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She almost has crawling figured out now. She does everything but move her hands/arms forward. It’s pretty funny. She gets up on her hands and knees, rocks back and forth for a while, then either scootches her knees forward, or straightens her legs so that she’s on her hands & feet and then drops her knees back down such that they’re forward of their original position. Then, of course, she’s stuck, precariously balanced on hands & knees that are too close together. She gets a look of immense concentration on her face as she attempts to remedy the situation, but her “remedies” invariably result in her toppling over.

Pater gets the greatest smiles!

Allow me to take a moment to share an entertaining tale. Well, entertaining perhaps for those who are not equipped to nurse their children. Of course, it certainly isn’t entertaining for those not equipped to nurse who are spouses of those who are so equipped.

Linnaea now has three teeth. None of the three are in direct opposition with one another – middle two on the bottom, but the one on the top is to the right of middle. (Incidentally, we think the next arrival will be on the bottom left.) While this arrangement is less dangerous than if her teeth were opposed, it doesn’t lessen the pain of a bite, especially when said bite is delivered to the aforementioned nursing equipment. As Linnaea has reached an age where we feel she can start learning consequences, we are trying to stop bad behavior, such as the grabbing mentioned in my last post, before it becomes ingrained. We are, after all, the parents. It is our will that is supreme. (As it always has been, but don’t tell our parents that. The illusion is healthy for them.) So, when she bites while nursing, which usually happens towards the end of a feeding anyway, the equipment is taken away. She has started to catch on.

Sometimes she gets distracted while nursing by other more exciting stimuli that might be happening around her. Ceiling fans, Aki, (any of the animals for that matter,) and sometimes even myself serve to be such distractions. Last night Linnaea was tired. It was getting close to bedtime. But she hadn’t eaten in a while, and hunger has a way of interfering with sleep. So, as is their custom, Mater nursed Linnaea. Linnaea, however, wasn’t very interested in the food and kept getting distracted by the ceiling fan, Aki, and myself. As this distraction is a regular occurrence, Mater has grown accustomed to reminding Linnaea of the task at hand, and getting her back on track. Last night however, Linnaea decided she didn’t want to be harassed about finishing a meal in which she wasn’t really interested in the first place. So, she looked up at Mater, turned to the side, bit her, then looked back up. The message was clear, Linnaea had learned that she can tell Mater she’s finished eating by biting her.

And the fun of parenting begins! (Either that or weaning in earnest…)

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. =)

She just got up on her hands & knees (twice!) and started rocking back & forth! Go, baby girl!