8 months

Our little flower is 8 months old! I can hardly believe it. She is such a happy baby and truly a joy to be around. She makes us smile and laugh every day. God has truly blessed us. We have really enjoyed getting to see her personality develop.
(I am going to list her accomplishments so that one day we can look back and show her how she grew)
At 8 months Violet
sits up from laying down
pulls up on everything!
she blows amazing raspberries on us, herself and her toys
she crawls
she talks in her own special way with smiles and giggles
she loves to be snuggled
she walks with help (we hold her hands up and she walks)
she cruises along things
she loves to jump
she sings when mommy plays the piano
she loves to play the piano (and "read" the music)
she loves books
she has this cute bashful way of throwing her head into my chest or the crook of my neck
she smiles at everyone
she gives long kisses
she strokes my face, arm or breast when she is eating
she loves to chew on everything

we started at 7.5 months on solids and so far she likes everything
first was cereal, avocado, zucchini,sweet potato, tofu, pumpkin, asparagus and also bananas
she eats breakfast and loves to try to feed herself with the spoon
she knows her favorite toys by name and remembers where she last left them
she loves to play peek-a-boo
since about 6 months she has been able to recognize colors if we ask her to touch them
I love that when we play she often stops for kissing and hugging breaks
she loves to go on walks outside in mommy's sling or daddy's carrier
she loves birds
she still nurses about ever 3-4 hours and 2 times at night
she still sleeps in bed beside mommy but that is ok. With out knowing what to call it we have developed a parenting style with is often called attachment parenting. It works well for us and Violet seems to be happy.
and 3 days ago we began experimenting with EC (elimination communication) and she has gone pee pee in the potty on average 3 times a day. Yesterday she even held it in while we were out and then happily pee peed in her potty when we got home. It was so cute. She gets so happy when she hears it coming out. :)
She is a very lovable and happy baby and we feel blessed beyond words.
Here are some fun pics from the past 2 months