big girl crawl

Today Kiddo made a break for the swing that is semi-dismantled on her bedroom floor, so she can push the buttons and make the swing action go (since the swing is not there, the hinge just moves pointlessly back and forth, but she's a big fan of the button pushing). As she crawled I thought, why is she moving so slowly? this looks awkward, is everything okay? And then it hit me:

It looked wrong, but really it was right. She was not on her elbows, but instead was on her hands, and knees! She was crawling like a big girl. Throughout the day she has practiced more and more and is getting quite proficient.

That being said, she is still faster on her belly. She proved this to us when my husband tried to film her, and she was so excited that she dropped off her knees, and scooted very quickly towards him, or actually the camera.

getting up, but not getting down

My daughter is getting better every day at pulling herself up. She can do it in all sorts of places are good, and others that I would prefer she didn't. It's great when I come in to get her out of her crib, because she can stand herself up, so it's easier to pick her up. It's bad when I try to put her down, because she can pull herself up to standing, and that makes falling asleep a lot harder. (We rock to sleep a lot these days.)

The problem is, she can't get down. She hasn't realized she can just let go and fall on her bottom, and so she leans, and twists, and shuffles (or tries to) until she finally falls over. Which means that just as the little bruise on her forehead was fading she got a new one on her cheek, which I'm sure will be followed by another somewhere else. 'Tis the season, I keep reminding myself. She'll fall for a while, but she'll learn. And, she is completely unphased by any of it. She falls over, looks surprised, then rolls over, pushes herself to sitting, scoots next to whatever she was standing next to, and pulls herself up again. Good for her.

think versus feel

My mom was on speaker phone the other day, and Kiddo was EXCITED about her voice, and the phone, and a whole bunch of other things. I told my mom this: "She thinks cell phones are exciting." My mom, who is always encouraging gratitude replied "I think it's exciting too; I can hear her sweet little laugh and voice." And I know my mom is truly grateful for the miracle of modern technology, and doesn't take it for granted as much as I do. But I wasn't getting my point across.

"No mom, I mispoke. She doesn't think it's exciting, she feels that it is exciting, so much that my daughter is quivering with emotion, and can't even make noise she is so overcome by the marvel that is this talking phone." And about the time I got that thought out, Kiddo finally squawked for joy, and started yelling about the goodness of it all.

Anyone want to call and talk to my kid? She loves it. (but you'll have to call our cell phones, our land line speaker isn't portable)

quiet time

In conjunction with learning how to stand, Kiddo forgot how to put herself to sleep. Putting her down in her crib led to much protest in the form of heart-wrending cries and sobs. She would only fall asleep if she was rocked and rocked and rocked, and even then it wasn't clear that she could be easily transferred to the crib. When it was only her naps that were being effected, it was challenging, but when her frustrating sleeping patterns moved to her night sleep as well, I was not okay with it. After two or three nights of going in and out of her room to help her fall asleep, I had had enough.

So last night we sucked it up, and "reset" her sleeping patterns, by letting her cry it out. I hate doing it, and am no good at it. But we did. She finally fell asleep, and this morning, went down for her nap with limited protest. It's nice to have things settled again.

the concept of cup

Kiddo understands that a cup is a cylindrical object that is closed on one end, and open on the other. You put it up to your mouth to drink.

So when she found the extra garbage can (that thankfully holds no trash) in our room, that is plastic, cylindrical, closed on one end and open on the other, she knew exactly what to do. Put it up to her mouth and try to drink. Luckily, nothing came out.

from rap to ravel

NPR played a piece of a new parody from Weird Al this morning, about the economic crisis, based on a currently popular rap piece. Kiddo got her groove on to that music. She was boppin and wiggling her heart out. I was sure it was the strong beat.

My theory was tested a few moments later when they played a teaser for the classical music portion of the day, and played a flute and harp piece by Ravel. Kiddo danced her heart out to that one too.

Was she primed by the rap music? Perhaps. Does she love (and dance to) all music? Yes. Is she the cutest dancer ever? I think it's likely so.

stand up

My daughter stood herself up for the first time today. She's been trying for most of the week, and could do it with just a little help. She no longer needs our help (to stand, in very specific circumstances.)

She first did it while I was sitting on the couch. She pulled herself up, and commenced playing with the two remote controls that we actually use. The couch used to be a safe zone. Clearly it is no longer. Later, she did it in her room, and pulled all the towels off a shelf of her changing table. Later, against this box that keeps her from climbing to the door. The saddest time was when I was insisting she take a nap. She cried intently for 14 minutes, and I finally decided that she wasn't settling. I was right. She was standing next to her crib railing crying her heart out. (As this was our third attempt, despite her tiredness, at this point I gave up on the nap.) It's not clear to me that she knew how to get down from standing, but I'm sure she'll figure it out.

At least we know what we're doing this weekend: childproofing the next few feet up.