This about sums up every morning with Greta. Thankfully, we have a pretty nice routine. She gets up between 8:15 and 8:45 in a fabulous mood. (I think because she knows she'll always have a good hair day.) I change her, prepare her bottle (as she squawks and screams for it), feed her the bottle (as she massages her flowing locks), burp her, then sing a few bars with her (Prince's "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World," and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider.") This is usually followed by 20 minutes in her think tank/laboratory (Exersaucer) while I make a piece of peanut butter toast and coffee. I usually pick her up to find that she has a stink in her fanny (which now smells like sweet bacon), which in turn leads to a new pair of underpants. When I change her, I try to find something she can play with, which is safer than letter her feet and hangs wander. The item of choice is her comb, a shoe, or one of her Little People. She is fancied by the policeman right now. Then, I return her to the TV room where she'll play on the floor for a while as I try to get ready for the day. At this point, she is usually changed into her play clothes and I'm still in my pajamas. I look super hot until about 1 pm, when I realize how awesome I look. She goes down for a nap about an hour and half after she gets up and sleeps for anywhere from one to three hours----I know I'm very lucky to have such a mellow baby. No colic, spit up, screaming, or fussing. I thank the Baby Jesus in the Manger for this everyday. I do not take it for granted. Trust me.

Some of her favorites:

Toys: Fisher Price Little People, hair comb, remote control, her shoes, paper (documents), and her Pooh book with the little blocks on it.

Food: Squash, Prunes, Pineapple/Pear combo, Turkey and Sweet Potatoes.

Songs: Itsy Bitsy Spider, Natural Woman (Aretha Franklin, Dana Monforton version), Sin Wagon (Dixie Chicks), and The Crocodile Song (with the hand motions).

Activities: Johnny Jumper (she likes to crash into the "boards," i.e., door frame), walks in the Baby Bjorn in public places (to scream and stare at people), being thrown into the air by her Dadda, talking to herself about her recent research findings (usually geared toward paper engineering, and color identification), bath time, and most importantly, studying her hands. No joke, she stares and plays with her hands about 20% of her day.

Sleeping habits: Awesome sleeper! She sleeps between 10-12 hours a night with 2-3 naps a day.

Developmental milestones: Sitting up on her own, rolling over, moving her hands from underneath her, beginning to move hands to crawl (and support her), crossing arms over midline to reach for things almost to the point of rolling over, reaching for us for a hug and holding, playing independently on the floor, lots of babbling with consonant sounds and tongue movements, supporting all her weight on her legs for a long period of time.

She is wearing size 9 months clothes, and I'm finding she fits nicely into 6 months pants. I think the belly is a "problem area" for Greta.....she doesn't have much of a waistline. Sadly, she can only wear her Sacagawea moccasins from her Grammy Jan because her feet are very deep, i.e, fat. No shoes for her....Adrienne bought her these beautiful shoes when she was still in my belly and they have only provided her with entertainment, because she could never get her foot into them.

We go back to the neurologist in a few weeks for another follow up. The "owies" on her head seem to continue to heal. There is still an obvious scar and the skin is still healing, but it is looking better. I'm sad to say her "ducktail" is totally gone. Those spikes have been replaced with short, soft baby hairs that do not shape into spikes after long naps or bathtime.

Greta is excited that she spent two whole days with her Grammy Jan in Cincinnati this past weekend. Sadly, we were there to celebrate Grandma Garbon's life, but Greta made for a great distraction. She absolutely was a trooper, getting passed around quite a bit. She met several of her cousins--Shyrah and Zahari. We are thankful she and Z finally met--they are only one month apart. We definitely want to make sure they have a relationship---She was also able to see her Great Aunties and Uncles that she met at Jennie's wedding. She is excited for her Aunty Reesy and Uncle Miko because they are getting a new grandbaby in a few months. Baby Jackie G. will be the first child for my cousin Michael and wife Nicole.

Greta will see her Grammy Joan tomorrow. I have to get more tests done on my bladder and Joan has graciously offered her grandma services while I am at the hospital. Joan is fabulous because she'll stop all of her plans to help us out---She has been amazing during the last seven months. She has come with me to countless appointments and listened to many meltdowns over the phone. I am thankful for her everyday. Greta is blessed to have such amazing grandparents.

Greta is also looking forward to seeing her Great Pepe and Grandma in February. Mom and Dad will return from Hawai'i and we'll make the trip up to the High Five (Michigan) to see them. I'm sure Dad will be floored by how much she's grown.

Happy Wednesday!