8 months old!!

The last few months have been interesting, to say the least. In June, we were in Norway for Pete's lobster conference in Bergen. Gabby and Denise came along for the week before the conference and we all had a splendid time walking (Mommy and Daddy) and riding (Gabby) in the land of the Vikings. Gabby found out that she generally approves of air travel, likes the fishies and crabbies in the aquarium, and is largely indifferent to the scenery (fjords and such). Mommy and Daddy took plenty of pictures so she could appreciate it later (photos: Norway 2011). Gabby was also kind enough to save up all her poopy diapers for mommy when they got back to Germany, which she then released in a kind of "Poopagedden." Her Daddy was not upset to miss this as he stayed behind in Norway to finish his conference and explore north of the Arctic Circle. Gabby, now unburdened by the weight of her accumulated meals from Norway, decided that the sedentary horizontal life was not for her and started to crawl and sit up.

A few days after Pete got back from Norway, Denise's brother Joe and his family (Jen, Tyler, and Hannah) came for a visit. We had a wonderful time traveling throughout Germany and around Jena (photos: Akob Visit 2011). Unsatisfied with just crawling, Gabby insisted on learning to pull herself up to standing and moving laterally while her aunt, uncle, and cousins were here. Vocally, she was stuck on "na na na na" and the closely related "a na na na na" for a week or so. Now she has also learned to morph this into the word Momma, which she uses all the time, since that is the only person she wants right now (teething). Denise is creeping around the apartment like a kind of Mommy Ninja to avoid Gabby seeing her and changing the na nas to mommas and any associated crying.

If we have learned anything over the last month, it is that Gabby is probably a bit impatient (I want to be born NOW, I want to crawl NOW, I want to stand up NOW), like her Daddy, and likes to talk a lot, like her Mommy. The next few months should be interesting!!