Zia: her sixth month

A proper 7 months post ;)  

Zia has grown So Freaking much in the last month.  She's cruising like a champ.  She's speed crawling everywhere.  She started Climbing The Stairs.  And one day after she turned 7 months, she started saying Mama :)))

She hasn't really been a big babbler.  I mean, she talks, a lot, but it was mostly just vowels, noise.  I figured she'd be a typical second, a late talker (P talks enough for all of us;)  She did start, right around turning 6 months, saying "va-va" when she wanted me.  (Yes, Dale, this made me thing of you, and your mom and Ella.  And that we would, someday, with luck, be "Va's" ourselves :)  But that would be so young to equate a sound with a person, I assumed it was finally consonants coming in.

But that was it.  No, mamamamama, dadadada, bababa, like her big bro.  Then, she just turned to me and said, "Mama."  It was so sudden, I totally wrote it off as the beginnings of her babbling.  The next day when E had her, she said it again, asking for me.  He was sure it was purposeful, I was sure it was the beginning of babbling.  Despite the fact that it was Mama and not Mamamama, he pointed out.  A few more times that day, each time when she was crawling to the kitchen, searching for me, and I thought, maybe....  Another few days and now I'm convinced, the girl knows Exactly what she's saying ;)  

And that she enjoys mushing bananas.  Even if little goes into her mouth.  And licking (of course) her new front teeth.  They are so sweet and tiny.  And she spent their first days sticking her tongue out over them (over and over and over again) to get used to the new objects in her mouth.  Apples and carrots to gnaw on are now off limits, as she bites off more than she can chew (leading to a scary choking episode.  blech.)

And speaking of choking.  She is really playing with sounds.  She has started this dramatic breath intake thing that sounds like she is positively Dying and can't get air.  It freaks. E. out.  But really, what can you expect when the person she worships does dramatic death scenes multiple times a day ;)

What else...  Her hair is really coming in.  And it appears to be settling on a reddish, ginger tint.  Her eyes are a strange, steely grey.  Her toes are constantly mud covered, as she loves nothing more than crawling around the damp outdoors.  Her knees are red and rug burned, despite the baby legs.  Her temples are typically decorated with bruises from crashing into things.  And she is busy all. day. long.

Mt. Tabor.  Baby heaven.  Red hair ;)

She Loves to stand and play with the abacus.

P is so awesome.  Yes, he gets totally frustrated with her (like today, when she fell. apart. in the car after the house signing.  We couldn't bring her back from crazyville (and he'd been doing his best to entertain her) so he announced, "I'm Done, Zia!  I Quit!"  Then, when she kept bawling he calmly informed me he wanted to kill her and dump her in the garbage.  hehe.)  And yes, he picks her up and pisses her off.  But, honestly, he's awesome and he's really loving having a little sis these days.  Here, she was busy licking something and he wanted to get her attention.  So he made a trail of toys and laid in their path ;)

Laying in the grass at the new house.  A rare moment of stillness :)

Taming the jungle together.