Hugs

Tonight as Mercy and I were playing prior to bedtime, she was feeling very amorous towards all her toys.  She started off by hugging one of her stuffed animals which made me think what a good-hearted child she must be. But she blew me away because for the next five minutes she hugged every animal and doll I handed to her.  And the best of course is asking for a hug and getting one yourself. I am also impressed with her ability to adapt in her communication.  One of her signs for wanting food is to point to her mouth or cheek.  She used this sign to me after looking and pointing at some books on the shelf out of her reach as if to say can I have some of that too.  Not bad for the end of her first year.  I mentioned to Sara today that being blessed with a child is enough to blow you away but to be blessed with a child like Mercy is beyond what I could have expected. Did I mention she is already practicing disc golf putting with me? Can you say future Women's Disc Golf World Champion?

Chris

Peek A Boo

She thinks I can't see her through the gate I guess.  You might be able to catch a glimpse of her upper teeth here.  She looks so different to me with all those teeth!  (Toddlerish and not so babyish...sniff)

What? What's so funny?

First Steps

Mercy took her first steps on Monday!  We've been looking forward to this milestone for a long time.  Hopefully she will keep gaining confidence and be walking all over in no time.  Here are some other skills and stats for Mercy, now just a few days shy of 11 months old:

25 pounds, 29 inches tall

7 teeth at various stages of descent

Points at everything (I LOVE that she can point; it's a whole new level of communication)

Says a few proto-words:  mama, dada , num-num, ti (for kitty), duh (for duck), dah (for dog), mmmmmm (for moo, as in the sound a cow makes)

Favorite food: bananas, but puffed rice cereal is now a close second

Surprising least favorite food: squash

Goes poopoo in the potty chair 99% of the time and tinkles in it several times a day.

"Brushes" her hair and "talks" on the phone.

Shakes and nods her head.

Fake coughs.

Waves hello (especially to strangers at the store).

All around great gal and super fun to be with!

We've had a lull in photo-taking, but I'll add one soon.  (SS)

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!