My baby is 8 months

Hali is such a fun girl at this age and she is learning so many new 'tricks'. She goes off and on with saying "Mama" and "Da." She has learned how to open and close her hand as if she were waving and she does it constantly. We try to say 'hello' or 'bye bye' whenever she does it so she associates it with waving, but she hasn't quite got that yet. She is so close to crawling, but isn't quite there yet. She still loves to eat everything, and we haven't found one thing she doesn't like (we are hoping that continues). Her favorite food right now is Graham crackers. Hali loves to stand, so much that I wonder if she'll walk before she crawls. She loves to stand against the couch and pound on it with her hand. One of my favorite things she does now is she pants like a little puppy when she is happy or excited. I just love when she does this because she kicks her legs and waves her arms like she is going to fly away. Hali loves it when I am talking on the phone (not really sure why) but whenever I answer she gets so excited (probably because she thinks it is her Daddy calling to talk to her). Just yesterday (7/28) she learned how to sit up by herself from laying down. I was quite surprised to go into her room and see her sitting up like such a big girl in her crib after I had just laid her down. She now has her two bottom front teeth, and if I ever get a picture of them it will be a miracle. She LOVES to swim and kicks like crazy. She will even hold herself up by holding on to the side of the pool. Baby Einstein is still at the top of her list, and she gets so excited when the Disney preview music comes on. She had her very first ear infections all last week. Not a fun first, but a first none the less. Luckily with the antibiotic she is healing quickly. We had some VERY long nights with painful ear aches. When we took her to the doctor for ear infections they weighed her and she has officially hit the 20 pound mark, 20lbs 10oz to be exact. She is starting to get into everything, and is finding out that everything else (cups, necklaces, bowls, boxes, paper etc.) is much more fun than her toys. We just love her so much and can't imagine our life without her!
Here are some recent pictures of Hali, enjoy!