8 Months!

Amelia has blossomed lately and I find myself really enjoying her company these days. A couple of call outs on her milestones:

• Vocally: There is suddenly a new voice in the house. She is much chattier than she has been and is exploring getting attention any way she can. She still adores anything her brother does - all he has to do is fake laugh to get her to real laugh.
• Mobility: she is everywhere and up on everything. She is full blown crawling everywhere, can kneel without issues, and pulls herself up on most things if it is low enough, sturdy enough, and there is traction on the floor. She has a bit of an issue on hard wood floor, but that is to be expected. She has gotten just as comfortable putting herself down as she is pulling herself up - so she no longer gets stuck standing in the crib (which is nice). Given, her dismount is more a product of gravity than grace, but at least she can do it.
• Teeth: she has 2 (picture below) and seems to be less in pain lately.
  
• Eating: man can she. We haven't had any problem introducing new foods and we haven't found anything that she won't eat yet. I am sure we will, but for now, feeding her is very easy. She has been very good with the teething biscuits so we started her on finger foods and Miles thinks its hysterical as she flicks cheerios off her tray, but she's starting to pick them up and is really enjoying eating them.
  
• Motor skills: like Miles at this age, she is starting to figure out waving goodbye and high fives. it's really fun to get that level of interaction with her.
• Overall communication: she is pretty good at telling you exactly what she needs. The other day I needed to take a phone call while I was carrying her so I put her down. She literally crawled after me crying. It couldn't have been more clear if she had put it in sky writing that she wanted me to hold her.
• Object permanence: she's got it. You can see her drop a toy off her high chair and look for it over the edge. Seriously cute.
• Temperament: she is a wonderfully determined and happy little love. She seems very eager to keep pushing her boundaries, but will also sit back and just enjoy herself. She is quick to belly laugh and is loving that she can now get our attention through means other than cries.
• Sleeping: its better!!!! It may be her age, or that she has gotten over the excitement of some of her new tricks, or that her teeth are doing better - but her sleeping has gotten much better. She still gets up some, but not as often. She will sometimes go 10 hours without waking. Last night she was asleep by 7, woke up at 4:30 for a quick nurse, and then was back asleep until 7.... a schedule I can keep in perpetuity.
  

I adore my little bug, and can't really imagine a time without her. She has established a very firm place for herself in our crazy household, and our family is whole. Happy 8 months, Sweet Girl!!

TWO TEETH!