Fiona is 9 months!

Fiona is now a big 9 month old girl and what a girl she is!!  This month has been marked by explosions in gross motor skills and social skills.  She is increasingly expressing a desire to be part of the the "big kid" fun and play with Elliot and Weston.  This month also saw her learning to crawl and she is now off like a rocket whenever you put her down.  She is a girl on a mission and is heading off where she wants to go.

She has also learned to stand this month and can balance holding on with just one hand!  She clearly has a desire to advance because you can see her catching her balance, getting ready and then letting go with her hand to balance as long as she can without falling.

She is also the owner of two little teeth and a REALLY big gummy smile. She flashes smiles whenever people come home or near her and she is super happy about it!  She is very good natured and mostly happy about most things most of the time. Her favorite game is "tear things out of the play kitchen" as she loves pulling out all the toy kitchen implements to taste each one in succession and then throw it on the ground!

She is getting better about communication, mostly grunts and screams for now but we are working on sign language and increasingly getting the sense that she is understanding what we are saying to her.  She's not ready to follow direction just yet, but it definitely seems like she is listening, paying attending and even comprehending some of what is going on.

With the COVID pandemic, we haven't really gotten to go many places this month but we've been enjoying lots of family time in the house, out on walks, the backyard and the hot tub.

Fiona likes
-Playing with the big kids
-Putting everything in her mouth
-Pulling each puzzel and all there pieces off one by one
-Watermelon!

Fiona dislikes
-Being left alone
-Not being able to play with the big kids
-Diaper changes...she wants to be moving
-Feeding herself...the girl wants you to do the work for her

Fiona new developments
-Crawling
-Cruising
-Pulling to stand
-Being an all around big kids and making us baby proof the house
-Leg kicking tantrums if she is mad
-A huge gummy smile looking up at the sky
-Saying something similar to HI

Fiona is 8 months!

Well - Fiona is 8 months old!! It has been an interesting time as we mostly were at home under a statewide "stay at home" order in the setting of the COVID-19 Pandemic.  This has really limited the amount of places we can go on adventures, but we have been making the best of it!  

Fiona is growing in leaps and bounds.  This month she grew not one, but TWO teeth and has been eating up a storm!! She loves zucchini, squash, yellow zucchini, black beans, broccoli, apples, pears, carrots, tiny bits of turkey burgers, eggs, cheese, avocado and milk!  She is a HUGE fan of eating right now and loves to feed herself, although gets frustrated she cant get food into her mouth fast enough and so we have to spoon feed her in between handfuls of food she puts into her mouth....A growing girl!  

She is also advancing in her gross motor skills and can pull to stand all by herself and is getting really good at rolling around and scooting backwards - although going forwards and/or crawling is still a bit of a work in progress. She is working hard on this and loves to move independently and increasingly wants to move by herself.  

She is vocalizing more and babbles / coos / blows bubbles / screams / laughs all day long.  Her favorite thing to do is watch her brother and sister do funny things and then giggle endlessly.  She is also RIDICULOUSLY ticklish and can't help herself when you tickle her under the chin and buzz her bell.  

She has been riding in the backpack more and more recently and loves to be up high and part of the team as we go on dog walks, putter around in the backyard, take the big kids on bike rides etc.  She has really com into her own as an individual and is developing a personality that is independent, opinionated, funny and determined.  We just love watching her grow!!

New skills this month:

- pulling to stand

- "walking" while holding onto two hands

- rolling all over the place and scooting backwards

- EATING!!!

- giggling and babbling up a storm

Fiona Loves

- EATING (everything)

- Rolling around

- Splashing in the bathtub

- Riding around in the backpack and seeing the world

- laughing at her siblings

Fiona Doesn't Like

- Feeling left out

- Being left behind

- Dogs licking her legs while she eats.  Actually hard to tell if she loves this or hates this

- Having a poopy butt

Look at me...I am ready to crawl

Bubbles are her favorite past time right now!  

Mom...really not so sure about this.