Waving good-bye?

This little girl...

is STILL the boss of this household!
Eight and a half months after her speedy arrival, she continues to rule the roost.
Once she starts hollering, I move into overdrive and finish up as quickly as I can, whether I was setting dinner out or reading bedtime stories to the kids. And once her cries reach a certain decibel, I completely stop what I'm doing to attend to her, which is usually to nurse her to sleep.
I guess you could say that she has me wrapped around her very tiny, chubby little finger.

But that's okay with me, I love her to bits and pieces.

The whole family celebrated once she popped a tooth.  We clapped and cheered once she started to crawl (just last week) and we regularly coo at her to coax out a smile or chase away her frown.

Our latest excitement is over her new "wave".  She holds out her arm and bends her wrist repeatedly in what looks like a wave buh-bye.

I am beginning to wonder, though, if that is what she is really doing.
At this age, babies are developing so quickly, I would love to be able to 'see' the rapid-fire of sensors going off in her brain.

While I will mourn the end of infancy and all the sweet, cuddly moments it means, I marvel at her growth and the new things she has learned to do.
It is at this age as well, around 9 months old, that babies can learn to sign.
You see, I've been signing 'milk' to her right before I nurse her and while I am nursing. I have not been religious about it (though I should be), but have been signing to her sporadically for the last couple weeks.  It was while I sat down to nurse her today, her knowing what was coming and impatient for the snack, that she started doing her little wave.

I am of the opinion that my little queen is starting to connect the dots.

She is starting to play and experiment more with her hands, and I am eager to take off on a signing journey, one that will begin much earlier than my other experiences if we keep this up.

Oh the places you'll go, little Elaina!!!