finally blogging

I can't believe it took us so long to get a blog together -- there has been so much going on. I didn't realize how time consuming a baby could be. We just love Amalia so much - she is a great baby. She is growing and learning so fast. Currently (at 8 months) she crawls like a mad puppy all over the place and she's pulling herself up on things. She likes to practice letting go -- she will pull herself up on something (crib, play pen, a gate or whatever) and then slowly let go with both hands and plop down on her diaper-padded bottom. She does this over and over - it's pretty funny. I haven't managed to get it on video yet. The last couple of nights she has been "talking" very loudly! Her favorite words are "ma ma mom mom" and "ha da da" - she also likes to whisper "da da da." Although she does not relate the "ma" to me or the "da" to daddy yet, we are encouraging her to figure it out.

Amalia's mobility is getting her a few bumps and bruises - nothing serious. Her day care is calling me almost every day and telling me that she fell or bumped her head again. Whenever that happens we have to sign an "accident report." She is so mobile that they are having a hard time keeping her out of the sandbox when they play outside. I really don't want her in the sandbox yet since I think she is too young for it. I don't want her eating and choking on sand, but I guess that is part of growing up. They told me yesterday "if a child can get to the sandbox and crawl in, we can't keep them from going in there." Lame. But in a way I understand because if they have to keep pulling her out every 2 minutes then they won't have time to watch the other kids. They reassured me it was safe and there is always a caregiver present in the sandbox with the kids, but still... I am not ready for it. Jon suggested I hang out for a couple of hours and watch her play and maybe I will feel better if she isn't sticking loads of sand in her mouth.