Happy 8 Months Birthday!

today you celebrated by teething some more! i'm hoping the little sucker comes through today, because it's been a hard couple days for you. you're in pretty good spirits, despite the mouth pain. tylenol helps!

this past month you've been doing all sorts of new things and making new noises and making and unmaking new routines. i blame the teeth for the sleepness nights and hope they become restful soon.

you are still leary of strangers, but you don't usually scream at people like you did when you first entered your stranger danger phase. now, you pretty much just stare at everyone. daddy says that will be creepy if you're still doing it when you're 18.

here are some pictures of you from today, playing in a tub that we bought to pack up some of your too-small clothes. if i'd known you'd like that thing so much, i wouldn't have bought the exersaucer. remember the duck that bit you long ago and made you sad and tired? you got revenge. he squeaked in protest as you bit his mouth and back and poked his eyes. i bet he'll be glad when you're done teething, too.



love, mom

p.s. here's an update about the tub: as i was typing this letter, you pulled yourself up and were clinging to the side of it. you've stood by yourself while holding onto something before today, but you've never pulled up by yourself until just now. big girl!

you're a water baby!

you love to swim.

whether in the pool, or on the lake, you love it. you love to splash, you love to kick your feet, and you even love to lick the water.

it wears you out.

you are 34 weeks old!

what a big girl you are getting to be. your hair is growing in a lot thicker now, and your facial expressions and everything really make you look more like a little girl, and less like a baby.

you had a really full week, visiting your cousins in oklahoma, then your grandpa in crystal springs. and then the cookout we talked about in the last post.

this past week you have started making a trilling sound, like rolling your RRs, in spanish. it sort of sounds like you're purring. we'll have to get that on video. it's pretty cute. i don't remember sam ever doing that, so it's uniquely you. it's funny to watch you do it and see your little tongue vibrating.

you are also waving a lot. you've been doing it for a while, but we're pretty certain it's on purpose now.

you can almost crawl. you have all the components down. lifting your chest off the ground, tucking your legs under you, and scooting forward by pushing with the legs. it doesn't all tend to happen at the same time. but i'm sure it'll be pretty soon. every day is a new adventure!

love, mom

you had your first cookout!

yesterday, we headed to your friend abby's house for a cookout. her mom and dad cooked us some burgers and hot dogs, and some rice cereal with applesauce for you.

you two had some fun playing with abby's toys.












then bella came over, and you three played some more! abby tried to teach you and bella how to stack them up. she's a pretty smart cookie.










then i guess you got a little tired of playing. here's a picture of you pouting, while the other girlies played.

your mommies really can't wait until you're all in junior high, having big girl drama! actually let's just skip the drama and play softball.

you are 33 weeks old!

you've been having trouble sleeping this week. i'm not sure if it's that you were sick and still aren't feeling 100%, or if it's your teeth bothering you. either way, i hope we both start getting better rest soon.

otherwise, you've been little miss personality. you laugh and smile a lot more, but you are still serious and observant a lot. we think you are trying to compensate a bit for your brother's extreme silliness.

love, mom

you love the green beans.

never before has food elicited such excitement. you gobble them up. it's the only food you'll finish a whole jar of, so far. i hope you love them forever.

here's a video.

your frog bib likes them too!

love, mom

you are 32 weeks old!

this past week has been a bit of a challenge. your cold gave you a snotty nose and makes it a little hard for you to breathe when you lay down at night. we hope you get better soon, and i'm sure the neighbor hopes so too, since her bedroom is on the other side of the wall, and i'm sure she hears you cry almost as clearly as we do.

the good news in that regard is that we are buying a house, so you can scream all you want without waking the neighbors! well, as long as you're inside, i suppose. if everything goes as planned with inspections and appraisals and loans and whatnot, we will be moving in a month or so. i can't wait to paint your room a pretty color! i have some ideas that i think you will like.

sam has been trying to keep you entertained, and despite your crankiness, he's been doing a pretty good job at it. he has been sharing his toys with you and telling you everything will be okay and that he "won't leave you."

sometimes the only thing that makes you happy is a bottle of water to drink. i guess all the dripping snot is depleting your internal water reserves. have i mentioned yet that we hope you get better soon?

love, mom

you are under the weather.

poor little thing. it always makes us sad when you don't feel well.

your nose started running yesterday, and you had a really hard time sleeping last night, because of all the snot. you hate the snot sucker thingie, and when i use it, it only makes you cry and produce more snot. a no win situation if i ever saw one. needless to say, we didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night. tonight, i had to swaddle you tight to get you to sleep. you haven't been swaddled in a couple months, but it seemed to do the trick.

you look particularly pitiful in this picture, with glistening snot all over, and a dribble of tylenol out of the corner of your mouth. holding the bottle of medicine seemed to offer some consolation.

love, mom

Happy first 4th of July!

i'm not sure how crazy you were about the holiday. i think you preferred being inside, wearing your flag shirt and biting your fish and hanging out with sam.

the fireworks made you cry, but it was also past your bedtime. i doubt you'll enjoy it a whole bunch more next year, but maybe the year after that!

you are 31 weeks old!

daddy says you are starting to look less like a baby and more like you. that is a good thing, because you are very cute!

you have been hearing a new thing the past few days. a stern "No, Elisabeth" when you try to grab and chew on things you shouldn't, like grass, and dirt, and wires. i'm not sure you like to hear that very much. you seem surprised when you do.

you are a very sweet and cute little girl.
love, mom

Happy Seven Months Birthday!

well, sorta. it was wednesday. the camera has been full, and we have been busy busy busy, so we are a few days late.

wednesday was also daddy's birthday. he is 408 months old, and you are 7 months old!

you have definitely grown, because i can hardly lug you around in that baby carrier anymore.

you're great about just going with the flow and entertaining yourself, as we learned in the past week or so of running around, looking at houses, etc. etc. we still haven't found one, by the way, but we will.

if i set you up, you can hold yourself in the crawling position. now it's just a matter of time before you can do it by yourself!

the veggies count is up to 2. carrots and sweet potatoes. you prefer sweet potatoes, and i don't blame you.

the past month, you have really turned into a pretty laid back little girl, although you still let us know when you don't like something. you are stronger and prettier and smarter every day.

here is a picture of you at a sweet and sassy 7 months.

love, mom