Tonight, while Mama and I were heading into bed, Mama told Daddy that it was time to come in for family prayer. I folded my arms and said, "Prayer", as clear as could be. And then I said it again when we sat down in my room. I'm still working on keeping my arms folded for more than five seconds but I definitely understand the concept.

I'm not feeling very well.

It started last night. I woke up in the middle of the night screaming. Mama came in and nursed me, which normally puts me right back to sleep. But this time, it didn't work. I spent the next hour or so nursing, dozing, and then waking up as soon as I was laid down. And each time, I'd wake up screaming the same way. I finally fell back asleep. But then, I woke up at 5:00 and 7:30 and 8:15 the same way

When I was still doing that this morning, Mama called the pediatrician's to see if they had any advice. After a few questions, they suggested that we just go in. Dr. Hamill (my regular doctor is Dr. Nilsen, but she wasn't in the clinic this morning) gave me a thorough checkup. When he looked at my ears, he said, "Oh, those look very red!" They weren't quite to an ear infection, but he said that they might be irritating me. And then he looked at my gums and said, "Oh, now this could be the problem!" They are very swollen; I'm probably going to cut my top teeth soon.

So now, we're home again. We're going to lay low for the next few days and hope that I feel better. Daddy has been sick for a couple of weeks, so I may have what he does. Or, it may just be my gums. Hopefully, with a little more Tylenol, I'll be right back in the swing of things.

I'm not sure what I think about this eating thing. I seem to like the pears once they're in my mouth, but getting them in there takes quite a bit of effort. I purse my lips and stick my tongue out while Mama tries to put the spoon in my mouth, and generally make the entire process a bit tricky. She's figured out how to kind of shovel the food in, though, and then I make little smacking motions while I'm swallowing. It would be cute if it wasn't such a project.

I am getting VERY vocal. I've been pretty chatty since I was about three months old. But my ability to vocalize my feelings is increasing dramatically. When I'm frustrated, I have several different loud, exclamatory sounds that I can make to emphasize that I want attention. I can also growl, and squeal, and laugh! I laugh a lot. And they're multi-syllabic laughs too, more like giggles really. When Daddy gives me raspberries on my tummy, I go wild. I screw up my nose and my eyes, and giggle for three or four seconds. I must be pretty entertaining, because Mama and Daddy always laugh right along with me.