Jinja and Shoga: Life in the Land of the Rising Sun

  Yep, Keila turned 10 months old today! And she's been making a TON of progress these past few weeks. Here's the monthly update:
 1. She's getting louder and louder! 'Mama' is a regular word, although I'm not too sure whether she yells it when she wants me or just when she's upset, seeing as how she usually wants me when she's upset. Besides sounds, her new oral trick is....drumroll....spitting! Nice huh? I swear she got about 3 feet out of one on our walk yesterday. It's especially fun when she's got a mouth full of food at the time, too.
 2. Again on the subject of her mouth...we're at 5 teeth now! 3 on the bottom and 2 on top. The 2 on top are not the middle ones, but instead the canines. When they're fully in, I get to start calling her Baby Dracula.
 3. Sleep is still not going well, unfortunately. She was actually doing really well and had slept through the night for almost a week, but then Dad had to leave on a business trip and we came to stay at Grandpa's. Not sure if it's the change in location or lack of Daddy being around (probably combined with teething), but sleep patterns have reverted! And the only way she'll nap is if I'm holding her in my lap. So it's either...no nap = cranky baby or nap = Mom doesn't get anything done during the day.
 4. Still no crawling...and I doubt it'll ever happen, seeing as of August 9th she started actively scooting. It's really funny to see since she rather looks like a gimp baby in motion, but she's also quite fast! The cats learned this fact the hard way. Also, starting last week, she finally started pulling herself up to standing. Turns out that she probably could've done it a while ago given the proper incentive....ie a toy or the tv remote sitting on Grandpa's couch cushions. So far the remote hasn't been broken...so far....
 5. In terms of eating...she now wants to do it all herself! Meaning that the mouth clamps closed whenever a spoon comes at it. She can feed herself baby crackers but so far other items are a bit difficult. Melon was definitely a thumbs down, but onions (in her crackers for flavoring) seemed to be a pretty big hit!
 6. Favorite activities now include: hitting or pinching Mom repeatedly and then laughing when Mom yells 'OUCH' or 'NO'; pulling on any and all electrical cords and attempting to stuff them into her mouth; playing with Grandpa's fire extinguisher until she's caught; and turning the tv and lights on/off. She can also clap her hands when she feels like it, and she waves bye-bye a lot...even when nobody is going 'bye-bye'.
 7. Separation anxiety is still driving Mom crazy, but otherwise she's an incredibly happy girl!
 8. Keila weights approximately 9.5 kg now (almost 21 lbs). We'll see if she maintains or gains on her cracker-only diet, though!
 Until next month....