Where'd It Go?

Mercy made up a game where she raises an object up over her head with both hands and makes it "disappear" by dropping it behind her, then holds out her hands to say "where'd it go?"  We laughed hysterically the first several times, so now she does it over and over, sometimes applauding herself at the end.  At first she would do it with her socks after pulling them off (by the way we finally got shoes that she can't take off--phew!).  Then she moved on to other objects and now even heavy toys and books, though since she can't lift them all the way up she kind of tosses them beside her but pretends she can't see them.   I've seen her play this game by herself when she doesn't have an audience and even trying it in her carseat too.   Funny girl.  (SS)

How To Unpack

Well, this is one way to do it--just toss everything out...one...by...one.  That's a 10-month-old's method, anyhow.  We arrived back Wednesday from a great visit with our northwest family members.  It was great to see all of you!   Mercy proved to be a great traveler and very adaptable to different environments.  She was not quite herself, though, having developed a cold a few days before we left and doing some hardcore teething at the same time.  This did not stop her from joining a family hootenanny, seeing her first snow, or making friends with all the pets.  She slept on the airplane, except for about the final hour on the last leg of the journey coming home from SeaTac.  The longest hour of my life.   Fortunately the other passengers were entertained.  Chris will have to explain the most comically complicated meal ever.  All in all it was worth it and Mercy definitely has more traveling ahead of her. (SS)

The Girl Loves Music

(SS)  First of all, Mercy LOVES music.  She'll use anything as a drum, and is proud to be able to reach the piano keys all by herself now.  She also can't keep herself from dancing whenever she hears a beat (even if it's just the clicking sound the heater makes when it turns on).  So, naturally, I signed her up for a 4 week baby music class through the community center.  We finished the last class on Thursday, and I must say I'm somewhat relieved.  Basically, the class consisted of singing, doing hand motions, and playing little instruments along with recorded music.  We sat on the floor in a semi-circle around the teacher.  The other babies would sit still on their mommies' laps and basically do the activity they were supposed to be doing.  But our baby?  Our baby acted like she didn't know me the minute we entered the room.  She wanted to sit by herself.  She wanted to sit by herself in the middle of the circle!  She wanted to go visit each of the other babies.  She wanted to crawl up into each of the other mommies' laps, she wanted to crawl in the teacher's lap.   Now, she was the oldest, but only by one month, and she did seem to enjoy herself.  She was the only baby who danced, clapped, and sang along when she wasn't busy socializing or eating the instruments.  I'll keep encouraging her in the music direction, but I think we need a much more active format.  I'm also thinking of how I will handle being a mom of such a social butterfly!