Big changes this month – as Zoe continued to develop and become more of her own person. (A girlie, independent person, that is!) One of the biggest developments, of course, involved her mobility: she spent most of the month rolling and using her tummy and hands to scoot across the floor; more recently she started using her legs to actually crawl – in a very inchworm-like way. (She also likes to get on all fours and move back and forth – kind of like she’s revving her engine. See below.) Her favorite things to move towards? Her yellow whale or duck, and pretty much anything food-related.

Speaking of food, Zoe has proven – in a big way – that she loves to eat. She still enjoys her baby food (cereal, various fruits and veggies, and most recently egg yolk), but she is way more interested in OUR food and drink. Take a bite or swallow of something and she is likely to a) stare at you with huge give-me-some-of-that, puppy-dog eyes, b) open her mouth up VERY wide and start to shake in excitement, or c) actually grab for the food item, bottle, etc. (It’s actually become a bit difficult to eat or drink around her; we have to be very sneaky at times!)

Probably due to her love of food, Zoe has gained a good amount of weight this past month. As mentioned a few days ago, she came in at 19 lbs, 2 oz. at her last weigh-in; and she’s now in the 80 percentile for her age.

Another big development is the immersion of Zoe’s independent, curious personality. As is the case with most babies this age, Zoe is interested in exploring *everything.* If she sees something she likes, she’ll open her mouth, shake her legs and arms and try to make her way towards it. (If you’re holding her in your arms when she spots something, watch out – she’ll lunge!) Unlike in months past, Zoe will also express her displeasure if a desired item drops or is taken away; she’s adopted a bit of a whine, and sometimes she’ll even grunt.

As mentioned here a few weeks ago, Zoe is talking a lot more. She did say “dada” a few weeks back (although it’s unclear she knew exactly what that meant), and she has most recently favored her “b’s” and “v’s.” She tends to chatter most often in the morning, right after having her breakfast of milk, or when she’s in a particularly happy mood. She is also fond of making a half-coo/half-laugh sound when she sees something funny or something makes her happy. She often makes it, for example, when her dad walks into a room and says “hello” to her or when her mom starts singing one of her favorite songs. (Itsy-Bitsy Spider is her current fave.)

Long gone are the days when we could plunk Zoe in a chair or on a bed and have her just sit there and take in the world around her. These days she’s always on the move, and she always wants to part of the action. It makes taking caring of her a bit more challenging, of course (I could, for example, do without the whining); but I think Q would agree that this is her best stage yet.

-M

Vroom, vroom:

This entry was posted on Monday, July 23rd, 2007 at 7:00 am and is filed under 11.Eight to nine months. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.