8 months, on the cusp

Here she is! On the cusp, literally, of some new teeth and I think lots of movement.

Oh, just a few days late. And, this is the best picture of the bunch ... was too dark inside to get a good picture and, apparently, not all that light outside either. Plenty of outtakes, as usual:

Poor Georgia has had a rough week - sickly and teething, can't keep her hands out of her mouth. She had a runny nose for our 4 usual home days that ramped up into a fever last Sunday night. Then, she was out of school all 3 days with fever / smoker's cough / breathing treatments (Thank you, Grammy! Thank you, Aunt Betsy!), and now she is hopefully getting back to normal over our 4 day holiday. I did take her to urgent care, so I know she weighs 15 pounds, 11 ounces. Quite a bit more petite than her sister, who you can see at 8 months here and in her Fourth of July outfit here.

Georgia has had a great month. She is a very strong sitter now - no more time (confined) in the exersaucer. I dug out lots of old baby toys and she is having a great time sitting a playing with them. I love this age - interactive and not yet mobile - and am trying to appreciate every second as I know it is short-lived. No crawling yet, but I haven't been encouraging her or practicing. She does lunge to reach for things - tags, zippers, plates, wine glasses - nothing is safe. She had her first top o' the head ponytail, followed shortly by her first pigtails, though generally she is just a mess of hair (and runny nose).

She had her first trip out-of-town to Branson last month. Great time, pictures to follow if I can ever get my act together. And, a great visit from our out-of-town cousins. Again, pictures to follow if I can ever get my act together.

She had her first, true belly laugh just last week. She was playing with Ellen after dinner - Ellen was playing doctor and Georgia was just laughing, laughing, laughing. I got a great video of it and then Ellen watched it and promptly deleted it. Technology - a blessing and a curse. I didn't yell at Ellen, but told her how disappointed I was. I reminded her to ask for help if she runs into trouble and she wailed, "I thought I could handle it!!"

And, finally, we had a nice quiet Fourth of July and I attempted a patriotic picture of the girls. This is as good as it gets, folks: