5, 6, 7, and 8 months old

Clearly, I'm extremely behind posting! So much has happened since I posted last - earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis in Japan, a trip to the states and back, the GW deployed, returned to Yokosuka, and deployed again - and that's just skimming the surface! I WILL write a detailed post about the disaster in Japan, what we experienced, and how things are going here, but that will be my next post... for now, I'm in serious trouble for the lack of posts of our beautiful baby girl! Hopefully this will be a good start for pictures and the many milestones I need to get down on paper so I don't forget them - Rain is changing so quickly these days it's hard to keep up!

5 months old. At 5 months Rain had JUST began to crawl, or more acurately scoot! I'm so glad Shane was here to see it - there are so many things he will miss, I'm happy he will always have that memory.

This was taken 2 days before the earthquake, Rain handled it like a pro, she would have slept thru it if I hadn't woken her up... and kept laughing at her hanging toys swaying back and forth.

6 months old. At 6 months Rain was a pretty proficient scooter. She could get around pretty good at my Mom's house with her sweet little army crawl, but it was still hard work! I'll never forget the first time I walked out of the room and came back to her being completely underneath a chair! She also absolutely LOVED the wind, and any time she felt it she stuck her tongue out. FAR. I never knew a baby's tongue could be so long!

Wearing an outfit my sister and I wore at her age. I will cherish these pictures forever. Even under such difficult circumstances it was a special time that my Mom, Rain, and I had together and these pictures are just one example of the special moments the three of us shared.

Another outfit my Mom saved. Since we were in Texas during this time we had to have her 6 month appointment after returning to Yokosuka at almost 7 months... her doc says she's right on track at 15.72 pounds, 26 1/2 inches long, and 44 cm head circumference.

We were in Tokyo on her 7 month birthday, but amazingly remembered to snap a picture! She could sit up at 7 months, but was still a little wobbly, which is why I'm sitting behind her. We had a wild surprise the night before we took this picture. We were in Rain's room packing for our trip with her in the crib... we turned around and she was standing up with her head, arms, and entire chest over the edge of the crib! So, she pulled up on her own one day shy of 7 months... and we spent a portion of our packing time lowering her crib! Yikes, close call!! Oh and we started solid foods at 7 months 1 week - but I'll write all about that in a separate post!

Hard to believe Rain is 8 months old already!! As you can see she is very active these days - crawling and climbing on pretty much everything! She has learned to pull up AND (for the most part) get down now... can't say I've enjoyed all the spills getting down, but I know it's just part of her learning... She has also began "cruising" a bit, moving from couch, to love seat, to coffee table, though it only happens for something VERY motivating.

She just started playing peekabook and LOVES to pull her shirt over her face (especially during diaper changes) and then waits to hear "peekaboo"! It's soooo cute and really exciting to see her initiating the interaction and waiting so expectantly for my response.