by: Emma Aguirre
Today, I added climbing frame to my list of job descriptions. My daughter has found her legs apparently, and she is not satisfied unless she is standing on them. No longer content with just laying in the one spot examining one toy inside and out for hours on end, she must now be moving or touching something. She bangs her feet on the floor, on walls, on doors, grabs at pillows, blankets, bottles, couches, shoulders, purses, dogs, nothing is sacred. She slides along our wood floors like an old pro – albeit backwards – and even managed to maneuver herself behind the couch and under the curtains a few mornings ago. It made for a great game for a few minutes…until she wanted to move again and needed help getting out from behind the couch!
She has taken on a whole new life of her own and she’ll be eight months next week. She’s so independent, and I’m just left sitting in her dust wondering what’s next. I blame the walker. It was a wonderful idea at the time (my mother’s I might add), and it has certainly helped strengthen her legs and build her confidence. Now, she wants to have her hands held and generally, just stands there. She hasn’t taken one single step, but she laughs and giggles, smiles wider. She loves to swing and it’s incredibly sweet to see such a milestone making her so happy. That said, when she can’t quite reach a toy or she hits a wall, it’s not sweet and I can feel her frustration. I try to encourage her to get out of these predicaments herself, in an attempt to “teach her about life” – haha. This weekend also marked the “butt pop”…she was lying on the floor (still for once) and just popped her butt in the air so she was on all fours. I think we were both as shocked as each other when she did it, and she gave me a nervous glance before plopping back on her belly. Carpet gives her traction, and we were actually in our closet. I must have spent 30 minutes in there with her just trying to get her do it again. Amazing.
She’s also eating by herself, at times. We give her the Happy Baby squeezable containers and she has those mastered, as well some table food if I’m cooking with veggies and some fruits. It keeps her occupied which is great, as I can have in her in the highchair while I get on with things. She loves to get the spoon at the end of the meal and tonight I just handed over the empty jar as well to see what she might do. Somehow, she got even more all over the highchair and her face, but boy, was she happy. I see her personality shining through now and she can tell you exactly what she likes and dislikes just by a noise she makes or a look she gives. She gets sweeter by the minute, giving hugs and looking for the one person she wants to be with. When she is happy and smiling, it feels like everything in the world is right and I know I’m doing a great job.
