I’d say that we’ve been slacking, except that we’ve been terribly busy. Since early June, Mater and I have been taking turns reducing our respective proboscises to dust on the proverbial rotating stone of abrading, as well as oxidizing a Mideast-size supply of petroleum reserved for nocturnal use. Aside from family, Linnaea’s birthday, vacation, and work, most of that time has been consumed by church-related activities. Fortunately, our new pastor has been installed (Yay! Pater doesn’t have to give any more sermons!), and things are starting to settle into a more predictable state of normalcy.
Meanwhile, our amazing daughter, who is less and less a baby every day, continues to grow and develop. Someday we will get around to posting the ever promised pictures of her birthday and our vacation. Really. I mean it. (So, you get on that, Mater, you know, in between all the rest of your responsibilities…) So let me see if I can remember all that she has accomplished in the past couple of months.
She’s currently in the process of adding four more teeth to her set. Molars. All at once. One is all the way through the gum and ready for service. The other three have all pierced the gums, but are in varying stages of deployment. The other night she had a horrible time trying to sleep, kept waking up screaming. We’ve attributed it to her teeth, but we’re not really sure. That’s really been the only negative sign of teething that she has had so far, other than a general loss of appetite the past week or two.
She walks well, and fast. She can also stand up on her own, without the need to pull up on something. She had the ability to do that for a while before she gained the confidence to put it into action consciously. She would squat down to pick up a toy, and then stand back up, but just didn’t trust herself if she wasn’t preoccupied with another task.
Mater mentioned pointing. While Linnaea’s spoken vocabulary is still pretty limited (let’s see: dog, dog (said in a screeching fashion = cat), buh ( = button, and sometimes she says buhuh – she really tries to get the second syllable), out (meaning outside, but may also refer to large bodies of water and various forms of nautical transportation), she tries to say ‘ladybug’ which we think she only understands to mean the color red, she also sometimes tries to say ‘belly button’, sometimes she says ‘da’ referring to myself and it is usually said in a string – ‘dadadadadada’) but her understanding is far greater. She knows ‘nose’ and can point to hers, yours, or an animal’s if asked to do so. She knows toes, foot, and feet, understanding that ‘feet’ refers to both of her feet. I’m not sure if she knows eye, ear, hair, and mouth in the same way she knows nose and belly button, but she’s working on them – especially all of the structures that make up the mouth. She knows open and closed, and in an out too. She will point to a great number of things asking how they are said. The hard part is figuring out exactly what she is pointing to if it is across the room.
She expends a great amount of effort trying to say different things, wrestling her lips into position before uttering. Very cute, but unfortunately, her actual output is usually not what was intended. She is definitely trying to hold her end of the conversation, however.
She also understands what is okay for her to do and what is not. Sometimes, if everyone involved is lucky, she will respond favorably when told ‘no’ about a scheme she is hatching. And that is the only way to describe it – she hatches schemes. There is a glint that shines in her eyes, which she narrows deviously. Then her lips stretch into a sly, toothy grin, as she reaches towards the object of her intentions. Maybe she’ll even cast a mocking glance your way. She throws tantrums, too, often as a result of being put back in her place as the child by her parental units.
Speaking of parents teaching their children, I had to let her shut her fingers in a drawer the other night. That was tough. She kept trying to close drawers with her fingers wrapped around the edge. Finally, after Mater and I both had to repeatedly jump to intercept the inevitable, we decided it would be in her best interest to learn why. A little negative feedback goes a long way. Of course, young children often become paralyzed when they suddenly find themselves in pain, or situations they do not understand, so she was momentarily trapped, leaning against the drawer that mercilessly held her finger tips captive. I released her from its wooden jaws, and then let her try to close the drawer again, large tears streaming from her eyes. She closed it with her palms this time, her fingers held out straight, away from the biting edge. Except for one, that got pinched between the drawers. Not good. For either of us. But I do think she has been better about drawers since.
I could go on at great(er) lengths, but allow me to conclude with this: she’s figured out hats. She has a couple of – I don’t know, beach/cabana type hats, whatever those might be – that she has figured out how to put on her head. Absolutely adorable. And she’s starting to make the connection that anything of that general shape and size can be used as a hat.
Oh, oh, I lied, I have more! Related to wearing hats, she’s started using objects like puppets. Cups, caps, and other things that she can put her hand in and carry around in such a fashion. She makes noises for them and everything. Which brings me to my really last thing that I want to mention; she pretends! For example, she will sometimes pretend to pick up a dot (a spot of color, or other anomaly of texture, etc.) between her forefinger and thumb, and then eat it, chewing with gusto. Or, she will carry it around and give it to me. She is awesome. =)
