It's hard to stay stressed, though, because our Peanut has just exploded with personality and amazement. She is such a miracle to behold, and my heart just sings every time I see her.
First, she's movin' and groovin'! The crawling appeared pretty suddenly, a couple weeks ago. As summer wound down, Elizabeth would "assume the position" whenever I placed her on her tummy, but would soon get ticked and cry until I rescued her. Then, she started scooting backwards. Then, all of a sudden, one day she was scooting her little back end behind her as she lunged forward on her arms, getting gradually more and more coordinated until now, when she is officially crawling. That girl can cover a lot of ground--we'd better watch out!! Babyproofing needs to begin in earnest. She is such a joy to behold as she buzzes along the floors. I can tell how proud she is of herself. She knows she is on an exciting adventure and she just can't wait to see what will be around each new corner. (I just need to keep my floors clean...darn dog hair...)
She has become the little scientist, constantly experimenting with her surroundings. Her latest favorite method of exploring her environment is banging anything together that she can find--a pot and spoon (a wonderful kitchen amusement when she hangs out while I cook), toys against one another, her own little spoon against the high chair try, sometimes objects against her head--really :) She focuses on the tiniest details of things. Like spinning little parts on her toys, or poking at the spout on her sippy cup--all the while looking completely and utterly enthralled. 
She is SO busy and excited these days that often she refuses to slow down. This past weekend, the girl took a grand total of an hour of naps on Saturday, and a HALF HOUR on Sunday. It was ridiculous--she just would not settle down. Also within the last couple weeks, for the first time in her entire 8 months of life she occasionally refuses to nurse. Many times lately when I put her in position, she starts screaming and writhing. Interestingly, this has only happened on weekends. My peanut has gotten wise to the fact that weekends are her time with Mommy and Daddy--and darned if she'll stop for even 5 minutes to eat!As cheesy as it sounds, the more Elizabeth interacts with her world and shows her delight in it, the more I fall in love with her. This little person who started out as a helpless infant who slept and ate, has turned into an enormous personality for all her little 14 and some pounds. She is beyond incredible. We can't get enough.
