Sylvia is 8 months old!

She started the day off in a great mood, but after spending several hours in the car on the way to San Diego, she ended up having a pretty crabby day. I think we've learned our lesson that if we want to actually enjoy our time with friends and family, we should really give her a little downtime after long car rides.

Today's crabbyness aside, she's generally a very happy and sweet baby. She has been coming along with us to meetings and talks, and she often gives us an hour or two before she gets fed up.

She's still just doing that one move - fall - one move - fall psuedo-crawl, and only when there's something she REALLY wants (usually something that she's not supposed to have).

We're in San Diego for baby's first Passover on Monday. When we get back to Santa Barbara, there will be about 11 weeks until grad school graduation, and we'll be moving again before too long. So there's a lot going on!

almost crawling!

Well, Sylvia still hasn't started crawling, but this is pretty much as good...

...it won't be long now...!

Who needs sleep?

...I do, I do!

About a month ago we took Sylvia in for her 6-month check-up. The pediatrician asked if Sylvia was sleeping through the night, and I explained how she she technically sleeps through the night... But I don't sleep through the night because Sylvia sleep-cries 3 or 4 times a night until I pick her up and feed her and put her back down -- but she sleeps through the whole thing! She finally wakes up sometime 6:30-7:30, and our day begins!

The pediatrician said (more or less), "You know, it's not that she needs to eat. She's just used to it. If you stop feeding her in the middle of the night, she'll break the habit and start sleeping through the night."

We were hesitant because we knew that the first couple nights would be rough and the timing just wasn't right to lose sleep. And then we figured we shouldn't try anything fancy right before Canada... or in Canada... or when we were all taking turns having colds after we got back from Canada...

So two nights ago we finally decided to skip at least one of her overnight feedings. And it sucked! But she already seems to be sleeping better. So, we'll see...

Anyway, here are some recent pictures:

Sylvia is 7 months old! (updated)

And cuter than ever!

She has definitely entered the stage of baby-hood where she is a danger to herself and others. She reaches for any and everything within her reach without concern for whether it may be dangerous or perhaps attached to someone (e.g., Mommy's face)... and her reach is a lot longer than you might think for someone who's allegedly immobile.

On the topic of crawling... she can definitely pull herself up onto all fours and support herself, but she's not very consistent or coordinated. I had predicted she'd be an early crawler, but I think the time for that has come and gone. On the other hand, she can use nearby toys/tables/parents' legs to pull herself up from sitting to standing. She can even take steps as long as she has help balancing.

Still no teeth. Which we are happy about, since she does still love to jam our fingers into her mouth and clamp down like a vice.

She has continued eating mashed fruits & veggies - usually one serving a day. She definitely prefers fruit, but she's been pretty accepting of the veggies -- except peas! Man did she hate peas!

We'll have to get back to you on her growth measurements, but it's probably some indication that we've pulled out her 6-12 month clothes and started the process of retiring 3-6 month items as we realize that she's too round for this outfit, too long for that outfit, or this other one just won't fit over her giant head!

*Update: According to our home estimates one day after Sylvia turned 7 months, Sylvia weights about 16 pounds, 11 ounces; she's about 26 inches long; her head circumference is about 17.5 inches.

Beautiful British Columbia

We made it to and from Victoria, BC, Canada. It was the first time that any of us had been to Canada, and it was Sylvia's first time on a plane. The baby-on-a-plane thing was rocky at times, but she mostly did pretty well.

It was really great to see Jeff, Jayne and Kurt! We've missed them all so much... It's hard when you're used to seeing people several times a week, and they up and move to Canada!

I think they were happy to see us, too.

At the beginning, we said that we would not stress out to do a bunch of stuff cuz the point was mostly to get to see each other. We had a lot of low-key time every day when we were just hanging out, chatting, playing with the kids, or napping.

When we got in on the first day, Joel had been there for a little bit after catching a very early flight. We were all pretty tired, so we just hung around the house. For the rest of the trip, we went on about one outing a day.

First, we went to Beacon Hill Park, where we walked around a duck pond and played with Kurt on a playground.

The next day we "hiked" up Mount Douglas. (Actually, we drove most of the way, and walked for maybe 1/4 mile from the parking lot to the summit.)

We went around dusk, and there were some gorgeous views.

Then we stopped by and saw Jeff's office and classroom.

Apparently the university is overrun with bunnies the way that schools here might be overrun with squirrels...

The next day we went to Butchart Gardens, which is like the San Diego Zoo of gardens (i.e., it's huge and awesome).

The next day, we went downtown and walked around the harbor...

...and The Empress Hotel...

...and the Parliament building...

Joel (who has a REAL job) left one day before us. After his departure, we took the kiddies to to the pool at the Saanich Commonwealth recreation center. It was freaking awesome! (Check out the video on their official website.) It was Sylvia's first time in a pool, and we had a lot of fun...

We were expecting a lot of rain in Victoria, so we made sure that we all had enough appropriate clothing. Strangely, the skies were clear and beautiful the whole time we were there! It was a little chillier than Santa Barbara, though, so when we were outside Sylvia was usually well-bundled and strapped to her dad.

When we were at the house, though, she got to play and cuddle with all her friends! She and Kurt really seemed to make impressions on each other. Kurt was occasionally suspicious / scared / jealous / frustrated, but he was mostly very sweet. He smiled at her, shared his toys, and tried to play peak-a-boo with her. She thought he was the best thing since toys that make a crinkly noise! The best moments were fast and hard to capture, but we did get some precious pictures:

So cute!

The worst part about the trip is that it was so awesome!! I generally don't like being away from home for too long, so I can usually count on being a little happy to be leaving at the end of a long trip, but this time I was just so sorry to go. This was the sad sight as we pulled away in our rental car...