along the way. We recognize things about Meera now that we remember from our early days with K & O. And it feels familiar sometimes -- familiar is a feeling we did not have for the first 7+ months of Meera's life. Our time with her has, so far, been so different from our time with Kyle and Owen when they were babies. But now little things remind us that she is reaching the age that her brothers were when we became parents for the first time. Like, when I'm cutting up whole-grain bagels and putting the pieces in the freezer for Meera to gnaw on later. That is something I did so very often when K & O were little. Or like when Meera stands up slapping her hands upon, while holding herself up on, the ottoman in the family room. We spent hours watching the boys do that when they were babies. It is all bittersweet and full of emotion. Some of the feelings are similar and yet the whole entire experience is so incredibly, incredibly different on so many, many levels. We feel profoundly blessed to have been able to have a newborn by birth and to have been able to adopt by choice. And while Meera is sooooooooooo easy in comparison to K & O as babies (just simply having a singleton is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo easy compared to TWINS!!!, and that is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of comparisons between her and them)... we feel truly grateful for the opportunity to parent both a single baby girl and two twin boys. What an amazing journey we find ourselves on. Milestones like this -- the 8 month mark -- make us pause and reflect on it all. And it all astounds us. Still. It still just keeps astounding us. Day after day. As for Meera~~~~~ what a sweetie pie this baby girl continues to be. This month has been another biggie for her. She got three new teeth on top, so she now has five teeth total. And she likes to use them for serious eating! She wants little to do with traditional baby food (i.e., pureed things). She refuses to eat applesauce, but loves to chew on fresh apple. She pushes away pureed bananas, but adores pieces of fresh ones. She whole-heartedly rejects pear from a jar, but can't get enough of a fresh raw pear. She likes to suck on fresh pieces of cut-up orange, and -- like her brothers -- loves mandarin oranges from a can too. Her favorite snack, by far, is Gerber Wagon Wheels, carrot flavor. Meera is pretty much an all-organic baby, but we do make an exception for this snack and Little Miss couldn't be more appreciative! As for 'baby food,' she still likes green beans and rice, and she loves sweet potatoes. Otherwise, she'll take 'real food' over 'baby food' any day. Physically, Meera is still 100% uninterested in rolling over!!! But she wants to stand all day long. When you hold her hands and get her to 'walk' standing up, she laughs like crazy. She can sit on her own now for prolonged periods of time. She can stand holding on to something for stretches of 5-10 minutes. She's done with her playmat and her swing and her bjorn chair. :( But she's loving the johnny jump-up thingy and her new jumparoo that her brothers bought her. At Meera's 8 month pediatrician appointment she measured 27 inches, 20 pounds. This is the 75th percentile for height, and 95th for weight. A big deal this month has been Mommy going back to work. Meera is one tough little cookie and seems to be handling it well. And she is building a strong bond with Margie, and vice-versa. But man, oh man!, does she ever squeal with delight, and laugh big belly laughs, and cuddle like there's no tomorrow, when Mama comes home from work!! [and let me tell you, there is absolutely nothing better than that at the end of the work day!!!] She loves her Papi too, especially when he just calmly hangs out with her -- which he is so good at doing. But still Meera's soft spot is for her big bro's. My goodness gracious does this girl ever adore her brothers. Her favorite part of the day is when she goes to get them at school at 1:00 (Margie confirms this to be true when Meera is with her too)... she could not be more excited and huge-smiley-happy-faced when she sees K and/or O approach her as they come out of their classrooms for pick-up. Oh my oh my! Just watching her get so excited is enough to make your day. Meera still rarely fusses and rarely cries. She definitely knows what she wants and lets it be known, but she chooses her battles carefully (which means that she basically gets whatever she wants when she does want it since it is so rare for her to assert herself!). The biggest development this month, though, has been Meera talking. She says "hi" (sounds more like 'haaa,' but it is clearly recognizable when you know what to listen for) and waves 'hi' with both hands. She says "Hi Kitty!", "Hi Book!", and starting just yesterday... "Hi Baby!" (to a special baby doll that she got for Christmas from MorMor and MorFar). She also waves 'bye bye' when someone is leaving her presence. Meera still loves the bath, the stroller, and toys toys toys. She is a happy, happy, happy 8-month-old girl!