While it wasn't very fun to be sick and to essentially have to take a week off work (especially since I look forward to working the week between Christmas and New Year's - it's my "catch up" week since it's usually so slow), it was also really great to stay home with Josie and see all the changes she's gone through in the last couple of weeks. Josie has really progressed with her babbling, and (only partially tongue in cheek) we're pretty sure she said her first words now: "dada", "nom" (which, while I say this to her all the time when she's eating or I'm chewing on her ears, probably doesn't really count since it's not in the OED... yet), and "nada". Now she just needs to say something intentionally while understanding the meaning behind it ;)
She also has gotten more hilarious with her babbling - she gets a very serious tone in her voice as she expounds upon whatever it is she's talking about, she has a certain look of concentration, and her little chin sticking out and off to the side just kills me. She also is watching us far more now, and it's fascinating to see language acquisition in process, as we say things to her in an exaggerated manner ("lalala", "bababa", etc.), and watch her focus on the way our mouths move as we sound out each syllable.
[Explaining her point of view to the burp cloth]
[Her babbling was a bit difficult to catch on camera this week, so I resorted to trying to record her from other rooms]
Josie also rolled over for the first time! She's fairly consistent going tummy to back now, but has only gone from back to tummy (on her own volition, at least) maybe once. Here's the video of I believe her fourth time rolling over (she was a little tired by that point and was over the whole tummy time thing, hence the crying):
Also, she can chew on her feet now, which she does with a gusto (and least when there are reindeer involved):
And after not being too interested in putting any weight on her legs, she has now started to stand with some assistance (Auntie Sara, in this case):
Given everything else she accomplished this week, we figured we might as well start her on solids too :) As I mentioned before, we're planning on skipping the rice cereals and purees (for the most part, at least), and just giving her finger foods that she can feed to herself. We're abiding by the mantra "Just for fun until the age of one", so the next few months are really less about her actually ingesting solids for nutrition and more for her to explore textures and tastes, and to become more skilled at feeding herself and learning how to chew and swallow the right sized bites of food (and apparently gagging is perfectly normal as she learns this, which I've heard can be a bit scary until the parents can tell the difference between gagging and choking - not enough has actually gotten into Josie's mouth for us to experience this ourselves though!). So she's had some banana and apple so far, and already seems to be learning how to grasp a bit better and with more skill, since she's learning if she squeezes too hard, the food will pop right up out of her hand :) She seemed to like the banana just fine, but given the crying that ensued each time she dropped the apple, it seems she prefers apples so far.
[Her not-very-successful first attempt at eating a banana]
Miscellaneous cuteness:
[On her activity mat, now relocated to the living room and covered in toys (yes, we even bought her some ourselves too ;))]
[Helping wash Ryan's face]
[Delighted with a job well done!]
[39 seconds in the life of Josie: playing with her favorite of the tags on her Taggie (the care label), getting distracted by her hands, and making funny noises]
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