Better Together: Crawling, eating and talking... oh my!

The post title pretty much sums it up. Greer is a crawler (army crawling but she gets around), eater and talker. It's amazing how quickly they change and learn new things. Of course, when I say talking, it's all gibberish, but she sure has a lot to say. She sits up like a champ and plays with her toys. She climbs up me and Matt but has not yet pulled up in her crib (I am sure any day now). Her coordination has gotten pretty good, and she's even able to pick up smaller items (especially small pieces of food) and handle them well. She claps her hands... they don't usually make a clapping sound, but she's quite pleased with herself nonetheless. She can drink from a sippy cup on her own and has even started to hold her own bottle. She's showing some major momma favoritism and separation anxiety right now. She's cried a few times when I've walked out the door at Mr. Craig's (though I can look in the window after I've left and see that she gets over it mighty quickly), and she frequently cries when I walk out of sight at home. She sometimes cries when Matt leaves the room too. Her feelings are hurt very easily these days, which result in massive crocodile tears. She's still a funny girl and laughs and smiles a lot, despite the increase in tears. It's so funny to see her little personality developing. Although she has the separation anxiety, I do think she is going to be little miss independent (I can't imagine where she'd get this trait). She is such a wiggle worm and rarely sits still, so on our flight home from Tampa when she finally fell asleep in my arms, I melted into a puddle of mush and could barely stop kissing her head (well, I can barely stop kissing her head or cheeks or lips or whatever is most available to smother with love anytime I'm around her). She has now been to St. Pete and Tampa, and we also took another trip to Blue Ridge. She is really pretty easy and goes with the flow. We've enjoyed many meals out, including lunch at our favorite place (JCT Kitchen), and she's been great through them all. Probably because she likes to eat. She is definitely our child. She has eaten so many foods now... she can basically eat anything soft enough to mash with her gums. I haven't given her any dairy (other than formula) or grains, but she's had quite the assortment of veggies, fruits, and proteins. She loves them all. She really doesn't have a daytime schedule anymore (Mr. Craig has trouble with the schedule, I think), so that's been a little tough for me. But, she generally naps well at home (in fact, she's just waking up from an almost 3 hour nap after taking a 20-30 minute nap this morning), just totally of schedule! :) She is on vacation from school this week, so I am working from home and have a "mother's helper" here to play with Greer. But, I'm taking tomorrow off and Grams and Aunt Brandi will be here tomorrow night for the Thanksgiving holiday. We are having our friends over for dinner, so it should be a fun day. I can't believe she will be 8 months on Thursday! Time is surely flying by, and we are loving every minute.