She started a basic level of mobility when we were in San Diego (May 11-14). That was a sort of three point crawl where her hands, one knee, and one foot (her left foot) were on the floor. She wouldn't put that left knee down. Now, two weeks later, she is a very good traditional crawler who can go where she wants, though is still not sure she will get there. I am sure that will come in a day or two. The same time she was working on crawling she also started pulling up A LOT. And, by pulling up, I mean going into a four point stance with her hands on any slightly raised surface. She started doing this in Flagstaff (May 9th) and kept doing it more and more and more. Now she is really close to flat out standing. She WANTS to be standing. She will happily stand with one hand holding onto something (like my pant leg) while waving the other hand in joy. And - she has started to let go. Any day now she will let go and won't fall over right away. She also cruises a bit, though she is still working on that.
And what does she do with this new found power? She tries to get wherever I am. She harasses the animals. She seeks out new and interesting things to put in her mouth. Being able to pull up in her crib and pull up on the coffee table has opened up some whole new worlds to her. Now if we can keep her from ingesting random carpet fibers and rocks, and keep her from pulling giant books onto her head, she should live to see her first birthday.
For eating, she is at the stage where she is interested in putting EVERYTHING in her mouth, so when it happens to be food it usually goes well. Except cauliflower. She rejected cauliflower tonight for sure (but happily ate broccoli, tomato, strawberry, baked beans, and a pickle). At dinner last night she demolished an entire slice of lemon and was intent on eating the rind as well (but I took it from her). She likes pizza. She likes soup. She likes cottage cheese. She likes olives. She likes bacon. She likes green beans. She likes pretty much everything we have given her. Besides cauliflower. Her pincer grip is pretty decent and gets better everyday.
She also LOVES to talk. She babbles a lot, and very loudly. I am not sure she actually has any new sounds since last time - Da, Ba, Ya, Wa, and Ma. She also makes a popping noise sometimes, and a sort of swallowed "g" noise. She likes to mimic a lot now. She learned on the way home from San Diego that she could make short noises as well as long when the flight attendant started "roaring" at her. She is interested in singing and music and variation in pitch though she does not really do it yet. She can clap if she wants to and likes when other people clap.
In the last few days I have been making an effort to read her more books and she actually seems to enjoy it quite a bit. I think she really would love a texture book, she likes to touch EVERYTHING. We have some somewhere but I need to pull them out. She tries to "feel" the pictures in "Brown Bear Brown Bear What to You See?" She likes the turning pages.
Overall, she is a very happy baby still. She is almost always smiley and happy. She has started some of the "You took what I wanted!" crying when a toy or piece of food (or remote control or rock) is removed from her possession, but overall she is cheerful. She loves when you talk directly to her. She loves her brother, even when he is tackling her (right until her face gets pushed into the floor).
Her biggest love though is Mom. She wants to stay within 18 inches of me at all times. Depending on the moment it can be adorable or stressful or overwhelming. She is growing so fast and I love to watch her grow.
