Working Hard and Doing Just Great

Time goes by so fast. Before I know it, it is a couple months later and I haven't posted anything new to the blog. That doesn't mean there isn't anything new! Lauren is doing really great with her gross motor skills. She stands whenever she feels like it (which is often), opens and closes all the drawers and cupboards she can find, and has figured out how to get down from a step (feet first). She does some cruising along furniture, but usually only if she is properly motivated-usually by placing her Daddy's cell phone just out of reach!
Her fine motor skills are definitely getting better, and we work with her a lot. She doesn't overshoot so much with her hands, and she is much better at using her pincer grasp. She doesn't just dump objects out of a container. She will now take them out one by one, with more precision. She is also dropping objects into a bucket. We have worked on that a lot. I guess the release is an important skill to learn. We need to work on much smaller items, like Cheerios into an empty pill bottle. We still can't get her to stack objects or place them in rows, but she will get it eventually. She now refuses help eating and drinking. She just does not want to be spoon-fed! She makes a mess using a spoon, but she gets some in her mouth. I would love for her to start scooping the food with her spoon, but I still have to do that part for her. Actually, we both much prefer finger foods. It's less mess, and she gets to be independent. But she won't get better with a spoon that way! Also, we have noticed much less mouthing of objects. And we are trying to get her to draw with large crayons, but she has done very little of that.
We have been working on shoulder strength quite a bit, because it is so important in order for her fine motor skills to improve. We have her crawl up and down an incline, reach overhead, and she made up her own exercise yesterday. She stood in front of a toy box and opened and closed the lid about 30 times. That should have worn her out, but she loved it.
Lauren has been more vocal, but still no real babbling with consonant sounds. She does say "mmm" followed by "aahh," as she has done for some time. It is her complaint noise so she does it whenever she wants me. I want so much to think it is the beginning of "Mama." It's hard to say, and it's possible, considering how many times she says it when she wants me, but I have to be realistic. I guess either way, it will eventually turn into "Mama" with meaning. I better learn some patience, or I am bound to be disappointed. I know the speech will take her a long time. But I long for her to say it. Her speech therapist said today she is old enough to work with her more specifically on receptive language, and she probably won't attempt speech until she is understanding 20-25 words. I know she only knows a few: Mama, Dada, baby, kiss, no. I can't think of any others that I know she knows for sure. I also sign to her every time I say "eat," "drink," "more," "in," and "all done." She does shake her head no, and it does seem like she does it appropriately. I am constantly naming objects, and when we read books, I help her point or pat the objects we are naming in the book, and we also say the verbs that are happening in the pictures (swinging, jumping, etc.). I am so optimistic that all of this work will turn out one amazing individual (which is true, of course), but how much can I alter how severely WS will affect her?
I have been reading the posts on the WS listserve, and so many comment on the Omega 3 fats, and the cognitive improvements they cause. I don't know if Lauren is too young (14 months), but it is intriguing. I'll have to learn more. Anything I can do that will make a difference...