Lexi my sweets,
December is always a month full of ups and downs - there's the excitement and buildup to Christmas, treats, get-togethers, and beautiful lights, but the days keep getting shorter and a little bit of seasonal sadness always sets in with the lack of sunshine. Your eighth month in this world was full of ups and downs, too. Your smile keeps getting bigger (and toothier), and your abilities are growing exponentially, but so is your capacity for mood changes. You're certainly good at letting Mommy and Daddy know when you're not a happy camper.
A highlight of this month was the interest you took in food. Your manual dexterity keeps improving, and you're able to pick up tiny pieces of food with a pincer grip. No longer does the majority of your meal land to your sides (and on your shoulders), but now you're digesting enough food to make solid, real-people poops. Gross, I know. But it's true! Sidebar: you hate pooping.
Your favourite foods? Sweet potato, banana, tomato, chicken, salmon, spaghetti squash and tomato sauce, avocado, carrots, eggs, meatballs, lettuce, lemons, limes... and broccoli! If there's chicken and broccoli in front of you, you have a difficult time deciding which one to pick first. You'll pick either, though, over any other food. The little broccoli sprouts manage to find their way into every possible skin fold near your hands - I've even found broccoli in your thigh creases. Yum!
You're even more talkative now, waking up early in the morning just cooing like crazy. Those mornings are beautiful - it's like you're singing us a wake up tune, and I couldn't think of a better alarm clock. Although, sweetie, 5 am wakeup calls are a little bit premature. I didn't mind so much the morning of December 14, when you perfected your "m" consonant and a singsong "mamamamama" came from your bassinet. It's not consistent, but you say it almost every day now and it melts my heart.
Not only are you talkative, you're way more mobile. You've been working on crawling for a good month now, and although we kept saying you'd have it by Christmas, you're still trying to perfect your crawling rhythm. Right now, you're very capable of dragging your body across the floor if you have something to pull on, like carpet. Otherwise, you get up onto your hands and toes, do a sort of plank with your bum high up in the air, then let your hips sway from one side to the other. Sometimes you nose-dive into the ground; other times, you sit your bum down and find something to chew on. Once you get that knee bend in there, you'll be unstoppable!
You're really discovering cause and effect. Your daddy and I were given a couple of balloons last month - one from Kim for our two year anniversary, and one from your great auntie Norma to celebrate your six month birthday. Both balloons were tied to strings, and you were fascinated by the way the balloon bobbed towards you when you pulled the string towards your face. I was fascinated by your fascination... and secretly I kept waiting for a balloon to pop in your face. Mom of the year, I know.
You also experienced a little bit of independence from Mommy this month. I had surgery on my gums at the beginning of December, and I left you with Grandma L for an entire day. I was so nervous, worried, and upset, but on the way to Calgary for the surgery, God gave me His assurance that all would be well - I saw the most beautiful sun dog in the sky. Whenever I see a rainbow, I know that God is promising me He is with me and those I love. That gave me so much peace, and the surgery went very well. When I returned home, I opened the door and called "hello!" Grandma L says that the moment you heard my voice, your eyes lit up, your ears perked up, and you immediately began scrambling up her, trying to climb over her so you could see me. That was one of the best feelings in the world: knowing that you had an amazing day with your grandma, but knowing that you missed me, too. I sure missed you a heck of a lot. 
December is a very exciting month for your daddy because he begins ice fishing. We've already taken you out a number of times, and you've gotten to witness both your mommy and daddy pull big Northern pike out of Jamieson lake. We love pulling you around on the ice in a little sled lent to us by a friend and enjoying the chilly December days together.
Finally, the month of December was punctuated by a terrific first Christmas. I think you were more excited about the wrapping paper as Mommy wrapped presents than anything else, but it was a blessing for the rest of us to have a baby (well, two - your cousin, as well) to spoil. Some favourite gifts you received include a teddy bear that you're already gnawing on lovingly, a fantastic folding camping high chair, bath toys, and twelve pairs of pyjamas. Yes, twelve!
Little Loops, you keep learning and growing. I get frustrated and cranky with your inability to sleep longer than two hours, but somehow, my love for you keeps growing as you develop in so many different ways. I love you forever.
Love,
Mama
