8 Months Old

I am loving 8 month old baby Cecelia. Obviously I've loved her at every stage, but I mean that I am loving being a mom more than ever. the 7-8 month period has been by far my favourite. Cecelia is so much fun right now. She is learning more every single day, and she is so pleasant and happy all the time. It's almost like she feels like she's starting to figure out this earth life - something that I'm sure brings relief and joy to her tiny soul. She knows how big she's getting, and she's proud of it. Each new thing she does or learns brings a beaming smile of contentment and satisfaction to her adorable little face (as seen in the first photo below).
Her physical growth has started to plateau (since it couldn't possibly keep up the pace it takes for the first 6 months), but her intellectual and emotional development seems to be accelerated. It has always amazed me how much these babies understand, versus how much we give them credit for, but it seems even more true as the days go by.
Cecelia has learned a couple of sign language terms (although she does not use any of them perfectly). She has learned to sign "more", "all done", and "milk" (although I haven't actually seen her to the last one, others have). She is also finally starting to grow that hair in - just look at it! It's just like her daddy's was at that age. Sticking straight up at the crown. It's a good thing she's a girl and will grow it long enough to weigh it down (or else she'd be like her dad and cursing it now). 
She just continues to bring so much joy and excitement to our home. We cannot imagine our lives without her, and yet cannot believe she's already made it to 2/3 of a year!