A Message from Mommy

It’s hard to believe that two months have gone by since my last Message. But I’ve been more than a little busy being a full-time working mommy now and trying to juggle parenthood and family life in-between. Despite the ups and downs, so far so good…

We haven’t had a doctor’s visit since August, but I think she now weighs a little over 20 pounds. At 8 months-old she now wears clothes meant for18 month-old babies, so she is definitely growing and growing. Her little body is just adorable, and I love to pat her tummy and hold her chubby little legs and arms.

Her disposition continues to be really sweet and happy. The other day in Safeway the check-out clerk asked me if I thought she would grow up to be a dancer because she had “happy feet.” And when I looked down indeed her little feet were just kicking away and she was as happy as a clam! She still loves to smile, laugh and kiss people. I often get a kiss from her when I haven’t seen her in a while (like when I come home from work or see her first thing in the morning).

She’s just started to crawl. The other day was extra exciting because when I got home from work and sat down on the carpet she CRAWLED over to me! Her crawl is really cute because she still keeps her right elbow down on the ground, but otherwise she has got the move down.

As Scott observed, Calista has divided her world into things that make a sound when shaken and things that don’t. Everything has to be experimented with to see what category they fall into. Naturally, things that make a sound are way more interesting. Even more fun is when two things that make a sound are hit together to make an even different sound! Super cool. She’s an independent girl and can entertain herself for pretty long stretches at a time.

She’s a really good eater and loves yogurt and egg yolks. Her diet is much more diverse than it used to be, but peas are still not her favorite thing. I can’t blame her though – I didn’t start liking peas until I was in my 30’s!

Unfortunately our little missy is waking up in the middle of the night for a nurse…making for a tired mommy in the morning. I really hope this stops soon.

I went to a pre-school fair last week and have pretty much determined that although there are a couple of schools I need to put her on a waiting list for, mostly I can wait until she turns two in 2009. Phew!

When being carried Calista must be facing outwards now – no way can you hold her facing you against your chest. She wiggles herself outwards no matter what. There’s no stopping that girl! She also loves to climb up on people and stand up. And talk a lot. Lots of “wa-wa-wa-was” these days. The other day I caught her holding up a book and making sounds – like she understands you are supposed to verbalize when holding a book. Smart little cookie.

Scott thought it might be fun to make a list of all the nicknames we call her, including

Little Missy/Little Missy Miss Miss
Little Swiss Miss
Cutie Pie
Cutie Petutie
Sweetie Pie
Pumpkin
Pumpkin Pie
Muffin Head
Lovey Bear
Grumpy Bear
Fussy Bear
Munchkin

And I’m sure there are others! In any case, she’s loved very much.