Happy 36 weeks to my spooky lady!

• So unscientifically, Finn weighs in at 21.4 pounds and is 29.5 inches tall.
• We are currently in size 3 diapers.  They seem to be fitting well.  Once we moved to the size 3s, we lost the blue line that tells you when the diaper is wet or not.  Eain asked why they would stop making them.  I had said to him that it may be that the diaper companies think that by size 3, you should be able to tell by feel (on the outside) when the diaper is wet on the inside.

• The wild woman fits into size 6-9 right now, with a lot of her stuff now with just a single number on it.  Brought to you by the number "9".  Eain thinks that we are going to need to swap out sizes really soon, heading up to 12 months already.  It would be the first time that we actually moved up sizes before she had actually reached the size that was listed on the clothing.  So this past weekend, it was really cold out, so I put her in one of her two winter jackets (one is size 12 months and the other is size 18 months).  I put on the size "12" jacket and I had to roll the sleeves up on the coat.  Her poor arms were definitely not long enough for that size.  I think that there are some clothes that we may need to swap out, but I think that we don't need to move all of them.  I'm trying to get as much use out of each size as possible.  I do think that we will be moving into size "12" way before she is 12 months old -- for sure!  Just not right now.

• We are still breastfeeding, but the weaning is slowly beginning.  She is still eating the same amount; I am starting to cut down to pumping to twice a day at work (instead of three).  It makes me really sad that in less than four months it will be over.  :(  
• The girl is a champ at eating!  I will list all the of the lumpy purees that I have given her: bananas, apples, pears, peaches, mangoes, plums, avocado, pumpkin, sweet potato, acorn squash, carrots, green beans, peas, & parsnips.  She definitely has her favorites.  But some of her other favorites are eggs, chicken, venison, kidney beans, cheese & rice pudding.  I almost always give her some baby portions of my food.  She is really starting to prefer my food over her purees.  So we may be transitioning her slowly into eating big-people foods all the time.

• Which brings me to her teeth.  The girl STILL doesn't have any.  There are no little white buds on her gums.  Her gums feel lumpy, but have felt that way for the past weeks.  I'm not concerned as I know that she is going to get them eventually.  But I have to watch what I give her to eat -- and make sure that it can be gummed, instead of chewed.

• We also aren't crawling yet.  Quite a few people have been surprised when they ask her age and then ask if she is crawling.  She definitely isn't going to be crawling from her stomach first.  She will crawl from a sitting position.  She will sit, lean to the side with both of her hands down on the ground and rock back and forth -- almost like trying to get her momentum.  Most of the time, it's her leg that is in the way of her getting onto all fours.  As of yesterday, she is able to now swing that front leg under her, but right now, she will just lunge for whatever it is that she is going after, landing on her stomach.  She isn't staying on all fours long enough to figure out her hand and leg movements.  It's the same story as her teeth.  I know that she is going to crawl at some point.  And I also know that when she doesn't start crawling, I am going to wish for my stationary baby so I can turn my back for a second to finish something on the counter.  She'll do it whenever she is ready.

• She is starting to make the motions of pulling herself up as well.  She will put her hands up on the coffee table or on the top of her toy, but she doesn't have enough strength to pull her chubby little body into a standing position.  When we stand her next to her toy, she will stand by herself for a couple of seconds before faltering.  She also sticks her booty WAY out, trying to figure out how to balance her body weight.  It's so adorable...
• The girl is a chatterbox, a serious chatterbox.  She starts talking from the minute that she wakes up.  Of course, we have our silent moments -- but she isn't afraid to use her voice.  Lots of baba's and dada's -- mama has fallen to the wayside.  She also now will yell sometimes when she really gets worked up about something.  She is also starting to play with her hands and her voice.  She occasionally will go "wa-wa-wa" hitting her hand against her mouth.
  

• One of her new things is making faces now.  She will scrunch up her nose at something.  Or she will furrow her brows when something frustrates her.  
• She is also a clapping fool.  She loves to clap and does so when she gets really excited about something (or when mommy claps and dances).  She also LOVES to dance to music and sing.  She is also starting to wave goodbye.  She does this mostly when we are leaving daycare and waves to all the workers as we leave. 
• We are sort of sleeping through the night.  It isn't uncommon for her to sleep until 4am when she is put in her crib.  And for the most part, when she wakes up, she isn't crying.  She whines in her crib and talks to herself.  Most of the time, I get up and go get her because I can't sleep with her varying between talking and whining.  I know that I'm not going back to sleep, so I might as well hurry the process along.  Within the next couple of weeks, I'm going to begin trying to soothe her in her own room to see how that goes.  I think it will go well, as I said, she isn't upset.  She is just awake and lonely.