Project Vertical

She has an ongoing quest to remain upright at all times.  She's getting quite good at it.

She can: hold onto something while standing up without immediately falling over.  Twist and grab onto a leg and try to climb from sitting.  Move from her tummy to all fours (no knees, mind you, just feet and hands) before falling back to her tummy again.  (She doesn't seem to get the idea of using her feet to propel her forward yet).

She also today moved from all fours to sitting position.

It's all happening so fast.

nipples

She wishes to pick them up.

Sometimes I am shirtless.  Sophie now, when she notices I have nipples, attacks with a sudden fervor, scraping, scratching and clawing trying to pick them up.

Luckily they are firmly attached and thus have resisted her efforts.  But she's getting pretty good with that whole opposable thumb and forefinger thing, so it gets fairly annoying after, oh, two seconds.

Her mother wisely keeps her nipples both out of sight and out of reach--having learned her lesson early on, I suspect.

Okay, yes, she's still cute

What can I say, it has been a busy month.

So here's some Sophie news:

She's started saying ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba.

She says this when she is content.  When she is not content, she shrieks.

When she is upset she pthpfpfpfpffppfpfpfp's.  When she is really quite unhappy she says ma-ma-ma-ma-maergh (ending in a moan).

I choose to think that the contented "babababa" is short for papa and the discontented "mama-moan" is a plea to be handed over to her mother.  Papa's for happy times, mama is for moaning.  Seems clear to me.

Luckily there has been a good deal of contented Sophie lately, although she's been expressing some frustration lately as she attempts to keep vertical at all times and at all costs.  (In other words, she's learning to pull herself up and to remain standing while supporting herself).  

If she gets very frustrated, she growls a deep gutteral growl like a bear.  Cute!

Things She Likes

... and we can tell because she reacts with gleeful urgency to them:

1. her bottle.

She not only knows the sight of it, but the sound of it as well.  We'll try to sneak up on her, shaking it behind our back so as not to have a crying fit (because once the bottle is *there* there's really no good reason it should not be in her mouth *immediately*).  But she'll hear the slosh, get wide-eyed and then start looking around frantically.

2. her reflection.

Oh what joy to be held up to a mirror and to realize that a delightful little baby is staring back at you.  And there's another daddy--two of them!!!  And another mommy too!  Wow, this is so freaky cool!  It. just. blows. my. mind!!!!!

We've got a mirror on the living room wall that is now covered in dried saliva.

3. other babies/kids.

Why do babies like babies?  I don't know, but they do.  I've got some anecdotal evidence that they might enjoy finding someone potentially smaller and weaker than them.  A friend tells us that her baby (who took away a toy from Sophie) is usually the one to have toys taken away from him.  I'm proud to report that on their second encounter, Sophie had apparently wised up and growled at the kid when he came to take he toy again.  Babies are just barbarian bullies, apparently.

4. us.

It's so very gratifying to come home to a little face that lights up at the sight of you.  Kind of like a dog, only better.  Sophie would jump up and lick my face if she could (she does enjoy licking things).  In the event she just sort of bounces in place and grunts.  

Lately she's been showing signs of realizing that her mother and I are detachable--that we are not, in fact appendages of her own body (though we remain her faithful servants).  When passed from the mommy to the daddy or vice versa, she'll take a serious little moment to contemplate what the hell just happened and how it is possible that a second ago one was over THERE, looking over here and now one appears to be HERE, looking back over THERE.  Huh.

5. "bleebleebleebluhbluhbluhbleebleebleebleebluhbleebloo"

This would be the sound of a finger moving rapidly up and down over a mouth that's voicing.  Is there a technical term for this?  Anyway, Sophie loves this.  It is absolutely hysterical--my second most funny trick (the first being the bit where HER pacifier is in MY mouth, which is just crazy insane funny).

Now here's the greatest part.

Sophie tries to join in.  After "bleeblahbluh-ing" for a bit, if we put a finger up to Sophie's mouth she'll start to go "aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" and wait for us to move our finger up and down.  When successful, it will be HER mouth making the noise.  Whereupon she beams in joy.

6. ceiling fans.

I don't know why, but they are fascinating.  If they are not moving, she stares at them disappointedly.  If they are moving, she stares at them in joy.

old enough to be freaked out apparently

I was making faces at her in the mirror the other day.

She enjoys this immensely.  Usually.

But then I grinned maniacally at her and cackled like a hyena.

Her little eyes got big.  She startled.  Her little lower lip started trembling, and then she started bawling.  And this was no "hey, I'm kind of hungry or uncomfortable" whimper like she usually does, this was a full-on, "what's going on with the world, and what happened to the daddy" cry of distress.

I apologized profusely, and pretty soon she decided that I'd gone back to being me.

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In other news, she's also really interested in other kids now.  She'll stop playing to watch them totter around.  When they build things, and crash things, and run around, she hops and flaps in my arms as if to say, "soooooooo cooooooooool1!!!!!!!"

Best in Show

Once more back to the doctors for shots.

The doctor pulled her up on all fours to see what she would do and she just stayed like that, ramrod stiff, looking around curiously.  It was *very* impressive, apparently.

Also:  she is now even more delighted with mirrors.  She'll squeal with delight when we go up to one, and then look at us--back to our reflection--look at us--back to our reflection.  With a look of absolute wonder in her eyes.

So yes, pretty much best baby ever.

Sophie hearts Elliot

A guest blog from her mother:

"Sophie's first boyfriend, sort of.

It was reported to me Friday at daycare that Sophie has a boyfriend. His name is Elliot. He is an older toddler, one of walking age. Apparently, from what I am told, he is very eager and excited to visit with Sophie on the days that she is there. He ambles over to where Sophie is playing and begins to giggle. Not being a shy gal, she smiles at him with her irresistible, gummy smile. The two exchange loving glances and coos until Elliot runs off to get a bottle and Sophie is swooped up for a diaper change. ohhhh, to be 6 months again...."