She's on a roll

We've got a live one on our hands!

In addition to working on a fierce set of upper teeth, our little one has been on a big development kick lately, enhancing skills that she's been toying with for a while and trying new ones altogether.

Pull-ups on the kitchen stools have turned into pulling up to a stand almost wherever she is. Commando creeping has made way for some speedy hand- and knee-powered crawling. And she's no longer happily surprised by routine events but rather is now starting to anticipate more and more. For instance, our bedtime routine is nearly step-by-step each night, down to what I say as I finish her favorite book, Goodnight moon. When bear goes over my shoulder, I get a smile because it means I'm coming in for a snuggle. And when I approach the night light and say 'Good night moon' (because it is a moon), she smiles and holds close in anticipation of the light going off. The predictability is far from old, but rather an exciting way for us to sharpen learned knowledge and build up to reliably special moments. It's not that she hasn't previously exhibited reactions to routine behaviors - quite the contrary - but it's more that she's now picking up on the more subtle cues about what is about to happen more often, throughout the day. She's always been aware, but now she's more aware of what's next.

She anticipates the praise she normally gets after knocking over a tower of cups, or after turning off her bedroom light. When the baby tylenol comes out, she opens her mouth, seeming to know it's going to help (which it has a lot in the past week). She raises her foot when socks and shoes come out, knowing what we do with them. And, she gets *pissed* when the car comes to a stop ie, at a light or when one of us jumps out to run a quick errand but she isn't taken out of her seat (no, never leaving her unattended).

With all of this new cause and effect fun comes a bit of testing. We've done a bit of baby proofing and have a pretty well-designated baby zone, but it's not entirely free of hazards. I mean, what can you do about an unfasten-able floor heating vent? So, we get to say 'NO' whenever she touches it...again, and again, and again. In exchange, we typically get a terribly cute finger on the vent and side glance with a smile until successfully hide our smile and hit just the right tone and she's thrown into a fit of tears. Short-lived though they may be, they are still heartbreaking! I *hate* saying no! Sigh.

On a lighter note, here are some snapshots from some of her latest adventures: