Enjoying the Outdoors

Yesterday Adam and I wanted to explore a Metro Park we haven't been to before, so we decided on Battelle Darby Creek. The park is great for family gatherings -- lots of open, grassy space and plenty of woodsy trails along the creek. They have nice play equipment as well. This was Vanessa's first time going to any of the Metro Parks and it was also her first time to swing in a park. And this tree was really neat for picture taking – Vanessa was too interested in it to look at the camera though. She was also very intrigued by the sound of the creek flowing over rocks. It’ll be fun to try and catch tadpoles with her next year! And we found this lovely "V" in the woods!

Stairs!

We can't get ahead! I was upstairs when I heard Adam talking to Vanessa about how she wasn't supposed to be where she was at. Luckily I had the video camera upstairs to catch the reenactment!

9 Months

Vanessa is doing great! As you know, she’s finally getting teeth, not that we were in a hurry, but from all of the chewing she’s done for several months, we were certain she was teething for all of this time. Even her doctor thought she would be getting a tooth soon after her 6-month appointment. She’s growing stronger. She sometimes leans into things while standing so she can free up her hands to use. She’ll even let go and try and stand, which only lasts for a second or two. She’s become creative with using her toys to walk around her playroom -- she uses her music table a lot. She really knows how to take off when gates are open or when she wants to play with her mommy while getting her diaper or clothes changed. (Her mommy made the mistake of encouraging this one evening and she hasn't forgotten.) :) She’s getting better with understanding books – she likes to turn pages and watches me while I’m reading to know when she can turn the page. (She's especially interested in The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle right now. When you get to the last page, the cricket gets his voice and chirps a song. Vanessa has tried looking behind the book to see what makes the noise. She's figured out that she can control the chirping by opening and shutting the book to that page, so she'll just sit there and do it over and over.) She likes to try and do O-H-I-O -- she throws her arms up over head. She’ll sign “eat” and is getting better with “milk”. For a short while, one of her favorite songs was “Where is Thumbkin?” And she would try and do the finger movements to it. She’s very fascinated by her fingers and loves to study how others use theirs. I don’t think I’ve mentioned recently how she’s taking full advantage of napping now – she’ll often take two good naps and sometimes a small one before dinner. Oh . . . Vanessa has figured out how to flip herself out of her Bumbo, so we have to keep a close eye on her when she’s in it. She’s typically okay for a little while but once she gets tired or bored of being in it, watch out! She’s also doing more finger foods -- those peas can be slippery little boogers! I'm sure I'm forgetting other cute things -- she's now to the point where she learns and does something new several times a day!

First (and Second) Tooth!

Vanessa's first tooth cut through two weeks ago today. Her second one started cutting through at the end of last week. The first one has now grown tall enough to take a picture, although that was a chore . . . :) She's accidently bit herself a couple times while sucking her thumb . . . but I think she's got the hang of it now!