eight months old today! In words

Valerie, you are eight months old today! It was a good day; you are feeling much better from your recent ear infection - your appetite is back, and you are sleeping much better as well (in 3-hour stretches, instead of 1-hour or 20-minute stretches as you had been recently...). You were happy today playing with your new babysitter. You have mastered crawling in the past two weeks, and are showing us all the things we need to baby-proof around the house. You want to pull yourself up to standing but can only get as far as your knees. You are fascinated by things that move and make noise: balls, rattles, and bells. And you looooove doggies. You laugh and giggle when I take you next door to look at the doggie Kai, and your eyes go straight to the doggie calendar Grammy gave us when we walk into the kitchen. You love the little toy dog that goes "ruff ruff!" And, of course, your favorite book is Doggies.

You don't love: being strapped into anything (car seat, high chair...), being dressed (stuffing limbs into tubes!), taking your meds - you've mastered the art of pressing your lips together while crying...

You appear to recognize the words: party, bath, walk, Daddy, Mommy, doggie, snozzle (the bulb syringe), and "quieres mas?"

We love you to distraction and hang on your every word.