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September 20, 2005
Cruisin'
We are definitely proud of ourself this week, and it's only Tuesday!
Emma is now standing up, unassisted. For as long as 15 second, mind you -- but still standing. We'll take what we can get.
She's also “cruising,” which is to say she's walking along the edge of the couch, the coffee table, the dog...whatever will stand still long enough for her to get a grip on. In short, Emma has just become dangerous.
Let's see, what else have we learn. Oh, yes...we now say “duck” to anything bright yellow and vaguely (and I do me vaguely) ducky-looking. We have produced our first definitive “Dada” in relation to the approach of our father figure. We can also now produce, with great regularity, the famed bilabial fricative -- more colloquially known as the lip fart.
My daughter is truly a multitalented individual, even at this tender age.
Eczema continues to be an annoyance, so we'll inquire of the doctor about possible treatments beyond “put lotion on it and wait for her to grow out of it.” Long afternoon naps continue to be the order of the day. We tried splitting the long nap into two shorter ones, with results that Aunt Jamie described as “a disaster.” Sign language skills are still rudimentary, but are developing (“more” is in common use, “eat” is known but less commonly used, and others are in the works). Play and social skills are being developed as well -- along the lines of “don't poke your 6-month-old cousin in the eye, don't slap her head, and giver her that toy back.”
Oh, and dogs are now much loved. Especially Cody, who is much more reciprocative than the friendly-but-somewhat-distant Jack. I won't go so far as to say Jack disdains Emma...he doesn't. But he doesn't seek her out the way the Code-ster does.
Cats are things to be admired, but not often touched, as the three light wrist rakes demonstrate (grabbing Molly's belly is a activity engaged in only with great care even by adults, and is inadvisable for anyone without fast reflexes -- a class which generally includes toddlers). Conversely, the cats are learning that, while Emma will drop food from on high when being fed, she is otherwise prone to over-enthusiastic petting and dogged floor-level pursuit, and is best avoided by spending the day on the parents' bed.
The drive to work, which is now twice as long due to the need to deliver Emma to Harrisburg, still sucks. Or blows. Or both. But we're looking at ways to make it more economical and tolerable, and these plans should shortly come to fruition.
Look for more pictures soon. I've finally managed to consolidate my disparate image libraries, and I'm planning a total overhaul of my .Mac site.
Posted by brlittle at September 20, 2005 10:19 PM