Summer Fun

OK, I have honestly no idea how it is already nearing the end of August here. Where did the summer go?!? Not that I'm complaining - the summer has flown by because we have been having SO much fun! Now that we're able to get out of the house and explore the great outdoors, life is so much more interesting for LL, to say the least.

Since I haven't had a chance to post in quite a while, I'm attempting to remember what has happened in the past few weeks. LL has been busy working on using a spoon and fork on her own. 70% of the food ends up on her lap or places other than her mouth, but she is getting better at it, little by little. This afternoon she decided that the spoon wasn't getting her banana yogurt into her mouth fast enough and so she started shoveling fistfuls of it before I could stop her. Then, she smeared the yogurt into her eyes when trying to rub them. It was quite the catastrophe. Needless to say, I placed her directly into a nice bath to combat the mess most efficiently. =)

She has stood on her own several times now, but just for a couple of seconds at a time. She has also done a sort of sideways step to reach me, but I definitely wouldn't say it was "walking" yet. She seems really close though, and hubby and I have bets on when it will happen.

She waves all the time now, which is absolutely adorable. When daddy comes home from work I say, "Who is home?" She gets big eyes and then waves at him when he comes up the stairs. We also ask her where her puppy (stuffed animal) is or other objects she knows the name of and then she looks around for it, locates it, and waves at it with a big smile. She knows the following toys (will look at them when we say the word): puppy, ball, baby (framed pictures of herself or book with baby faces), water/wa wa (sippy cup), dada, mama, teddy bear, and spoon.

Still no talking, but TONS of babbling in the past couple of weeks. She has said "mama" and "dada" randomly in her ramblings, but it's clear that she didn't direct it toward us or anything. My dad tells the story of how he was really concerned that I wasn't starting to talk yet (not sure how old I was at the time) but then one day I started and never stopped to this day. He half-jokingly explains that he should have been careful what he wished for. And when I say "half-jokingly" I actually mean "completely seriously". =) So, perhaps it's not a negative thing that she isn't talking yet. If she's like her mommy, poor hubby won't be able to get a word in edge-wise from here on out.

Here are a couple of photos from the past month that I haven't had a chance to post until now...

Her second experience with a Flavor Ice was, apparently, an exciting one.

First pig tails!