Grace - Eight Months Old

The last two months in three words: Cuter. Happier. Chunkier.

The last two months in a lot more words:

Six months old

When Grace was six months old, she mastered sitting, began to pull to standing, began to say "mama" and "dada" (as opposed to "mamamama" and "dadadada," but without knowing what they mean). She displayed some major stranger anxiety for a couple of weeks, though being around students, coworkers, neighbors, and family all the time has really helped curb that anxiety.

When she was six months old, her favorite things included chilling in the stroller while I went on a walk or a run, playing with Auntie Jen (our housemate who she absolutely adores), tickling sessions, gumming on broccoli stems, and taking her vitamin D drops. Seriously, when I give her vitamin D, she kicks, smiles, and even giggles. When she doesn't feel like laying still for a diaper change, all I have to do is hand her her vitamin D bottle and she begins to gurgle and coo like a content two month old. You can't make this stuff up.

At six months old, Grace also detested being on the ground. She spent the day in my arms, being spotted while standing, or in her high chair.

Seven months old

When she was seven months old, Grace learned to wave goodbye, her first two teeth appeared, she caught her first cold at her cousin's first birthday party, and she sprouted just enough hair to make the tiniest, dorkiest ponytail. She has also begun to scoot on her belly to get to objects out of reach, though she rarely does it and she gets incredibly frustrated in the process. She really hates anything physical, except standing. She could spend the whole day standing. Today, she even started cruising a little. I keep wondering if she's going to bypass crawling and go straight to walking.

On Saturday, we had our first official parenting scare when, after some prolonged fussiness, Grace's entire breakfast came up out of her mouth along with a penny. My mom who is a pediatric nurse practitioner told me all that could have happened to her had the penny made it to her stomach or if she had breathed the penny rather than swallowed it. That night, Michael and I thanked God for taking care of our little human piggy bank.

What are Grace's current favorite things? She has a magnetic attraction toward anything that children aren't supposed to play with including flames, plastic bags, and strings (see the picture above of her playing with her favorite toy - a balloon, especially the string). She also enjoys being read to, eating pears and applesauce, eating in general, standing, and drooling. She loves going to the grocery store to observe the endless interesting objects. She still is a total nature girl and she loves anything water related including playing in the tub, drinking from a cup, watching water run out of the tap, etc.

Grace's typical day involves three meals, five nursing sessions, and two naps of a little over an hour each. She goes to sleep at 7:30ish, wakes up at 6:30ish to nurse, and turns back in for another hour or two.

It is an incredible joy to be Grace's parent. We love her dearly.

California's Fall Colors

Hats off to the thorny, rebellious tree up the street who, just when leaves should be dying and falling, puts out a shockingly pink display that screams, "It's spring!"

Each individual flower is enough to make me stop and admire.

These show stopping flowers fill each thorny branch.

All adding up to the most spectacular autumn display.

Fun Moments with the Baby

Being a parent is a ton of work and a ton of joy. Here are two moments of laughter.

Eating solids often gets Grace's bowels moving. Her utter concentration and shamelessness while pooping always makes me laugh. Here's her poop face. No dignity!

  

Michael often gets Grace rolling with laughter. Here's a video of her delight in seeing him disappear and reappear over and over.

Why I Blog

This month marks the completion of my third year of blogging!

Three years ago, the thought of starting a blog entered my mind. A few days later, I came up with the title, Scattered Snippets. My first post (of now almost 200 posts!) has become the bane of my blog's existence. It's gotten more hits than any other post from people finding it via Google searches of the phrase "heirloom pumpkin carving."

I began blogging to keep a record of happenings in my life primarily for the close friends and family who were scattered across the world. After blogging for three years, I've realized that I do it for so much more than that. Here's why I blog.

I love the creative challenge of taking an experience and transferring the attendant concepts, thoughts, and feelings into words. Like the incredible nausea and joy of my first trimester. Or the story of how we got our crooked Christmas tree.

I love trying to capture the essence of the subject in a photo, or a few photos, and placing them in just the right spot alongside the words. Like the challenge of making applesauce look tasty. 

I love looking back on the memories that I've chronicled that I would otherwise forget. Like what Grace was like at two months old. Or all the ways God guided me after law school. Or our first gardening attempts.

I love knowing that people read it. I love knowing that certain people, especially my grandparents, get to see a little bit of my life. And it's satisfying to know that my little "scattered snippets" occasionally provoke thought or action in someone else, even if it's just a few people trying out my mom's enchilada recipe.