Crazy busy

Refer to my previous post A Day in the Life, for a flavor of how CRAZY BUSY it has been. I don't think I've had an uninterrupted 8 hours of sleep since... I'm not sure when, maybe there were some when I was on maternity leave 8 months ago. We put our house on the market in April, and were fortunate enough to get a contract on it in July. We have been planning to take the baby on a vacation to Yellowstone and Grant Teton when she is 11 months old, to travel with my brother, who lives out West and has never met her. So it happens that we'll be moving just 1-2 weeks before going on our weeklong vacation! Don't have a thing packed, and don't know where we're moving yet. We found a house we like and should know if we'll get it in several days.

My professional license lapsed and I got a week off work to get it reinstated, that was the turnaround time, had to recreate the packet and get 20 additional CEU's as penalty for the lapse. I enjoyed my time with the baby while waiting, we had about 14 house showings that week, so, as always, busy!

Elena's first tooth broke through around 8 months, and now she has the middle two on the bottom growing in. I never realized it takes weeks and weeks to grow a full tooth, I thought it popped out in a few days.

She is crawling, pulling to standing, and able to stand unassisted sometimes. The videos below show her doing some of these for the first time.  She does a great job of walking when we hold her hands, and she's a pro in her walker. She loves to zoom through the kitchen, to build up speed and pull her feet up, and loves to crash into things, including us! Forget ankle-biter, she's an ankle-crasher! It's so incredible to see where she chooses to move, since she's more interactive now, to see her little mind at work.

Growth is slowing now, so she is still in size 3 diapers, and size 18 months, or 18 +. At her 9 month visit she was 22 pounds, still in the 75-90% for height and weight. She still takes 2 naps a day, up to 2 hours each one, and eats 3 meals and 3 snacks.

She loves to interact with the environment, like help mommy close the refrigerator, or turn a light on or off, push her high chair tray off when she is done, etc. When we say "no," she thinks it is a game, so she does it even more and giggles wildly. I suppose it depends on what it is, other times she really gets her feelings hurt. She waves hello and goodbye. She makes all sorts of fun noises, we'll go back and forth "talking" - snuffling with her nose, she'll blow raspberries on you, she can say "dada," and variations thereof. One of my favorites is when she gives kisses, they are big, open-mouthed wet kisses on your face!

She cries around strangers, especially if they hold her too soon. And just the other day I noticed she was frightened by the thunderstorm, and kept clinging to me like a monkey. And she can cry and even sob when she doesn't get what she wants, and I must sheepishly admit that I have to laugh at the silliness of her crying at such trivial things. She does cry like a baby, afterall.

She loves all electronics - tv screens, computer screens, and would watch them if you let her. She understands how powerful the remote control is, and when she plays with it she points it at the tv and presses the buttons!! She also knows the cell phone gets a lot of priority attention, and she loves that the screen lights up and can hear other people talk when I put it on speaker, and she giggles when I use the phone. Now I understand why they make cell phone, and laptop toys for babies!

Just a reminder that if you receive this update via email, to click on the link to my blog at the bottom of the page, otherwise, you will not be able to view the 6 videos below.

July 2011. Walking with her push walker.  well, it's more like taking one tiny step.
  

July 2011 Standing  at her activity table,

Her first crawl so we whipped out the video camera and then she didn't do it again.  Guest appearances by Laurabree, Keith, and baby Ethan!  7/30/11


Standing on her own!  1st time.  7/30/11


Kissing momma and waving


8/5/11 Crawling, waving. She makes all these funny noises, but is apparently camera shy, or smart enough not to embarrass herself on film. She just lets me do it.