She Crawls! She Babbles! She Wears Me Out!

Another month and more major milestones. This week, Kate finally figured out crawling forward instead of scootching backwards. The big step in this effort, I now realize, was the amazing feat of sitting up by herself. While visiting Aunt Tami, Uncle Ryan and Gabrielle in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago, Kate learned how to sit herself up from a lying position. So amazing, so cute and yet, so annoying this new milestone... I loved watching her maneuver all over the place, yet what a drag that Kate can sit up when she doesn't want to go to sleep! This is a whole new challenge in the nap arena...especially since I'm no fan of the the cry it out method.

Not that I would have wanted her crawling sooner, I have no doubt Kate was a bit hindered by Aunt Tami's wood floor--very slippery! Once we were home--back on no-slip and very scratchy berber--it didn't take long for Kate to take off. She was taking little "steps" forward at first. Crawling just an inch or two. But by midweek, after returning from running errands one evening, I sat down on the floor to greet Kate before putting her to bed. I placed my cell phone down next to me and guess what? Off to the races--she crawled right to it. And, not just a little crawl. We're talking several inches forward! The next day, I noticed she wasn't so mobile...back to the tiny little efforts forward...until I placed my cell phone out in front of her a good distance away. Again, she crawled right to it. She did the same thing at Grandma's house yesterday with the television remote. So my question, what is it about these electronic devices that babies find so intriguing...so much more intriguing than every toy she owns, despite all of the research that went into the development of the toy? In any case, she's mobile and dangerous. We've managed to get the electrical outlets plugged up, but there are many more dangers lingering about our house that we must now spend next weekend fortifying so that our precious angel of 8 months is protected.

Coinciding with her new found mobility, Kate has discovered the gift of gab. All who know me well knew this would occur sooner or later. But who knew she'd be NONSTOP so quickly?! It started this week with the soft "puh" or "pluh" sounds after nursing, but by Saturday the light turned on and she ba ba ba, ma, ma, ma, be, be, be, etc... in a constant stream. While especially cute, this new feat also is a bit frustrating when trying to put her down for nap time or night time. How do you not smile and talk back? Needless to say, I've cracked open my baby bible..."The Babywhisper Solves all Your Problems" to tackle these new challenges. Of course as soon as I overcome these, I'm guessing pulling up and standing in the crib is next!

After a couple of weeks of short naps and fitful night sleeping, I'm beat and hoping we get back to some kind of sleep schedule before I go insane! Kate and I had a conversation the other day...it went something like this: "Kate, when you don't sleep, I'm not a nice mommy. I don't have as much energy to play and you aren't as cute as when you get a good nap in." She looked at me and gave me her big grin (you see it pictured here). My heart melted and I said, "okay, you do what you want because I'll love you no matter what." And that is the big lesson in this adventure called parenting that I will continue to learn over and over again.