8 Month Update

Laura is crawling everywhere and getting into everything :) She especially loves pens and pencils. As hard as I try to keep all of them off the ground, she seems to sniff them out. Then she gets very upset when I take them away from her. Ironically, all the other kids always complain that they can never find pens or pencils to do their homework; I should just tell them to have Laura crawl around for a few minutes and she will find them one.

She loves walking around with people holding her hands. Even Eva has figured out how to help her walk. Laura even stands on her own for a few seconds at a time! I'm betting she'll be walking within a month or two at the most.

She is starting to talk a bit. Her favorite word is Dada. She also says Mama and something that sounds an awful lot like hi.

No teeth yet, which I am fine with. As she is still nursing, I have no problem if she doesn't get teeth for another year ;) She eats lots of solids, but obviously prefers nursing. She sits in her highchair at the table every night as we eat dinner and gets extremely upset if everyone else has food in front of them and her tray is empty. She insists on feeding herself. If she doesn't like a food, or if she is full, she will spit out whatever is in her mouth. Any time I wonder if it's really worth it to have a dog in the house (sometimes six kids seems enough), all I have to do is feed Laura and the need to keep Simon around becomes glaringly apparent. He's like a mop and vacuum in one and cleans up her high chair in minutes :)

Laura loves crawling around, but she still prefers being held, especially by me or Megan. She's started reaching for Daddy too and gets excited to see each of the other kids. She gives hugs by laying her head down on my chest or shoulder. They are one of my favorite things :) She gives kisses to me too, by blowing raspberries on my cheeks and chin.

She loves music, especially "The Reason" by Hoobastank. Any time she's screaming in the car, all I have to do is turn on "The Reason" and turn it up and she settles down. A girl after my own heart :)