Zoe's recent milestones

Zoe's turning 8 months this Sunday but there are no visible signs of teeth yet. She recently achieved the following milestones though which made us really feel that she's growing up so fast in front of our eyes:

Sitting up unassisted - She's been trying to sit up on her own for a long time but it was when she turned 7 months that she can sit on her own without any support from us. She has yet to learn how to sit from a lying down position.

Waving hi and bye-bye, close open - The first time Zoe waved her hand 'hi' was when we were checked in at Crowne Plaza for my birthday and I was so amazed, I literally teared up (hello stage mom!). We've also been teaching her to close and open her little fists and it's so cute when she just goes at it whenever she wants to.

Stranger anxiety - Yes, this is a milestone. Gone were the days when people can just snatch her off me without her bawling loudly. Even our relatives can't just carry/cuddle/kiss/hold her if she's not familiar with them, otherwise, she'd cry loudly as if she feels really violated. Normally, Zoe will give strangers a long, head to foot, curious look. If they touch her hand, she will pull it away while looking at them. On a really bad day, just a simple cooing at her will be enough to upset her.  This is one thing we are trying to work on now since my husband feels bad that she reacts this way to his family so I thought of showing Zoe pictures of my in laws regularly so they would look familiar to her.

Recognizing Mommy and Daddy - Zoe has already mentioned 'mama' a couple of times and it was such an overwhelming feeling I cant describe. Recently, she has been showing her prefence for us over my mom or any other people in our house. Whenever Dan and I are around and we don't pick her up, she would crawl towards our direction or would fuss and look at us.