Oh, I can’t believe it’s been three months since I’ve put a Lola update out on the wire. Three months!!! So many updates in such a short time.

Here are the highlights:

Lola loved the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremonies

She watched Mommy and Daddy scream and cheer as Michael Phelps broke the gold medal world record

She began to crawl around 7 ½ months

She said her first word, DaDa, around 8 months

She currently let’s us know when she wants a drink by using her sign language – So far that’s the only sign we’ve worked with her enough to pick up

She currently has the vocabulary of a handful of words – Dada, Mama, Ball, BaBa (which is interpreted for a number of different things depending on the occasion) and her favorite word is Uhhhh—OOOOhh!

The TV shows that seem to keep her attention best are Hanna Montana, Dora the Explorer and Dancing with the Stars

She is cruising on anything she can pull herself up on and we think she could be walking by Christmas

She loves music and cracks us up as she kicks just one leg in time to the beat

She is sure to be a corporate ladder climber or a tree monkey…She has found the stairs and any chance she gets climbs all the way up only to sit and look back clapping her hands at her accomplishment. We are now fully utilizing the baby gate.

She is chatty, chatty, chatty. We of course don’t know exactly what she’s saying but she’s very animated so we just nod our heads pretending we understand every word.

She has even started to giggle a bit

She eats just about anything. Her favorite is sweet potatoes and therefore according to the doctor the reason her nose is orange more often than not

She has eight teeth - Four on top and Four on Bottom

She still has not bonded with Sassy (in fact, just the opposite)

She loves going for walks but prefers it to be while shopping at La Cantera – She really seems to get a kick out of  being around lots of people

She wore her Young Republican outfit and went with Mommy to vote in the Presidential election

She watched Mommy and Daddy mope around depressed about the election results

She went to her first Halloween Carnival dressed as a Chubby fairy princess and had lots of fun

Out of all of her many toys her favorites are a small beach ball that I got at a trade show and a plastic bowl from the kitchen

She continues to entertain herself well, go to bed at 8:30pm with no fuss and wake up happy at 8:00am, and to us is the best baby in the entire world

Jim and I continue to feel blessed and in total awe!

What is it about the number seven? The Seven wonders of the world; The seven primary colors; The seven seas; The seven notes on the musical scale; The seven days of each week? The seven months we have been blessed to have Lola in our lives…..something more amazing than the magical number seven itself.

We’ve passed the half year mark and seem to be moving forward into uncharted territory. My baby isn’t a baby anymore. No longer does she cuddle in my arms before bed sleepily gazing up at me. Instead she wiggles and squirms, hand in my face arching and pushing trying to get a better view of the TV. No longer does the small 4 oz bottle fill her up. Now it’s 8 oz of formula, rice cereal and a jar of veggies and fruit to make her fine and happy. No longer is taking her shopping a breeze. Now she’s so heavy to cart around, she’s thrown Grandma’s shoulder out of place. No longer does she quietly lie on her back content to watch the fan go round and round. Now she’s sitting up on her own and positioned to crawl in circles at any given moment. No longer does she happily spend play time rocking in her swing. Now, she spends more time under it than in it kicking it back and forth with her feet, so impressed by her accomplishment.

Though things are most definitely changing there are many things that haven’t changed. She still sleeps in her crib and never cries when it’s time to go to bed. She is still the smiling, happy baby with a giant grin for every stranger we meet. She is still sporting her notorious thunder thighs and getting the highest of healthy marks at her doctor visits. And get this---She still hasn’t giggled. Oh, she has most definitely made a champion attempt. The end result is a razzing, hiss coming out of the biggest, open mouth smile you have ever scene. She still has her Daddy wrapped around her finger and she still makes me the happiest girl in the world.

 Life is most definitely changing here in the Odom household but all for the better.

 More photos to come soon…You won’t believe how she has grown since my last photo update.