I have been lax in my blogging duties. Linnaea has learned a lot in the last couple of months, and hopefully I can summarize that development here. First off, she went to the doctor the other day. At her 6 1/2 month check-up she weighed 15 lbs. 4.5 ozs; was 27 3/4″ long; and had a head circumference of 43 1/2 cm. I don’t have official percentile numbers, but I imagine they’re pretty similar to her previous scores.
The doctor also said that she thought Linnaea was pretty advanced. =) She now sits by herself quite well for extended periods of time, playing with whatever has currently captivated her attention. She used to have problems sitting and playing simultaneously – the latter activity would distract her from maintaining her balance and she would flop over one way or the other. She can’t sit up by herself yet, but can pull herself most of the way up if you hold her hands. But then, she would really much rather stand. If someone is holding her hands she can stand up from a sitting position. She loves to stand by herself at the side of her crib or playpen holding on to the rail. She knows she’s doing something neat. The other day I sat her in a chair while I was trying to put on my coat, and she reached over to the arm of the chair, and pulled herself up onto her knees. It’s only a matter of time…
Speaking of the need to baby-proof the house, she’ll probably figure out crawling soon. She has figured out the rolling thing, and has embraced it pretty well. She often prefers to fall asleep on her stomach now, something that she couldn’t stand a month or so ago. Unfortunately, we don’t have a large area for her to roll around on that is safe and free from unwanted animal interaction. But within the confines of her crib and playpen, she is able to get around as she sees fit. And I use the word “confines” purposefully. Note that she is almost 2 1/2 feet long – the width of her crib and playpen.
She remains very alert and attentive. She has been learning new and exciting sounds. Lately she has been making more typical ga-ga-goo-goo type sounds. But, due to the colds that have infected our family during the holiday season, she has also learned how to cough. Her faux coughing has gone through two iterationss. The first version was more cute and seemed to be done either to get attention, or to maintain attention after a legitimate cough. Recently, however, she has created a cough that she likes to use in place of laughing. Pretty funny, but it sounds horrible. We’re afraid strangers will think she has whooping cough or something. For awhile she was growling, which she learned from the dogs. She loves the dogs, especially Aki. Much giggling ensues when the dogs are acting crazy.
One of her new things is touching faces. She gets this sweet, loving look in her bright blue eyes, her mouth open slightly in a loving smile. She reaches out to you gently with her hands open, seeking to stroke your cheek or lips with her delicate fingers. And then she beats you with frantic, excited waving of her limbs, lashing your face with her razor fingernails, clawing at your unprotected flesh with her not-so-innocuous talons. And of course when you tell her “no” she just thinks it’s a fun game, laughs, and does it some more. So the next time you see us and Mater and I have horribly disfigured faces, you’ll know why. And who really needs both lips and nostrils anyway…
On touching, her motor skills are moving along swimingly. She has no problems reaching out and grabbing an object and then immediately switching hands with it and reaching for something else. Objects have permanence now, at least to some extent. She will track objects that are passed behind her out of sight and wait for them to reappear on her other side. She likes waving her arms and smacking things, as noted above, so throwing is only a short way off. For the past month or so she has been obsessed with tags on all of her fabric toys or clothes. She always grabs tags between her thumb and forefinger in a tweezer type grasp. And she takes great care in doing so. She likes buttons on shirts and other small things. Soon she will be old enough for little snacky things like her cousin Aundreya likes.
On food, we haven’t really established a regular schedule for the consumption of “solid” foods. But we have been steadily broadening her culinary horizons. She now eats rice and oatmeal cereals, like sweet potatoes and applesauce, eats squash and green beans, and isn’t too fond of carrots. She now associates eating with being in the high chair, so something better be ready for her when she gets strapped in.
What have I not covered? She’s incredibly cute, but that is self-evident. We love her very much and are very grateful for all of the blessings with which God has graced her. =)
