Vacation 3

Hi Shira,

Well, since you're not old enough to do a lot of the activities the vacation wasn't as much different for you. You did delight in exploring new things now that you can get around on your own. But you didn't get to swim as much or go tubing like the older kids. You'll get your turn. Maybe you'll get to ski on one ski like your mom did in the video here.




Love, Aba

A Family Tradition

Hi Shira,

You've been using a family artifact to increase your mobility. It's a little cart that your big sister used to do her first walking. Family lore suggests that your cousins Sara and Rebecca used it, too. We have coached you to try it and you have managed well. What I remember about your sister is that she took it up spontaneously. But since I knew she had used it to her advantage I've helped you see how it works. You are at the right stage of development to use it now and it's working for you as you can see in the video. You still prefer to go down on all fours to get places because I think you feel it's faster and safer. Right now you are standing holding my leg with one arm and using the other to wreak havoc on the desk.

I predict that you will be walking without assistance in about 3 weeks.


In case you want to compare, here some footage of Sidra with the same tool at about the same age.

You are developing fast so I'm sure there will be more soon.

Love, Aba

Vacation 2

Hi Shira

One of the things you got to do in Boston was play in the Frog Pond. That's a shallow wading pool in the Boston Common that's for cooling off in the summer and ice skating in the winter. There is a fountain but you didn't need to go in that to have a good time. The water was just the right depth for you to crawl around and splash it up. You had a pretty good time. You were sleeping while the big kids had their first session in it and you missed out. But when they went on the carousel you got your suit on and went in the water. Then I talked them into going for another swim so you could stay in longer. It wasn't hard to talk them into it.

I promised to say some things about how you've changed in the last few weeks. One thing is that you seem to have grown averse to being in your car seat. Driving back to Boston from Maine was a trial. During your waking hours we had to constantly entertain you. I sat between you and Sidra in the back seat to keep you busy. That wasn't easy for a guy my size. I guess that goes along with your general distaste for any thing confining. You've come to enjoy your freedom since becoming a crawler. You object to almost any type of confinement. You even protest the high chair, at least until your mouth is being stuffed.

Another developing pattern is your attachment to your mom. You seem to be growing into mama's girl. I am not saying you won't show anyone else affection but there are times that others (mostly me) have to keep you from seeing or hearing your mother if we're to keep the peace.

You had a visit to the doctor for your 9 month checkup today. You even got out of getting any shots this time, cause you're all caught up. Your stats are weight: Just a shade under 21 pounds; Head circumference: 45.5cm; Length: 29½ in.




More soon,
Love, aba

Vacation 1

Hi Shira,

We just got back from a great vacation in the northeast. You probably won't remember it when you grow up, but you'll read about it here. There's a lot to tell but for today we'll start with your first official Red Sox gear. I got to go to a game at Fenway Park the night before we came home and got you a souvenir.
Your uncle Ben and I picked it out and were thinking that it would fit you in the winter when you're around a year old. But as you can see it fits now and we woke up to a 47° morning and decided we'd wear it now. In fact, it's still cool in the house and you're napping in it now.
You developed some new habits and skills on the vacation and I'll write about those in future posts. I could ask you what your favorite part of the vacation was but I don't think I'd get much out of you on that.

More soon,
Love, Aba

You Got to Move it, Move it

Hi
Shira,

Your sister has a library book from the Sister Magic series. The key characters are 3rd grade Mabel and kindergartner Violet. Violet has magic powers. But you and Sidra have a different kind of Sister Magic. When I was lying on the bed with you as you were emerging from a sleep Sidra hopped up on the bed to greet you. As soon as you saw her you broke into a wide grin and cute dimples. Now that's what I call Sister Magic.

You're a pretty good crawler now. It took you awhile to get it down but you're loving being free to explore. A few weeks ago you were on your hands and knees and had the strength to do it but didn't seem to understand just how to do it. You spent a lot of time sitting, lunging, turning over, and then checking to see if you had gained on your target. It was sort of like moving a cube diagonally by rolling it once to the left and then once to the right. Now you're a relative speedster. Today you saw your sister zip past on her Ariel scooter and your eyes lit up and you took off in pursuit. Never mind that she zoomed past you in the opposite direction seconds later. Undaunted you turned and chased that way. You were thrilled just to be trying.

This morning when you were napping I had the monitor near you because I wanted to know when you were stirring. You've fallen off our bed a couple of times after waking from a nap. Today I looked in when I thought you might be waking and saw you just open your eyes. I left you and listened to the monitor from downstairs. Not trusting my ear I went back to check on you in a few minutes. When I looked in you were sitting up in the bed paging through Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom. That's one of the photos here.

There's something I'd like to tell you about. I like the way you use your hands your hands in various situations. When I'm holding you in the 'standard position,' propped on my (left) hip and you are upright, you have your right hand dangling behind me. When you're feeling the most comfortable or maybe when you want to show affection, you give my triceps muscle little squeezes. It makes me feel good when you do that. When you're in that standard position you sometimes tip your head towards mine so they touch gently at the temple. That's definitely a feel good gesture, too. Back to the hands. When I'm 'walking you' to get you to sleep or back to sleep your hands tell the story again. When you're not ready to sleep you are grabbing fistfuls of shirt, skin or hair. When this is going on I am holding your head in the crook of my left arm and your left hand is in front of me and your right hand is behind me. As you begin to fade into sleep your hands open up and you gently touch me with your open palms. When you're falling asleep in a bed you are touching things (usually a blanket edge or pillow) softly with your hands. As you can see from the photo your favored sleep position is now face down.

You like to swing. In this video you are in your favorite kind of swing. Our local playground has swings like a chair with straight jacket straps and you don't seem to get as much out of that. In this video seems like the only part of the 20 minutes you swung that you weren't beaming from ear to ear.



Love, Aba