A little shut eye at Grandmama's

Aaaaawwweee :)

We have color!

She's growing up! And I'm trying to keep up and adjust... allowing and encouraging more self expression. She chooses her clothes, dresses herself, and chooses her hair style (from a list of offerings I provide based on our activities of the day). And now also nail color -

Saturday she had her first manicure (by mommy) with color :)

Bonus: First face paint: Spiderman - the artist offered pink and G said 'no I want red'. A little extra was painted, shooter spots on her wrists. Such a cutie!

The next day (Sunday) I finished her pedicure. Two colors (purple and gray), "just like you (mommy)" :D

New Foods!

Wednesday, Day 1 - tasting of raw banana, thru mesh feeder





























Thursday, Day 2 - tasting of roasted broccoli, thru mesh feeder

Coming up... feeding by spoon - baked sweet potato puree, rice pudding, roasted carrots smash, roasted parsnip smash...

    

Adelaide's achievement of the day

1) improved crawling, farther and faster
2) sitting, more and more steady even without bracing herself with an arm
3) pulled herself up to stand! Guin and I witnessed this. After A crawled across the living room to the kitchen she pulled herself up on the open dishwasher. It took her a little while and she was very focused to make this happen, but she did this all on her own.
4) after receiving praise (including clapping) she smile and clapped. This was unrelated to the standing of earlier but was also worth mentioning. For a while now, I noticed her hand slapping object and many grasping of hands together, but this seemed new... Repeated hands coming together and apart without grasping or exchange of objects. Exciting times!

Guin's Classes

I found a few places that offered trial classes. And since we hadn't decided what was next after taking almost a year off from dance, we signed up for a free class of gymnastics and and one for swim. Last Friday she had her 30 minute toddler swim without flotation lesson. The teacher was surprised with her interest and lack of hesitation. She encouraged us to continue exposing her to water to maintain this as well as strengthen her skills. With or without enrolling, taking class now or later, they said she seems to have an interest and awareness to really enjoy water activities. Yeah! She takes after mommy :) oh, a little more detail about her experience... She wanted to go on the large slide that even some older kids were afraid of. They let her at the end of class. She had a blast and didn't want to leave. So much so she cried and became sassy. I had to explain this pool was just for class and that we have to practice and play elsewhere. Between Guin's fussing and Adelaide chatter and playful shrieks we were the loudest group in the waiting/watching area. Oh well. She had fun and wanted more. I learned I could have prepped her better so I will do so next time. Today we went to the gym for a 45 minute lesson. They stretched, ran, hung from bars and rings, flipped over bars, balanced... They did a whole lot! I watched and grew more excited about the offerings. I was really impressed with Guinny trying new things, waiting her turn, and watching the demonstrations. I did notice she caused a slow down during the circuits and that toward the end of class the teacher was carrying her. When the kids were released from class Guin stayed in the doorway not wanting to leave. The teacher let me know Guin had the strength (I think could use more work on balance and flexibility) but not the commitment for some of the activities. She encouraged me to work thru this phase of 'I can't'... Instead use 'i'll try' along with action. She said Guin didn't want to leave but didn't want to participate toward the end. Overall I was super impressed with day 1 of a brand new activity, at a new place, with new people. She was a little pouty but she got herself ready and we left after a small delay.

6 month check-up

Our baby girl is in a serious mommy phase. :) She likes to keep me in her sights and prefers me especially at night during bedtime routine. 
She is growing and developing on target or a little ahead.  After reviewing her measurements, I suspect that a reason she may be able to move and balance better/faster than others may be because she has a longer body and smaller head then average. 

Measurements at Dr:
Date:   Age          Weight             Height               Head                         BMI
1/29     6 m    17.3 lbs (69%)       26.8 in (78%)  16.2-.3 in (13-14%)    16.9-17
12/4     4 m    16 lbs    (84%)
9/17     8 w    12.1 lbs (82-83%)  24 in    (96%)  16.2-.3 in (95%)         14.7

We were surprised her head circumference didn't increase, so we measured again at home. We got 16.75-17 inches (which would fall between 50-60 percentile).

What she's doing:

• Evolving motor skills. arms and legs wiggle and kick more purposefully; rolling over with ease; excellent head control, raise her head when lying face down; bear weight on legs - walking and clearly navigating with use of walker. Standing with little assistance holding our fingers/hands or while in the excer-saucer. Jumps in the doorway jumper. begin sitting alone briefly or prolonged when holding herself up with an arm. Creeping and crawling!
• Improving hand-eye coordination. grasp finger, a rattle or small object. Anything within reach is likely to end up in her mouth. Pulling objects closer with a raking motion of the hands. transferring objects from one hand to the other.
• Clearer vision. distinguish between strange and familiar faces. she concentrates on a toy, studying fingers and toes (especially Guinny's), or staring at her reflection (in the dishwasher, oven, and class door to media cabinet). turn head toward bright colors. She will turn her head to follow moving objects, like a rolling ball or running dog.
• Babbling and other new sounds. babble, squeal, gurgle and laugh! respond to and imitate your facial expressions and sounds. She babbles and then pauses, waiting for a response. Seems to recognize her name. She will turn her head to investigate source of loud or interesting sounds.

Her doc is pleased with her development and growth! With her great hand-eye coordination and tongue control he notes she's ready to try foods when we're ready to tackle the next step.