8 Months Old (and then some!)

Time for a baby update... Alyssa is doing something new every few days!

She has started crawling! She started by moving forward or backward several steps before deciding that she would rather just roll to her destination. It was pretty awkward for her, and so cute to watch! While she is testing out her skills, she occasionally pulls off some yoga poses... she does a mean downward dog! On Friday, she started for real. She is already able to cross the room with her new skill.

She has learned how to feed herself snacks. She LOVES Cheerios and Gerber snack puffs. She gets so excited when you put a bunch in front of her that she usually squeals and grabs some with each hand. It has been a real treat for Mike and I because we are able to eat in peace! We've even ventured out to eat and had great success. Yay for babies entertaining themselves!

Over the weekend, she has figured out how to pull herself up to her knees by holding the couch or the stairs. Mike said she even figured out how to pull herself into a sitting position! He found he crying yesterday morning at about 2:45 holding her blankie and sitting up. He thinks the poor baby had a nightmare or something :-(.

For a few weeks we have had a little babbler in the house. She started with bababa and mamama around Christmas. She has recently started with dadada and it hasn't been quiet since! She likes to shriek and squeal when she is tickled with herself (which is very often since she is so busy trying new things). Just yesterday she shrieked as we sped up to get on the highway... she has always liked high-speed driving, and now she can tell us so! We're not sure that anything she has "said" qualifies as her first word since it sounds mostly like babble and isn't really associated with anyone or anything. Thoughts, anyone?

I am sure there is something I am forgetting, but it will have to come later!

I never put these pictures anywhere except the photo gallery... Christmas Card photos! They are some of my favorites!

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