So many new things!!!

Ugh! It's been forever since I updated. Wow. Audrey is over 8 months old now. So many new things to write about! She's napping so I'll try to get as many things in here as I can.
- She's doing pretty much everything except crawling forward. She's pretty good at getting around with scooting, rolling, and maneuvering to sitting position. She'll just face plant forward... lol
- She seems to like light touch massage. If she is fussing when on the changing table, I'll lightly tickle her skin and she'll get very still and quiet. :)
- She sings along with music sometimes. Like with her stuffed animals that sing the abc's or with other music. So cute.
- She's mastering the pincer grasp a little better. She likes to pick up pieces of food and feed herself. She really is not a fan of being spoon fed. She wants to do it all herself. She loves crepes.
- She really likes to pull herself up to standing position. She's trying to pull up on stuff all the time, including my hands/legs, the crib railing, her singing world toy... etc.
- She doesn't seem to be a fan of the elephant noise. She screams and looks scared!
- Ugh, screeching is something she is doing all the time. Happy, sad, mad, if she wants something, etc. It's awful! I'm hoping she can start picking up on some sign language soon so she can communicate that way instead, because I'm going deaf.
- We are working on nap time and letting her put herself to sleep. I've had some success with putting her in the pack n play to play for a bit and then she gets sleepy and goes to sleep. Only a few times now and it didn't work today, but it's progress.
- Definitely more teeth starting to come in on the top. It looks like possibly 3 or 4 at once! She has some rough nights sometimes because it seems to hurt. :(
- She tries to help turn pages when reading a book sometimes.
- She will mimic coughing or raspberries sometimes and it's so funny.
- Peekaboo will make her laugh and she did it by herself for the first (and only time so far) at Dad and Pat's vow renewal. Caught a little bit on video, have to try to post it. I think she liked the reaction she was getting from everyone.
- She loves to touch things with her pointer finger. If you hold yours out to her, she'll put her little finger on yours. So cute. She also likes to do this when she is nursing.... I try so hard not to laugh when she puts her little finger on my nipple. Lol.
- In one of her books, there are pictures of leopards (The Great Monkey Race) and she points at them a lot. I think she likes them. :)
- She talks to the kitties. She likes when they meow and it seems like she is trying to meow back.
- She also tries to get their attention if they aren't looking her way.
- She's been rolling right over to her tummy with her butt up in the air when I put her down for bed at night. I also tend to find her pushing up on her arms or sitting up when I go in in the middle of the night. She is still waking once or twice per night. I think because of teething and because she gets into these positions and seems to not be able to get comfortable again. I'm still nursing her most of the times she wakes, unless it's before midnight and Brian can get her to settle. Sometimes that doesn't work though, so in I go.
- She's bitten down while nursing several times. Usually my reaction surprises her and she stops right away, wide-eyed. I say "no thank you, all done" and put it away. Doesn't really seem to be too much of an issue though. We'll see how it goes once those top teeth come in. I can usually tell if she is thinking about biting if I watch her mouth. It seems to be at the end of the nursing session when she is done anyway, and just playing around.
- When she is in the pack n play, she likes to scratch her nails on the mesh sides. She likes if I do it too and when Mayhem is putting her paws on it, she thinks it's funny. Mayhem is constantly trying to jump in there with her. Audrey finds it entertaining. :)

Well, that's everything I had on my list. I'm sure there is so much more that I'm forgetting.... We are still working on trying to increase solid foods. It's tough when she won't take any spoon feeding. I'm just trying to offer more finger foods throughout the day for her, since she prefers to do it herself. Sometimes I have success with spoon feeding if I let her hold onto the spoon with me, while I guide it into her mouth. Either that, or she has her own spoon to play with while I try to get a second spoon with actual food on it into her mouth. She loves greek yogurt but still doesn't really like me to spoon it to her that much. She loves crepes! She likes feeding herself baby puffs. We've done green beans, cantaloupe, waffles, toast, pancakes - usually cut into little pieces for her to nibble or big pieces she can hold and chew on. Oh and pizza crust! She loves gnawing on that. My sister came up for a visit a couple weeks ago so that was fun. Hmm... what else? The weather is warm this week, and it's awesome! Gets me excited for spring and summer and playing outside with Audrey. I don't think it will be long before she is walking all over the place. Aggh!! Time is going by so fast. She's nearly one! We've retired her swing. She's not really into it anymore. We set up her high chair. Put away her crib mobile. I rearranged her room a little bit yesterday. Have to go through clothes again. Need to take out her 9 month stuff. She can still wear most of her 6 month things.

Ok, I should try to shower quickly before she wakes up. :) Til next time! (hopefully it's not too long from now!)

ps - go to http://thepodge.shutterfly.com/ for pictures and videos galore! :)

Teeth!!

my little munchkin has been waking up every 2 hours for the last 3 or 4 nights and i am on the verge of losing my mind with exhaustion... well this morning i discovered 2 little bottom teeth trying to poke out!! Oh my goodness! it's nice to have a known reason, I was starting to worry about what could be wrong. I can't believe she is getting teeth now! Gosh, makes me a little sad. She's growing so fast!

Not sure if I can put a picture from my iPod, but I'll try. :) (can't do it so I came to the computer)



She turns 6 months on Friday. This weekend we'll start her introduction to solid food with avocado. And of course, there will be video so stay tuned!