Her vocabulary is ridiculous, first of all. She will repeat just about anything you say... really random things like vacuum. Now, her rendition of the word may not, for example, have a "v", "c" or "m", but somehow I just know what she's saying! (Maybe we should be talking about my insane telepathic communications skills, here!)
Seriously, though, she said her first phrase yesterday... "mommy and daddy" while looking at our wedding photo! So sweet! She LOVES to walk and will be doing so without any assistance very soon. She'd rather be outside than anywhere else, especially pushing her car around the yard or playing in her make-shift sand box (aka a Tupperware container with a bag of play sand and beach toys). The door stoop is my new hang-out if you wanna drive by for a visit. Then again, I'm not doing as much sitting as I am running to keep her out of the road. That's where cars are supposed to drive, right?! I told you she was smart!
She's mastering winking, kissing closed-mouthed, animal noises, raising her eyebrows, praying before meals, oh yes, and sleeping on her own (how could I forget that one!)
Grace Louise was "sleep trained" by 8 weeks old, sleeping through the night like a ... well, not like a typical baby. I didn't nurse her to sleep... followed the BabyWise routine and it really did work great for us! A few ear infections later and had ourselves a major sleep problem. I realized it was out of control when there were times I couldn't even nurse her to sleep. We did some damage control, a few nights of crying it out, and we were back in business.
Again... a few ear infections later... you know the story. Now that she is (almost) a year old and we hopefully don't have to worry about her being in any more pain with her ears, we decided it was time for her to be "sleep trained" again. (I really hate that term; makes it sound like we've got a puppy). What I really mean is that we want Grace Louise to be able to put herself to sleep without being rocked or nursed. Anyway, I waited until almost a week after her "surgery" and was ready to tackle this issue with a plan.
Night One: We sang and talked and rubbed and rocked while nursing before bed. I laid GL down while she was still awake. She cried and attempted to stand up over 100 x's. (I lost count after that). I prayed for wisdom and for once felt comfortable with this choice; I knew we were doing the right thing for her. She proceeded to cry and disagree for about an hour. I really wanted to ease her into this- to be present and comforting from a distance. Unfortunately, I finally had to leave the room. After another 10 minutes of crying, Jimmy went in, laid her down, and she went to sleep. Whew.
Night Two: Same routine before bed. I laid her down awake. She tried to get up about 10 x's before succumbing to peaceful sleep.
Night Three: Same routine. No crying. Didn't try to get up once. Dang... why didn't we do this a long time ago?!
Watching one of her "Your Baby Can Read" videos. I'm pretty sure this is "hold your head".
When you can't see everything from outside the cupboard, get in!
Loves to get, and be got! Nothing makes this girl kackle like a good chase!
Yeah, we kill animals for food in this family. 
Speaking of food... my efforts to grow a yummy vegetable garden spilled on the floor. Who needs veggies? She seems satisfied with the soil.
"Here mom... have some!"
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