Brand New World

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Eliza has her first cold. She has the runniest little nose I’ve ever seen. And sneezing, and watery eyes, and general fatigue. She still smiles at me through the snot, which is sweet. But you know she isn’t herself when she prefers quiet, sitting-down play time. We’ve been reading lots of books together. Thank goodness it’s her favorite activity, besides standing.

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Eliza has learned how to clap. Now she can’t stop doing it. She claps for everything, and all the applause is great for mommy’s ego! 🙂

In other news, she stood alone for about 2-3 seconds yesterday. She started off holding on to her “toddle truck” and then decided to let go. She stood there, without holding onto anything, and just looked at us. It’s amazing how brave she is getting.

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Eliza just learned how to move herself forward yesterday. It’s not crawling in the traditional sense but more like an “army crawl” or what some people call “creeping.” Basically, she keeps her belly on the floor, puts her butt in the air, pushes with one of her legs, and reaches forward with one of her hands. We’ve been trying to entice her to move forward for months. What was the first thing she finally went for after all those attempts? Mommy’s lap. Then I tested it with other tempting things placed just out of her reach: my cell phone, her baby monitor, a ball, some favorite toys. Yep! She can move forward alright! It isn’t elegant or fast, but at least she’s getting somewhere. Video to come soon.

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Eliza turns 8 months today! Such a big girl, in all senses of the word. Wanting desperately to walk, not very interested in crawling. Learning how to navigate the scary world of daycare, being without mom, and lots of new emotions. Developing likes and dislikes and letting you know them. Napping like a champ for the first time in her life. Eating everything, including some grown-up food. It seems like she’s not even a baby anymore.

Favorite foods: spinach (although it hurts her tummy), mango, prunes (still!), sweet potatoes

Favorite toys: lift-a-flap books, balls, links, a small stuffed giraffe that she chews on, peek-a-blocks that rattle when you shake them, plates/bowls/cups, bubbles

Favorite hobbies: standing, standing, and more standing. Trying to cruise, especially around her crib. Playing with Indy (the dog). Trying out new sounds. She currently likes “dadadada” best. Playing with her new friends at daycare.

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First things first: is that the biggest Buddha belly you’ve ever seen or what? I rub it for good luck.

On to daycare: It has been pretty hellish for both of us, I have to be honest. Last week I left her for 2 hours on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. She cried the whole time on M and W, and only cried one hour on Friday. Improvement! Today, the teacher said she cried for maybe 15 minutes after I left, then she was pretty much okay. A bit fussy here and there, but not the constant screaming of last week. Yay! She’s smart. I knew she would figure it out, but it’s hard knowing that she is upset and I can’t do anything about it. Hopefully things will continue to get better. Stay tuned!

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Eliza’s favorite activity is standing. She can’t yet pull herself to a standing position in the crib, but if you put her that way, she can stay for a long time. She is happy to be at your level, surveying everything in her room.

Big event for the week: Eliza’s first time at daycare without me. She stayed for two hours Monday. They said she cried off and on the whole time, but that she did have moments where she would be consolable an/dor distracted. I guess that’s a good sign. She eventually collapsed and slept, but only for 15 minutes. She’s not used to all the noise and distractions at nap time. Her stranger anxiety is also pretty bad, and I can imagine it’s a bit scary to have people you don’t know trying to take care of you. We’ll try again tomorrow and let everyone know how it goes.

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Eliza made her second trek to Kentucky over the weekend.

She has exhibited a serious case of stranger anxiety over the last month or so, crying when someone she doesn’t know gets too close, looks at her funny, or even makes a strange noise. We feared the worst as we packed the car full of her gear for the trip. While she was certainly hesitant at first, she didn’t have any anxiety-ridden outbursts. In fact, for whatever reason, she absolutely loves my brother (see pic). He is the one person besides mom and dad who can hold her and carry her around. It was the first time in months that I felt like I could go out of her sight without major consequences. It felt great. I’m hoping the anxiety phase is waning. We’ll see.

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Ok, so maybe it’s not a big deal, but she just learned something today. She can now lift the flaps on one of her books all by herself. It is called Peekaboo Zoo, and there are animals hiding behind different kinds of flaps. Some pull down, some sideways, some upwards. She can do almost all of them by herself, and she even knows the appropriate timing. I’m amazed by her sometimes.

She’s also trying to pull up in her crib any time you sit her up after a nap. We’ll probably have to lower the mattress soon. Ugh, my poor back.

She’s also reaching for people now, which is pretty recent (last couple of weeks). Mainly she reaches for me, but sometimes daddy. And she can also wave “hi.” Sometimes she gets confused and uses both hands, which is super cute.

We’re still waiting on the biggies, like crawling. But all these little developments are fascinating.

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Favorite foods: carrots, sweet potatoes, prunes (no joke)

Favorite books: still pretty much the same as before! Plus a book that has pictures of babies and animals comparing body parts (Two cheeks…two cheeks; two eyes…two eyes; two arms….two arms; etc.). She fusses until I read it again and again and again.

Favorite toys: dishes; balls; rubber ducks; magazines; empty boxes; the mirror (see photo); remote controls; phones (is currently into non-toys, as you can see)

Hobbies: standing any way possible; rolling all over the living room floor; trying to pull up in my crib while sitting; popping bubbles while mommy blows them; watching Indy play fetch; checking the mail with mom (still her favorite activity of the day)