Busy Body

Little Bird is exploring and getting into things more and more. She has learned how to stand on her tip toes to reach into drawers or on top of table edges. And she grabs whatever her little hands can get a hold of. Anything that can be pulled down, ends up on the floor. LB has also gotten very good at climbing over obstacles, like the diaper bag that used to keep her out from under the quilt rack and basket of dog stuff.

She seems drawn to Sylvester, always trying to get him, even though he is a little leery of her "hugs" and doesn't usually hang around for long. She has fun exploring under Camberly's desk to see what fabric or sewing stuff she can pull down or knock over.

She is such a busy girl and she keeps us on our toes. We never know what she will figure out next.

Ten Months

 Another month has come and gone and Little Bird continues to keep us on our toes. By our best home measurements, she hasn't gotten any taller or gained any weight. Our methods are not the most precise but it is also probably due to a combination of her eating habits and constant motion. Now that Little Bird knows she can feed herself, she will only eat a little off the spoon and wants to do the rest on her own. She is also a fickle eater--one day she scarfs down cooked carrots and the next just throws them all on the floor. This is true of a lot of other foods too--pears, freeze-dried raspberries, sweet potatoes, scrambled egg. So her intake is probably not as consistent as it was when it was all bottles. The things she almost always eats are cheese, yogurt, Joes Os, and crackers. Our little dairy and grain girl.

Little Bird has been content to keep crawling and cruising. She doesn't currently seem to interested in balancing to stand on her own or to walk. But I doubt this will last for long. She uses the skills she has to get all over the place and into everything. This month she discovered the bottom stair. Usually she just goes the the stairs to pound on them but a couple times she has gotten herself up onto the first step. She has gotten very good at climbing over things to get to her target and she will stand on tip toes and stretch so far to try to get phones and computers.

We got her a walking toy/stroller to push around. At first she was much more interested in climbing onto the box and playing with it. Now she is mostly interested on the toys that are attached and the little musical bear. But if we stand her up behind it she will push it as she walks along. But as soon as she hits an obstacle and can no longer go straight, she is done. She needs to learn how to turn.

 It is amazing how she finds things to put in her mouth. She thinks it is so fun and often shows it off to us. She has gotten good at pushing it out with her tongue so we can get it out. So cooperative.

Grandma will be proud of how LB lets us brush her teeth every night. She is getting much better at not trying to bite the bristles as we brush.

We have been trying to teach Little Bird a few signs so she can communicate with us on some basic things. She watches a video "Baby Signing Times" where they teach the signs with music. She is most interested in the introduction song and very quickly learned the sign for baby. When you say the word baby now she puts her hands together and rocks her arms. She will pat her leg for dog (although she says dah for the dogs too). And most recently she has figured out milk. So much fun.

Speaking of dogs, they are going to have to be wary of this girl. More and more she crawls over to get them.  We are trying to teach her to be soft with them because often she grabs two hands full of hair and then bites their hair and pulls it out. No wonder Sylvester is a little wary. Sadie just takes it and sometimes it looks like a wrestling match as Little Bird tries to grab a hold of her. Sadie gets her right back though with a licking attack.

Little Bird's hair is slowly growing, mainly on the top. Right after baths it is a little curly up there. Such a little joy. We love you LB.

Happy Hearts Day

A Winters Day

Today started off like a typical Sunday, as we headed to church. Little Bird was entertained by others and entertained them throughout sacrament meeting. Then she headed to the library to help Mom by attacking the paper and TV carts. She spent all of Sunday School in there getting some energy out. In Relief Society she was nice and calm as she chowed down on some Joes Os and her bottle. Once home everyone enjoyed a nice nap before linner.

Lately we have been trying to find more food for Little Bird to eat, especially ones she can feed herself. Now that she has figured it out, she often doesn't want to eat what we feed her off the spoon. She wants foods she can eat independently. The other day she we tried cottage cheese and she seemed to like the flavor, although I think she wasn't so sure about the texture. Today for lunch we tried it again but she wouldn't let us get the spoon close. So eventually, we tried just putting a big curdy chunk on her tray to see what she could do with it. After avoiding it for a while in favor of the pancake pieces, she finally picked it up and gave it a try. Success. She then ate all the rest that way and while it was a lot messier, at least she ate it and seemed to enjoy it. (The second picture is of a new funny face she makes while eating now, she scrunches up her nose, squints her eyes, holds her arms out waving, and makes a funny happy noise.)

After dinner Little Bird seemed a little stir crazy, so we bundled her up, strapped her to Dad, and took her for a walk to look at the snow.

LB helped Mom play the piano (this picture is for you Grandma) and then it was bath time and bed time. It is  so nice to have relaxing days home together as a family.

Getting to Sleep

Ever since Little Bird has been sleeping unswaddled, we have had a video monitor so we can keep an eye on her. This has been especially helpful because our old wood floors are so squeaky that she would wake up from the noise if we checked on her.  It has been fun to watch the different positions she sleeps in, usually on her tummy. And with the video, we can take snapshots (not the best quality but fun to save for memories).

We usually put her down in her crib before she is asleep and this often means she spends 10-15 minutes cavorting around her crib before she actually goes to sleep. So one day, when I put her down for a nap, I decided to watch her and take a picture every  15-30 seconds until she fell asleep. It is amazing how much she moves around. A couple times, I thought she was about to fall asleep because she would stop moving, but then she would be up on the move again. Such a funny girl.

Window Watchers

Recently Little Bird discovered that she has a window in her room. Usually the shade is down but one day she crawled over a lifted it up to look outside. Now when she is airing out with diaper changes on the futon, she always crawls over to take a look. Sadie and Sylvester often like to join her to  see if there is anything interesting going on in the backyard.

Nine Months

Wow! These nine months have been busy. Little Bird continues to grow and be constantly on the move. This has necessitated some new arrangements around the house to keep her safe and enclosed.  Even with these she will push fences around and try to find a way through. She is a speedy crawler and loves to pull herself up on everything and then walk along the furniture.

Little Bird is very helpful in the library on Sundays, while Camberly is trying to help people get pictures, scriptures, copies, etc. It is well designed to be a paper feast for her. She just goes from one spot to the next pulling paper off the shelves, pushing it around the floor, and trying to eat it. LB also finds her way into small places--crawling under the quilt rack or an end table, trying to get behind Caleb when he is leaning against the couch. When she sees even a tiny opening in the fence, she makes a bee line for it, to try to squeeze out to freedom.

Little Bird has figured out how much fun it is to try to feed Sadie and Sylvester when she is supposed to be eating. She sticks her hand down so they can lick it off. She lets them eat her puffs out of her hands. And now Sylvester has started jumping up to check out what is on her tray. The dogs are a big distraction. Little Bird is also starting to enjoy drinking out of her sippy cups, although half the time it seems she is trying to eat the cup itself.

Lately Little Bird has been experimenting with standing up without support. She will pull herself up and then let go, balance for a couple seconds and then boom back down onto her bum.  Slowly she is lasting longer and longer. 

LB had her first hands on experience with snow. We brought a little inside to let her play with it a little. Not sure she really liked it much.

Recently she started sticking her tongue out to  the side. It looks so cute and funny.

LB's favorite things to chew on are straps and trying to eat electronics (phones, remotes, etc.) 

Bath time is still a favorite. When we head upstairs and turn on the water, she starts squealing and waving her arms, so excited. Frequently her washcloth ends up in her mouth to suck on while she plays with other toys.

Little Bird loves her daddy. He lets her chew on the zippers of his coat and watch him as he plays games on his phone. 

Lastly, LB got her new big car seat  It is nice because although she is still rear facing (and will be forever) she sits more upright and higher, so she can see out of the window better. 

This little girl is such a happy thing. She keeps us busy and on our toes.