Kitchen Training

I've mentioned in several previous posts that Juliet can crawl at the speed of light and that she generally can't be trusted to stay out of trouble.  This week, her favorite trouble to get into is the kitty food.  Thankfully, she hasn't managed to get any into her mouth yet, but she's gotten more than a couple of handfuls before I could stop her.

Tonight, I wanted to be able to keep an eye on her while I was cooking supper without sticking her in her high chair, so I decided to try a distraction.  I handed her a spatula and a mixing bowl in hopes that the new toys would keep her occupied long enough for me to be able to finish what I was doing.

Success!  Not only was I able to cook supper, I was able to go grab my camera and get some pictures.

Hmmm... this spoon is a little large for my mouth.

I'm a hoarder. I must have all the things in my hands at one time.

Ninja, face the facts.  I'm the center of attention these days.  Sorry, girl.

I need to refine my bowl-licking technique before Mama makes a cake.

I might be drunk with happiness over my new toys.

Eight Months

I'm such a big girl!

At the end of my entry for seven months, I said that I couldn't wait to see what the next month brought.  Whoa.  I was not prepared for all the changes!  Here is a brief overview of Juliet at eight months:

• Juliet weighs 18 pounds and is 27 inches tall.
• She is crawling like an old pro now.  She can crawl, and she can bear crawl.  Both techniques work equally well for her.
• She pulls up on everything.
• She has mastered eating solids (well, baby solids - she still only has two teeth).
• She is obsessed with the cat.
• She likes to play in the dog's water bowl.
• She thinks it's hilarious when I tell her "No!"
• She now sits in the tub like a big girl.
• She will crawl from room to room to find what she wants.
• She understands how to find me when I hide from her (I just hide around the corner, so please don't freak out and think I'm hiding from my infant and thereby leaving her unsupervised for extended periods of time).

Please note that she's grown two inches in one month.  Honestly, I measured her three times today. I got 28.5 inches the first two times and 27 inches the final time.  I simply can't believe that she grew 3 inches in one month, so I'm going with 27.  And I'm also going to believe that the nurse who measured her at 25 inches a month ago mis-measured, too. 

I feel like there are milestones I'm forgetting, but everything is just happening so fast right now!  Today alone, Juliet did the following things:

• Tried to put her finger in the electric socket
• Pulled up on me, then let go and promptly fell backwards
• Pulled up on the toilet and began playing in the toilet water before I could stop her
• Pulled up on the coffee table and then transferred to the couch
• Chewed on my laptop power cord
• Pulled up in her crib and then began jumping

I swear, it's like she's trying to give me a heart attack.  I said before that she wasn't trustworthy.  Now, I just think she's living dangerously.  I know that at some point, she's going to get hurt.  It's inevitable.  And it's how we learn not to do things that are dangerous.  But really, is it too much to ask that she limit the amount of times she makes me gasp in fear to just three per day? Tomorrow morning, I'm going to stick plug covers in all of the outlets.  And put baby proofing tools on the cabinet doors.  There's not much else I can do to keep her safe.  ... Unless I put her in a bubble.  Suddenly, that seems fairly reasonable.

Literally every day now, she is doing something new.  And it is truly the most awesome thing (literal awesomeness, by the way) to watch her brain make connections.  Today, I hid a box of blocks behind my back.  Then, I rattled the blocks.  I watched her think for a second, then I rattled the box again.  She immediately began to crawl around me to see if her blocks were back there.  Her eyes lit up when she saw them. 

Watching these developments is so great.  I sincerely hope that she doesn't give me a heart attack because as much as she terrifies me at times, I really enjoy watching her grow!

Just reading my book in the bath.  It's what all the big girls do.