Laine at Eight Months

Changes everyday. Since turning seven months, Laine has tasted mango, blueberries, prunes, peaches, quinoa, green beans and even cinnamon (added to her morning oatmeal!) She's a confident sitter now, hops up on her knees and rocks back and forth, and will be crawling any day. Just yesterday she got from her tummy into a sitting position before I even knew what was happening. She's been busy playing with her tongue (and anyone else's who is willing to stick theirs out,) and can "click" it. On Father's Day she clicked her tongue, Jayson clicked back, and she clicked back to him! It went on for quite some time and I had to come sit near her to see that it wasn't just Jayson making the noise--it was so loud that I didn't believe it was her doing it!
Laine very much enjoys watching the baby in the mirror. She shrieks and laughs and waves her arms, and tries to grab that other baby! She really enjoys other REAL kids too. At our PEPS meeting on Friday, Laine came on a little strong towards two of the baby boys. She talked so loudly and was so excited that she made them cry! She isn't always so animated with lots of people around--this is a new thing--her voice is very strong and I think she will be better at asserting herself than her mommy is.

Even though she's not really crawling yet, she still gets herself around. On Sunday while Jayson and I were getting ready for the family to arrive, Laine backed herself under our bed. Just the other day she moved one hand forward...her knee forward...her other hand forward...and then stopped just short of moving that other knee to make it a real crawl!

She also has her two top teeth in. The one on her left came in first and about three days later the other appeared. I think another is bubbling under the surface, as we've had some unexplained fussiness the last few days. On Thursday night, she woke suddenly at about 8:00 and cried and cried. We gave her some Tylenol and then she laid her head down to rest on my shoulder and put her thumb in her mouth. This may not sound like much, but this is my little lamb who isn't much of a cuddler. Even as a tiny baby she didn't want to sit back and be cradled, she was happier sitting up and facing her adoring public. It's been MONTHS and MONTHS and MONTHS since she fell asleep in my arms, but on Thursday she decided she wanted a cuddle. I sat in the chair in her room and rocked her. At first, she laid her head down and sucked her thumb, but every few seconds she'd pop her head up and twist around, looking out her bedroom door to see where Daddy had gone. After she settled down, she sucked on her thumb and after much movement and repositioning on her part, she ended up laying in my arms and falling asleep. She sucked her thumb until it fell out of her mouth. She smiled in her sleep, something I haven't witnessed since she was very tiny. I was in her room rocking her for almost an hour, and every minute of it was wonderful.