And in Other News...

We have our first tooth!! Eight months have flown by, and Finny has cut her first tooth. It popped to the surface about a week ago. She hasn't complained one bit. The drool production hasn't increased, either, to my delight. Culinary wise, she has taken on some new foods, including carrots (her new favorite), and peas (her least favorite). Shannon also blended up some sweet potatoes again to see if she might have decided to like those this time. She does. We are venturing into more and more foods for her, and keeping up with the other ones we have introduced. We have also brought Mum-Mums and Puffs into play. She can feed herself these things, and watching her find her mouth has been quite amusing for us. Sometimes the Puffs will get stuck on her cute puffy cheeks, or the Mums will end up sideways and her mouth will get stuck open. We, naturally help her, but laugh in the process, which keeps her giggling, as well. The dogs have also learned where they need to sit in order to get a tasty treat. Finny is very keen on sharing with them. Brody eats more Puffs than Finny does. He is not a dumb dog. Lilly waits until it is over, then helps to clean off the baby. A little dog slobber never hurt anyone.
Our little beast is growing like a weed. She is moving around the floor at the speed of light. Not forward yet, but she can go backwards faster than anyone I have ever seen! We put her down and two seconds later, she is clear across the room. I fear we are going to have to clean off the bottom shelves and the bottom of the coffee table sooner than we had anticipated. She has also started to try to pull herself up. She hasn't quite figured out how to get her little knees under her yet, but I am sure that will come soon enough. We have found her more than a few times kneeling in her crib and holding on to the side, peeking over the railing. It may be time to lower the mattress once again.
Finnian is growing up way too fast, but we wouldn't change anything. She is a loving, smart, stubborn, curious, intense little girl. She figures things very quickly. She is always watching everything around her, seeming to take it all in. She will look at things, then look at us, and look back at whatever it was she was looking at with such wonder and amazement. Her eyes get so big and her mouth becomes a huge gum-filled smile. The sounds she makes are "ooo's" and "aaahh's". It is a big world with so many things to discover, and she has just begun her journey. To be a part of it is so humbling. To watch her see new things and try to figure out what it is, what it does, how it feels, what it smells like, what it looks like, tastes like, how it moves, everything; it has been such an amazing journey for me. I can't wait for every day to discover more with her.
We recently went to visit my sister and her family in Idaho and went to the zoo. Watching her see all the new animals and hear all the sounds was so cool. She even touched a goat! The giggle that came out of her warmed my heart so much, I can't even begin to explain it. She would watch her cousin Caden run around and play and we would feel her squirm like she wanted to do the same. It is going to be so fun when she is old enough to play with C, D and E at the Boise Zoo!
We went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium for Ina's Day (father's day). It was her first time seeing marine animals. She was fascinated by everything she saw. She couldn't take her eyes off the fish and crabs and jellies. A sea lion kept swimming up to the glass and rubbing against it right in front of her. She would reach out for it and try to pet it. The otters were out and she would giggle and reach out and watch them swim and play. I can't wait to take her back when she is a little older and can tell us what she sees and what she thinks about it all.
It is hard to believe that eight months has gone by. Sometimes it feels like it is such a short time, but sometimes not. It feels like she has always been with us, so eight months isn't really a big deal. She will always be our little buggaboo, no matter how old she is. And I will still play on the floor with her, and pretend gravity got the best of me, and squash her like a bug and listen to her giggle and giggle. It really is the greatest sound in the world. I could listen to her giggle forever.