Second tooth and Scarlett's new gym membership

Scarlett is 8 months old now! We already blogged about her first tooth coming in last week. Well, we realized this week that it wasn't alone! She is also getting her bottom right tooth now too. I'm not sure if that one is bothering her more or if it is the combination that is getting her, but it has clearly been causing her pain. She has had a few fussy evenings and last night she woke up at 4 am, definitely in pain. It took us about an hour to get her back to sleep -- she was trying really hard to go back to bed but she just couldn't get comfortable. She has also had a skin yeast infection which is MUCH better now, but it seemed like it was bothering her some last week too. Poor kid! Otherwise she has just been continuing to learn new tricks (standing with one arm while playing with a toy with the other, clapping, shaking hands). We have also been experimenting with foods, like giving her pieces of noodles and bread and so on. Generally little bits of whatever we are eating. We've noticed that she doesn't seem to really like baby food as much anymore. It is hit or miss, but it has been taking a long time to feed her because she likes to clamp her mouth shut. Not sure what that's all about, but she loves chewing little chunks of food up. Maybe it has something to do with her new teeth?

Today we took Scarlett to a trial play and learn class at gymboree (http://www.gymboreeclasses.com/b2c/customer/detailProgram.jsp?progType=P). They have a class for 6-10 month old babies in Bethesda on Sundays. I thought it was something that would give Scarlett a chance to meet babies her age and spend some time as a family. I think she really enjoyed it. She is normally very outgoing in a big group but she seemed a little unsure. She was crawling all over the place but wouldn't do her normal tricks (clapping) and seemed to be analyzing everything. She got pretty clingy toward the end of the class. It was interesting to see so many babies her age though and talk to the parents. She was definitely the most mobile of the group (about a dozen other babies) but there were two babies that were probably more verbal than she is -- another 8 month old and a 10 month old. We decided to sign up for the class. She can go once per week and also go to open gym time where she can just crawl around like crazy. The class involved a lot of songs and hand motions, a parachute, a seesaw, slides, and bubbles. Forty-five minutes of jam packed baby fun.

The picture are from aunt Jacy's visit. She took a million great pictures and posted them on Liam's shutterfly site. We loved having them here and hope it is permanent soon!

All in all, even at Scarlett's fussiest, she is still tamer than most. For example, she woke up for an hour one night but still slept more than 4 hours before and after. Many parents we encounter consider that a normal night, while we may have to deal with it once a month (up to this point- don't get any ideas Scarlett). Just today we met a lady who said her 7 month old started sleeping through the night THIS WEEK. Yes, we have been blessed. The one issue with Scarlett's recent minor fusses is that it gives our friends who "aren't ready" an excuse to say "see!". Scarlett is great to take out to dinner 90% of the time, but now that she is teething she isn't quite as patient. She may fuss for a few minutes, but then it goes away. Those few minutes are all that matter though! The one exception was this past Thursday. We went to Pasha Cafe (a local Mediterranean joint with 1/2 price wine Thurs/Sat). Scarlett was so upset that I had to leave the other 3 adults and carry Scarlett home just after we received our appetizers. As I passed a neighbor on my way home, she smiled and barked out "I know THAT cry" and pointed to her tooth. We walked through the front door, and 20 minutes later she was asleep.