At The Speed Of Bob & Larry

Initially I thought of labeling this post "What We Have Been Up To", but reconsidered - too generic. In reality though, this post may actually bring you up to speed on...what else...what we have been up to! But mostly it is about the little one.

S and I both agree on the following 2 statements; 1) Ellena has set new record highs lately for being more fun than ever before (or should I say yet?) and 2) had we been graphing her development and progress since birth (remember - we're nerdy) there would be an obvious visible spike in the data over the last 2 weeks. Let's see what I can capture here in this space:

• Solid Food - We are sure E has been thinking something like "Yes! Finally, we are on to more than just the same old milk!" She has been watching us eat for some time. Just staring as if to wonder where her plate is. According to our sources, this was one of the signs to suggest the introduction of some solid foods. First things first - get out the highchair!
  
  

Here she is in her seat - ready to eat!

So far she has had rice cereal, oatmeal, pears, carrots, green beans (yuck! - who likes green beans anyway?!), sweet peas and applesauce. I am always overwhelmed by how quickly she can pick up something new. At first she was "a little hesitant" to eat off the spoon, but this soon turned into "a little messy" and now I'd say she's at "a little bit ready to feed herself". Here is a shot of her early on. She is not so bad now!

• Day Care Update - Yep, it's true, we have our own little routine down pat now. I pack her up in the mornings and we drive in for the drop off together, just the two of us. I can tell by how much she lights up when we arrive, that she really likes her caregivers as well as the other babies in her class. (by the way, most of them are boys, so she helps keep them in line!)



• Motor Skills - No she isn't driving yet, but she is twisting her arms about while holding onto objects. We were very entertained this week when she picked up an empty water bottle by it's cap end and started waving it in the air. Naturally and, eventually, she began to bang it on the floor and her leg to see if she could make noise with it. This is something she learned recently with her rattles. S and I actually claim to have watched her learn this. She had a rattle grasped and struck it into something. Upon hearing the sound, she froze, looked at her hand, looked at the rattle and did it again. The rest of the day was spent swinging anything we gave her into something else. Click on the video to see her swinging her yellow bird rattle around. Something tells us she will be good at badminton! Oh and we strongly see her as a leftie, although we are not sure if it is too early to tell. When does that really come out anyhow?

• Reaching & Touching - She reached up, signaling she was ready to be picked out of her exersaucer. This surprised us both. Also, she reached for me when S was holding her...oops - hot button topic, better change now! She is all about textures too. Recently I walked her all around a department store so she could touch all the different fabrics. At home, she feels everything and gives her approval by feeling the item again!



• Teething - E has all the signs and "symptoms" of teething (which, by the way, include everyone we know TELLING us she's teething - thanks for that) and although we have not spotted any chompers yet, they must be coming! Sometimes we can't help but try to see things from her perspective. Can you imagine what a tooth breaking through the gum line must feel like? We think she's had some of her worst days to-date which are noted by lot's of irritability, crying (rare for her) and sometimes lack of appetite. We feel so badly for her when she's being a bit fussy and we do what we can to help her feel better. As the man in the family, and completely devoid of the "motherly" ability to calm her, I find distraction to be my best weapon. You wouldn't believe some of the faces I can make!



• Stronger, Faster Movements - Overall, Ellena is much stronger than she was even 2 weeks ago. She can lift toys now that were immobile before and she is very good at standing (assisted), sitting (semi-assisted) and moving from her front to her back (and the opposite).

Hmm, I know I am missing something here, but the main points have been covered. We just can't believe how a) the time has flown by (she's 5 months old!) and b) how she has developed in such a short time.

As a parent, this is the best time yet! I describe her to coworkers as "enjoyably interactive, yet not old enough to run away!"

We can't keep up here!