"What are you eating?"

This is the new phrase that I'm constantly saying to Molly these days. About two weeks ago I noticed she was getting pretty good at using her thumb and forefinger to pick up crud off the floor. I decided it was time to try finger foods. Within a day or two she learned how put Cheerios in her mouth, mush them with her gums and (most of the time) not gag herself on them. At 8 months old she still has no teeth, but she can chew just fine.

This new skill seems to have only heightened her interest in pick up crud off the floor, however, and now she can chew up little bits of fuzz or paper and swallow them if I don't catch her first. I've had to sweep my finger in her mouth a few times to fish out stuff. The worst is when I just see her chewing and I can't find anything in there. She ate a Cheerio off the floor at Bertucci's Saturday because I wasn't quick enough to stop her.

Here she is at a rest stop last week eating her sleeve. (That's the closest I've got to a picture of her eating weird stuff. Usually I'm too busy chasing her to snap a photo).