I'm a horrible mom in terms of keeping track of milestones: we didn't have professional photos taken at her newborn, 6 month or 9 month milestones, I couldn't tell you exactly when her first tooth popped through, and there are blank pages in the baby book that I should really write in before it gets too late and I can't recall anything about this time in her life. It's passing by so quickly; she'll be a year before we know it and some days I just want to snuggle and keep her exactly as she is for just a little bit longer. So, in the spirit of milestones, which she seems to be checking off the list quite quickly these days, here are the latest that she's accomplished over the past few weeks.
After some very persistent practice, Anika can now stand for up to a minute, give or take a few seconds, without holding onto anything. The wobbling and bobbing are gone and she rocks back and forth a bit on her feet, stretching her toes just like a good yogi and experimenting with holding her arms out and up and in front. If she loses her balance a bit, she slowly sits down, careful to avoid hitting her forehead (because she has done that so many times she's learned to avoid it, poor thing) and then pops right back up before you can say nice job, kiddo! There is a definite thought process going on in her head; she stands, balances, looks at me, giggles, waves her hands around and wiggles her fingers, then sways a bit and reaches for something to put in her hands, in order to practice the art of standing while holding onto something. So far she's perfected the standing while holding toy maneuver, but when she tries to drink out of her sippy cup she folds down into a seated position and looks disappointed but not defeated. This child is diligent. She certainly doesn't get that from me.
Oh, and we try not to laugh too hard when she gets stuck under a chair or the table or my desk (like she is at this very moment, actually). She is still so obviously confused about what happened, exactly, and why she keeps hitting her head.
Milestone number two is feeding herself. She's been protesting the spoon-fed model, but it is only recently that handing over the spoon laden with baby food does not produce a Pollock-like painting on the kitchen walls. Sure, she still turns the spoon up side down, but that's only to get every last morsel.
And then there is the heart-melting "dada" moments. Sarah swore that she said "dada" when Mando was in China and Anika and Aunt Sarah were looking at a photo of him, but I thought that could've been a coincidence or Ani just copying Sarah's lead. This past week or so, however, she's taken to saying "dada" when she sees Mando. Soooo unfair that most babies learn "mama" early on and use it 99.9999% of the time when wailing or complaining, but I guess that's part of the joy of the mother-daughter bond. And Anika does call out to me when she's playing and suddenly realizes that she doesn't know where I am.
Speaking of milestones, Armando and I must be entering that "oh, I probably shouldn't have done that" phase that most adults begin to encounter in their mid-to-late 30s; after a few hours of yard work yesterday, we now have several dozen additional square feet of mulch, one less tree, and two very sore backs, including a possible pinched nerve. Ah, middle age. Bring it on.
No comments:
Post a Comment