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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Who Walks at Eight Months? This Kid!

As promised, we have worked to capture Monica's amazing feat of walking at only eight months old.  Here are a couple clips so you can see her in action!



As you can tell in the last video, she was starting to get sleepy, haha!  But don't worry, she got her second wind when we went downstairs and she was jumping all over the couch to try to get to the cat. 

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

You mean you have to use your hands? That's like a baby's toy!

Do you know what movie that is from? If not, click here for the answer.

Monica has started to regularly quote this scene while hanging out in her pen.  Her sweet little baby toys that once captivated her attention - her bees, her monkey, her lion - barely hold her interest anymore. She wants her flashy light-up singing talking remote control and her fancy music table. It's either that or the real TV - ugh!

While letting her rot her brain watching TV is the easiest way to amuse her, JK and I do make a real effort to engage her with her toys and books We resort to the TV as a crutch when we want to have a meal without the Grub Dog begging for us to throw scraps to her in her pen.

So, to shake things up in the toy department, we splurged and bought Monica a few new toys this month.


First lego set!
JK giving building instructions
Monica listening intently
All parts of this toy are great!
  



Yay, a huge tower to knock down! 







What's this??  A caterpillar tunnel?  Awesome!





Look at meee!!!

Umm, Daddy, you're too big for this toy!
Climbing through the door
I'm gonna get you, mama!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Monica's Eight Month Update

Happy Eight Month Birthday, Monica!  I know we're late since the actual day was April 29th, but hey, sometimes life gets in the way of baby blogging. Our little lovebug has had SO MANY developments between her seven and eight month birthdays.  We can barely keep up with all the changes going on around here! First, let's cover the topic of her rapid growth.  While we won't have any official stats until after her 9 month checkup, I do have proof that she is growing!  The picture to the left is from her seven month update, and the picture to the right was taken a couple of days ago - so there are no more than six weeks, at the most, between these two pictures.  Look how much she has grown!
I thank God regularly for my mother's compulsive shopping habits, as Monica is already fitting into her nine month pajama sleepers.   

Milestone Updates & Daily Grub Life Day to day, we're having fun enjoying the lovely spring weather.  Monica's favorite activities include going out back to watch JK throw the frisbees for the dog, and taking long walks around the neighborhood in her stroller. 

The Mobile Grub: As seen in the post Mowing - Beyond the Grub Pen, Monica has been working on her assisted walking skills for a while now. However, this video no longer does her justice, as just last week she took her very first steps on her own!!! I've never heard of a baby walking - or trying to walk - at seven months, and I'm certainly not quite ready for her to be walking just yet. But, as we've all learned, we're operating on Monica's timetable here. Anything can happen at any time. For now, she's always got her dog brother to help her get around, until she fully masters her walking skills.
Mush, mush!
  The Teething (and therefore barely sleeping) Grub: Not to be overshadowed by the major milestone of first steps, Monica is also sporting her first two teeth! The first one came through just days before her 8 month birthday, and the second one followed a few days after. We have had a couple rough days with teething, and sleeping has been a challenge, but we're getting through it together. Oh, and in case you are wondering - yes, in this picture, she is completely asleep in a little ball in the corner of her crib.   Precious!

Lobster, anyone?


The Hungry Grub: Monica is moving away from eating purees and venturing into the world of finger foods. I'm hard pressed to feed her an entire meal of purees without major grumbling. But when I dice some fruits or veggies and let her feed herself, she doesn't make a peep. She'll be eating frozen pizzas with JK and I before we know it! Allowing Monica to feed herself finger foods has greatly improved her coordination and dexterity, and she has just about perfected her pincer grasp - the ability to grasp and manipulate objects her with thumb and forefinger. While exciting, this also means we have to increase vigilance around our home and when visiting others - the ability to grasp small objects also means that she can more easily get them in her mouth, which can be dangerous.  

The Talkative Grub: As if all of these physical developments weren't exciting enough, Monica started "talking" to us this month. She's been saying "dada" and "mama" nonstop. While sometimes she is just babbling, she is definitely starting to use her words to make the actual association with each of us, as she will call us by name when we leave the room, or if one of us is gone from the house for an extended period of time. She is also working on her "b" sound as "bababa" is her newest babble.
Hello, Mama
It's been very easy to get wrapped up in all the fun with Monica, but I promise to give her blog updates more attention and keep everyone posted more regularly.  We're trying to get a decent video of her walking to share with our followers :)  For now, it's almost dinner time, so I'd better go scrounge up some grub for the Grub.  Peace out!