8 Months

Maddy had her 8-month birthday on the 19th and began crawling forward the very same day. She'd been crawling backwards for several weeks and was so frustrated with the fact that her attempts at mobility pulled her further away from her destination. She'd back herself into a wall or piece of furniture and just about explode with frustration. And then on the 19th, as if she'd been doing it for weeks, those back legs kicked in and propelled her forward four or five "steps" until she got where she was going. It was so funny to me that this didn't seem to surprise or impress her one bit.

Then, the very next day she started clapping. If I say "yeah" or clap for her she'll immediatley start clapping herself. Until now, she's never been interested in mimicking but all of a sudden she's become a master at all these new tricks. It only took one try to get her to wave bye-bye as we close the door to go "night-night". Unfortunately, Dave wasn't home at the time I taught her this so she just waves bye-bye to empty doorways and won't do it when there's a person standing there. Oh well . . . baby steps.

She's great with finger food as long as it isn't too slippery. She could eat bread and cheese all day if I'd let her. She's pulling up to her knees and loving the new vantage point. She also loves to stand but doesn't want anybody holding her up. She doesn't realize she'd fall to the ground if I weren't at least balancing her.

It's been a hot hot summer and i know she's looking forward to cooler days when we can spend more time outside. I can't believe her first birthday is only a few short months away!