47 weeks

I felt bad that Ive didn't get a proper 47 week update written, what with me being a bit lazy upon our return from travel. Better late than never, here's a proper post.

I think the girl has made one of those developmental leaps we hear so much about, this past week. It would be nice to be able to explain her poor nighttime sleep habits on the fact that she's so darn busy developing new skills. It's got to be that, or perhaps the constant snotty nose that she may have til June. Or, it could always be teeth...

In the past week, Ivy has started:

*Intentionally, communicatively pointing. As in, "I want that thing over there that I am pointing at, and I will whine, cry and pout if you do not take me closer to it."

*Putting things in. As in, putting a yellow Hot Wheels into the Trader Joe's coffee can and then reaching in, taking it out, holding it up.... aaaaand.... putting it back in. Over and over for about 5 minutes.

*More consistently saying Jack and Dada. Her two favorite people in the universe. She makes no attempt to hide that fact. The girl has a serious thing for her daddy. You should see her nuzzle in and bury her face in his chest and then then peek out with her little "cat who ate the canary" grin. Saying clear as day, "Yeah. He's mine, this guy."

*Using a sippy cup, competently. She gets crazy - excited about water.

*Cruising around furniture with confidence, as a means to get to an objective.

As in, when she tries to get into the silverware container in the open dishwasher, and I push it in to get it away from her, and she cruises around the corner to get to a spot where she can, once again, reach the handle of the knife she has her eye on.

(She continues to have a simply magnetic attraction to anything dangerous. She can hear the oven door open and races her littly tushy into the kitchen so fast when it does...)

Other things she loves, our girl on the brink of 11 months:

The back door -- she will stand there for hours, patting the glass and looking out.
Bathtime. She likes to stand holding on to the tub while I get her undressed and has learned to help by lifting her feet out of her pant legs, all eager to get in.
Cheese, macaroni and cheese, bananas, strawberries, and Target Brand puffs. And she likes to feed herself all of it...

Her hair has all of a sudden gotten longer and developed a bit of curl and I am pretty pleased about that. The new length and curl don't really ameliorate her general rat's-nest appearance, not yet. But I hold out hope.