Jill is 8 Months Old

Well, Jill has now reached 8 months of life on the outside.  She likes it pretty well, most especially those things involving water; drinking it, bathing in it, splashing it, etc.   We're still working on some sleep issues (Jill doesn't like to take naps, and won't go to sleep unless she's swaddled and rocked in our arms)  but other than that we've got a perfect little angel on our hands! We found a new pediatrician whose office is clean and nice, and who was more interested in Jill than in Steve's job, so we're very excited about him. He tried to advise us to lose the swaddle and pacifier, but I think he must be a sadist for suggesting such a thing! We are working on the swaddle, but the pacifier stays for now.

Jill was weighed at his office, and she's now over 20 pounds!  She was 20lb. 12oz. that day, but fully clothed and in a wet diaper.  We'll get a more accurate weight next month at her 9 month appointment.  This heavy kid is wreaking havoc on my arms and hands, so she'd better learn to sleep on her own soon because after working to get her down I can hardly move!

Other than that she's doing well.  We tried finger foods last week, giving her some soft pear pieces, since pears are her favorite food.  She HATED them!  She panicked every time she got one in her mouth and gagged so hard she threw up.  Oops!  We've been trying more foods including pieces of organic Cheerios (Purely-Os), and we've been met with the same response. Steve says I'll be pureeing her food until she's in college, but I think she'll get the hang of it at some point!  It's really hard to find dissolvable snacks made with organic ingredients.

She's still not crawling yet, but is pulling herself around on her tummy and with that combined with rolling she can get wherever she needs to go (and some places she doesn't) in a hurry.  Hopeful that we'll get the sleep/nap thing worked out soon, we're having a great time with our big girl!  

She loves to go for walks in the stroller (with Mommy in the daytime) and in the backpack (with Daddy in the evening).  She gets all excited and kicks when it's time to go outside.  It's just too bad that our little park up the street doesn't have a swing because I'm sure she'd love that too.  She also loves Henny, and tried to eat Henny's foot last week.  She tries to share her toys with Henny, holding them out until Henny takes them and runs away.  Henny then brings them back in an attempt to get Jill to chase her.  Ahh, soon enough that will be happening and then Henny's in real trouble!  

Jill is the sweetest little thing, and we are in love with her.  Here are some photos and video of our new 8 month old.  Enjoy!

Ready for breakfast

sitting with Great-Grandma

morning fun

making a mess

Loving to chew the spoon

Eatin' My Shoes

Nothing says "yum" like some good shoe leather

Uh oh, which one do I choose?

this one looks ripe

Just about to bite in

Tasty goodness!

More Cuteness

I just uploaded photos from the other camera and came across these gems.  Enjoy!

Playtime with my book

Morning nap with Mommy--we do this every morning (Mommy needs it)

Henny fell asleep at playtime...ask her whose blanket that is

Chewing a duck while sitting in a duck!

I WILL fit, just look at how I can wedge myself in here!

As Promised...New Video!

Happy Valentine's Day and 7.5 Months Old

Here she is! Enjoy the photos. I'll add video soon; she's so active now that I've got a ton!

Blowing raspberries after dinner

She was saying, "Blah Blah Blah"

Happy Valentine's Day everyone

She loves her mural

playing on the blanket

25 Things About Jill

Since this is going around, we thought Jill should be able to participate, even though she doesn't have her own Facebook account. Here are 25 very interesting, wonderful, and important things about our little Jilly.

1. She is 196 days old today.
2. She is a future alumnus of Cornell University's School of Veterinary Medicine (according to Steve).
3. She will be working hard to get there.
4. She loves her dad. She calls him "Favorite Daddy" and sometimes she cries when Mommy takes her away from him.
5. She loves to drink water out of her sippy cup, and can now do it herself.
6. She drools all the time.
7. She has one curly hair on top of her head at the crown. It's the only curl she owns.
8. She started babbling 2 days ago, and says, "blah blah" and "mama" pretty much nonstop.
9. She thinks Mommy's hiccups are the funniest thing she's ever heard and screams with laughter when she hears them.
10. She's fairly stingy with her laughs. We usually only get a "heh" at a time, so the hiccups are a great find.
11. She loves to pull Mommy's hair. We keep telling her that one day she'll have her own hair, but she loves Mommy's the most.
12. She loves to take baths in her inflatable duck. She rolls, jumps, and spins in the duck.
13. She enjoys rubbing her pacifier on things and then putting it back into her mouth. "Things" include Mommy, Daddy, the couch, the changing table, and toys.
14. She has to be swaddled in order to sleep well.
15. She takes a nap on Mommy's or Daddy's chest each morning. She wakes up with crazy hair after this nap.
16. She has a great time hanging out in her ExerSaucer.
17. She accompanies Mommy on shopping trips and keeps things interesting by trying to grab everything she sees.
18. She loves books and listens to at least 8 stories everyday.
19. Henny is very fascinating to Jill, and Jill loves to pet her, pull her hair, and be kissed by her.
20. She loves to hang out in the backpack and go for walks with Mommy and Daddy.
21. She is working on crawling, but as soon as she gets close to the right position she rolls over and gets annoyed.
22. She loves eating, but hates to have her face wiped afterward.
23. Her hair was black when she was born and now it's reddish brown.
24. She still doesn't like riding in the car much.
25. She has a college fund set up (see numbers 2 and 3).