Trying New Skills

We have reached several new milestones in the past few weeks. When she woke up before, she would usually be lying down or sometimes sitting, but now when get her after a nap, we usually find her standing up! She can pull herself up on the crib railing. Another big moment for me came this week, just after getting home, I heard her high clear voice distinctly say "da-da". Probably not intentional, but a wonderful moment nevertheless. Last week she was doing a caterpillar-like crawl with her tummy on the ground, but this week she has started doing a real hands-and-knees crawl. That means she can get around much more quickly now, so we're going to have to make sure to keep up!

Moving Up

With her feet extending past the front edge of her infant carseat, little RR has grown into the next size up. The new "True Fit" model is quite a bit bigger (it even has its own cup holder) but should last her several more years. Add one to the list of baby items now outgrown. Note, this is a composite photo- we do not have twins.

In other news, while she is not yet really crawling, she has managed some forward wriggles using her elbows. She can also cover ground surprisingly quickly by a series of sideways rolls; flipping from back to tummy and continuing over to her back again, so she is quite the mobile little girl. Which reminds us that it is really past time to get the baby-proofing done.

A Gentle Touch

In the last month, little RR has seemed more awake and aware than before, paying attention to us (at times) as if understanding something of what we are saying, and looking at each person speaking in turn. Several times she has indicated by looking at the water bottle and saying "Mmmm! Mmmm" that she wants a drink. She also continues to improve her hand control- no longer just flexing all fingers at once for grabbing, she is now picking up toys deliberately and tracing along edges with a single finger, seeking out interesting bumps and textures. She will clap her hands, and bang two toys together.

She will consistently turn the pages in the books we read to her (if often a bit faster than we would) and sometimes picks out a book she wants. She lies on her side to play with toys, and will easily turn herself over, sometimes making changing difficult! On the other hand she helps when dressing, pulling her arms in and out of sleeves, ducking her head when pulling off a shirt. We are working on getting her to fall asleep in her crib by herself, and have succeeded at least once. We always put her down on her back, but she now sometimes ends up sleeping on her tummy. One thing that hasn't changed is her big cheery smile greeting us each morning, a great boost for her sleepy parents.

Reaching Out

Little RR has started to make crawling movements, but so far the resulting motion has only been backwards or turning in circles. Consequently, toys dropped out of reach tend to remain that way, although she is better at reaching for things. A few times she has pulled herself up to standing against the side of her crib. She has better dexterity, handling toys more easily, turning pages, and feeling each fuzzy and textured area in her touch-feel books. Her diet has become more varied, now including oatmeal and several varieties of veggies (fruits are so far not as appetizing). She listens attentively to classical music for short periods. Her currently vocabulary is mostly "Ooooo", "Auugh" and "Booof", but she will take turns in conversation making them. She responds to certain words such as mirror, bouncer, bye-bye and be right back.

Christmas this year was a low-key affair, with both parents down with a cold all week. Thank goodness for D.G. (the Doting Grandmother) who spent many hours with RR and running errands, as mom & dad rested. So far the younger and older generations have escaped the bug. Meanwhile, RR has been enjoying all of her new toys.