On Francesca's 8 month birthday

We went swimming at my friend Traci Fierro's mother's house and Francesca and Mateo both loved being in the water. Mateo was fearless, jumping in with his lifejacket on and swimminng after the huge rubber ducky. Francesca was relaxed in the floating ladybug under the shade. It was a hot August afternoon, so the pool felt great.

At 8 months, Francesca loves to be on her tummy. She is content to play with her toys for long stretches of time (up to 30 minutes) and she has beee known to roll all the way across the family room if no obstacles are in her way. Her eyes light up when she sees her older brother, Mateo, and she giggles when he plays with her. Francesca is very persistent about getting something she wants and will patiently attempt to grab at a toy just out of her reach. Now she even pushes up on her back legs and scoots her body forward. I am so proud of the progress she is making. We started feeding her solid foods in mid-July; so far she has had green beans, carrots, sweet potato, egg yolk and a spoonful of avocado. Her favorite has been the carrots.