Yeah, we're all sick. But one of us still looks good. Addie Muse, you are flawless.

You also seem to have (finally!) gotten over your ear infections but not yet your cold. And sweetheart, I think all your open-mouthed baby kisses have shared that cold with momma and daddy too.

When babies learn to wave, many begin by opening and closing their fingers with the palm facing themselves. We thought you had started doing this, and we were very excited about it. I used the past tense in that sentence because we've discovered that you may have been asking us for milk. The sign for milk is done exactly the same as the way most babies learn to wave. So, maybe you're waving, maybe you're asking for milk.

Tonight, we went to a potluck at a house with two dogs. You didn't mind the dogs at all. You had no problem with the chocolate lab licking your face. You seemed interested in touching (and let's be frank, probably tasting) the dog. Then one of the dogs tried to sniff the piece of cantaloupe you were eating. You yelled and growled and told that dog who was boss. I was worried you might be afraid of the dogs, but you were just afraid the dog might eat your food!

baby doll

Maybe it's time for your first baby doll. I thought nothing of baby dolls for the first 8 months. But today you lost your mind over the neighbor girl's doll. You screamed and yelled and shrieked and of the 4 moms in the room, none of us could tell if you were happy or scared or angry or sad. But you would not play away from that doll.

Whatever you felt, you felt it intensely. And I think you want your own. Well, we're about to find out!

You love to turn pages. You love to read with us. This morning we cleaned up the whole living room. Put away all the toys and books and balls. The only thing you cared about were the books. You crawled right over and pulled them back out again.

My little bookworm.

Injuries

Over the last week, you have injured yourself several times. My love, you must be careful with yourself. I worked hard to make that perfect little head.

First, I let you play with a pot and wooden spoon. You had great fun, until the pot flipped over (so it was bottom down) and you tried to stand up braced against one side. Pushing down on one side of the rim made the other rim whip up and get you right between the eyes.

Later that night, you were playing on the porch while your dad and I ate, and you grabbed the bike rack that was leaned up against the wall and brought it down on your finger.

Yesterday, you were sleeping so soundly on the couch. I went into the kitchen to grab a glass of water and heard a *THUMP* and then you crying. You'd rolled right off the couch and onto the floor.

Then, you were playing with a spoon and smacked yourself in the forehead so hard that it left a bruise.

Today, you tried to pull yourself up against a toy and knocked yourself into the corner of a wall. Your first goose egg.

In just a few days, you cut the bridge of your nose, cut your finger, bonked your head, bruised your forehead, and gave yourself a goose egg. Either I'm a terrible mother or you're getting to the age where you're going to start hurting yourself all the time.

The best dressed baby on the block

My little 'laide Muse was having trouble going to sleep. You were exhausted but not able to slip over the edge into dreamland, so like any good mom I popped you in our Moby wrap. I got you settled in and then pulled open the shoulder/chest pieces so you could snuggle in. Which you did. You loves your Moby. I covered you up and we walked around the house. Here would be a good time to mention that I have an attention span similar to that of most toddlers. Which is why I get along with most toddlers. Anyway, I had only walked around wearing you for about .2 seconds before I was bored. So I figured I would walk toward campus and meet daddy walking home from class. I'd be putting the baby to sleep, getting some exercise, and doing something nice for my hubby. Win-win-win. I walked out our door, through the woods, and before I got to the sidewalk, my daughter was settled in and dozing lightly. As soon as I met up with my husband, he said something along the lines of "Hi honey! I love walking home with you!" And you jerked her head out of the wrap, looked up at your daddy, and started smiling and kicking your legs and bouncing up and down. You went from cuddled, tired, and dozing to excited, happy and wide awake just from hearing your daddy's voice.

You are so amazing.

I could watch you all day

You have really, really kept us busy lately. You are always on the move, with new things to see and touch and TASTE and do. The other day we went to the park without a snowsuit for the first time. You got to play in the gravel and touch leaves and grass and dirt and rocks. But first, you had to escape the house:

Real crawling!

Oh baby, you can really crawl now! Yesterday morning you woke up crawling on your hands and knees. You didn't do it the day before, or during the night (that I know of) but you had it figured out by morning. Real, belly off the floor, hands and knees crawling. You are amazing.