Busted Pie: Eight

Let me just start by saying, these shoots have gotten harder as she's gotten older, and this one was near impossible. The light is best around 4 in the winter and our dear old "dada" isn't home yet. Meaning, there are a lot of close-ups, because in between each shot I was keeping this child contained in the chair, as hands were flying - picking up dolls, the chalkboard, tossing stuff on the floor, peering precariously over the side to see where they went; I had one hand on her, or up in the air, shaking things to distract her and a few pillows below her in the event she launched herself from the chair without warning.

(this is me wildly shaking some teething keys over her head)

So, in other words, our curious little miss is on the move. And I am bound and determined to get these pictures. She is bound and determined to dismantle our little set-up. Our first showdown.

(it seems we're already perfecting the "get away from me, mom" face. I'm sure it won't be the last time we see that one make an appearance.)

Please note that her mouth is open in the vast majority of these. That's because she wakes up singing, goes to bed singing, and doesn't stop talking all day long. Honestly, while I find it adorable, it's become white noise around here - as it's literally incessant - and it's only when we're out in public that I realize just what a little chatterbox she is. Though I certainly don't want to crush her sweet, exuberant spirit, in a few situations I've had to start gently encouraging the use of her "indoor voice" as I'm hyperaware that not everyone finds her joyful blabbering and singing as precious as I do. For that matter, I'm hyperaware that no one finds any of these babyhood minutae posts remotely interesting...so thanks for reading, whoever you are! We sure have gained a little following these past few months, in spite of these boring posts.

(check out those long, flowing locks.)

She's repeating some real sounding words now too (but only to the trained ear): Dog, Duck, Georgia (jaja), bee, Dada, and some fleeting "mamas" but I'm not willing to call that one yet. She has called a few pictures of dogs "Jaja" so we know that one is sticking. She loves both the dogs, as Maddie has surprisingly taken quite a shine to her, but I think she and Georgia have a special bond.

Maddie, ever the protector, is always close by,

-but spends much of the time keeping watch for squirrels and other potential invaders, a job she takes very seriously.

Georgia lies next to her as she plays.

Once our silly, simple-minded pup, she's grown wise and maternal.

We think we heard her repeat her name "ediiiiduh" but that's another one we aren't quite sure about. They are always sounded out after we say them. She has also learned "Hiiii!" while waving (repeated a Hiiii Dada! this morning), and though she doesn't always do it on command, it's currently the thing that makes my heart melt a little. That, and the thumb-to-mouth, snuggle into my chest cuddle.

I know I've said it before, but rocking her before sleep is a pure high that doesn't ever wane.

Oh right...and we are teething (again). Those top two are primed and ready.

(snarly upper lip = teething face.)

So, we've graduated from this stage (the stuck and frustrated under chairs stage - not the "assorted yard debris on the floor" stage. Our dogs ensure we never graduate from that stage.). Eliza gets where she needs to go now, though the all-fours crawl just makes flickers of an appearance, in between this impressive plank-forward lunge move that, to us, looks much harder than crawling itself. She's still a little annoyed with the whole affair, preferring instead to cruise coffee tables and perfect the drunk stagger. But this scooting business gets her into things too, and she appreciates that very much.

So, that about sums up life with the two-foot boss these days. Busy, busy - chatty, joyful, mobile, wonderful. I love everything about 8 months. Everything. The spontaneous hugs, the decisive kisses, the confident chattering, those snuggles that freeze time. We cannot get enough.

Mama has been busy too. This little blog, which I've always said would be a smattering of whatever I'm up to (which for the past 8 months, has been pretty much pure baby), may start to skew a little less baby-centric in the coming weeks. There will still be a healthy dose of Miss E. as she grows, as well as more honest ramblings on motherhood. But I'm hoping to throw a little more of my projects and creative stuff in here, as appropriate, since I've recovered a little bit of my long-lost right brain over the past month.