are things complicated yet?: Some words, but mostly pictures of the baby

Charlotte is on the move. No, seriously, the kid cannot stay still and I have really had to up my parenting game in the past few weeks. (Did you know that a house with stairs is a death trap? It totally is. When Claire was this age we lived in a one-story house.) She's been sleeping terribly and after a little thinking I remembered there's a BIG 37-week/9-month developmental growth spurt. Since she's not quite 9-months it felt a bit early to be blaming the growth spurt, but out of curiosity I asked Dr Google for her exact age.

Ah-ha. Well. That would probably be the reason I was up for 90 minutes with Screamy-For-No-Reason-Baby last night. Her brain is in overdrive.

Anyway, it's hard to believe that this:

(holy crap you guys she's small enough to fit inside the damn BOPPY) turned into this:

She crawls with speed across entire rooms. She can and does pull up on anything (crib, dollhouse, her sister, you, me, chairs, overturned laundry baskets, etc).

She can cruise around the ottoman, along the side of the sofa and she can switch from hanging onto one object (a chair) to another, adjacent object (the table).

She can cross the room and climb up 3 stairs (THREE!) in the time it takes to turn your back to get milk from the fridge. (Oops, time to keep the baby gate up 24/7.) (Also? HOLY CRAP HEART ATTACK can I get some warning the next time you learn to do something dangerous that I thought was far, far, far outside the realm of your abilities?) She's not standing from a sit unassisted and she's not walking, but she's definitely getting verrrrrry close.

Secret Talent: She is very good at locating outlets I forgot to stick plastic covers in. (Unfortunately, I fear this Secret Talent will not carry her far in life. We are working on developing other Secret Talents.)

Charlotte has three teeth (all on the bottom, curiously enough). Surely there are more in there, waiting to inflict screamy, sleepless pain.

She continues to be the family goat. This kid will eat ANYTHING. She's getting better at feeding herself and I remain not-so-great at thinking of new things to put in front of her or having the patience to let her make a complete mess. I spoon-feed her more often than not, just because it's easier for me. Takes less time to fill her belly, makes a smaller mess. It's also kind of novel because we had to fight for every bite Claire ever took (and continues to take). It's just kind of...fun to make a baby food and then actually see her ingest it. She can drink from a sippy cup if I hold it, but she's not terribly excited about it.

She's testing out new sounds. LA LA LA BLAH BLAH BLAH DA DA DA. DADADADADA. DAAAAAAAA! (Not even a hint of mmmmm or maaaaa or mama.) Her hair is getting longer and spikier. It's darker than Claire's and doesn't show a hint of curls (yet?).