Clara at 8 Months

Height: 28.75"

Weight: 21 lbs. 4 oz.

What she can do: She can sit independently with increased stability, stand while bracing herself against something (with a spotter), roll around with the best of them, babble (ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-tha-tha-tha), eat efficiently, and give eye contact to anyone who says her name.  She can get up on all fours and rock back and fourth and try to crawl, which usually results in her face-planting into the ground since her arms haven't figured out what to do yet.  If she doesn't like something I'm doing to her (say, wiping her face), she's now figured out how to grab my hands and push them away.  Lovely.  And she got a new tooth yesterday, so we're up to six.

What she likes: She likes standing, the Skidamarink song (she will laugh if you sing it to her), banging on the computer keyboard, pulling my glasses off my face, trying to climb whoever's holding her, and the airplane (I lay on my back with knees bent while she lays on my shins and zooms around).  I've begun to notice that she thrives on being around people.  And she's always good in the church nursery no matter how grumpy she is for me.  It appears that mom gets boring after a while, but it's helpful when other friends or family members are introduced to the environment.  :)  Other babies make her laugh.  She really likes her foam bath pieces.  I usually throw three in her tub at once.  It's funny watching her because she's determined to have all three of them in her control.  This usually means that she puts one in her mouth and then grabs one with each free hand.  The main problem with this is that those other two hands want space in that mouth too.

Sleep: I wish!  Her new tooth may explain a few things.  She has been waking up every hour of the night for the past three nights.  This reminds me of "Baby Think-It-Over" from middle school.  Otherwise her sleep has been mediocre throughout the month.  She wakes up because she works her way sideways and down to one end of her crib where she gets stuck, has to be rescued, and becomes wide awake in the process.

Other information: I have to admit, Clara looks a bit goofy with her new top teeth.  They remind me of the silly pumpkin faces I used to carve for Halloween.  It's still super-cute though.  Yay! for awkward baby stages!