Short Entry

Just a short note to keep track of a few things. I can't do movies on my laptop anymore, but I've gotten some good ones recently. Hpefully I can find a way to post something soon. I just wanted to post that P's birthday yesterday was nice. We gave her a "big" wagon that we can pull her in around the yard or even off-site. :) Also, we got her a plastic swing that we hung from a tree. She was too scared to try it out though so we will try again - but definitely NOT at her party with other people around. I may in fact be tempted to take it down so people won't ask. Anyway, I keep forgetting to post that she has a fifth tooth now. It's her upper right lateral incisor. It's about half way in now. I anticipate it's mate on the left side within a week.

We bought her some tennis shoes at Walmart (I know - what about my boycott? Well, we needed a wagon dangit.) $10 from the boys department. All, and I mean all, the girl shoes were pink. She wore her new sneakers around for about 30 minutes this morning and I took a few pictures. She was very cute. I also ordered her a pair of Stride Rite's from Dillards online. They are more of what are doctor recommended - soft enough that you can just about bend the soles in half. They are solid white and look a lot like leather moccassins. They are spendy, but all the other moms at P's music class said Stride Rite was the best brand. They should arrive in time for her party, so we'll see. Shoes that I absolutely do not ever want for her: crocs or anything in patent leather. Just heading that off now. :)

Talking

Penny is really saying Ma-Ma now. She will still sometimes say "ubum" and sometimes say "ma-ma" in reverse, more like "am-am" where the "a" is like the "a" in "ball". And that is of course how "ubum" came about to begin with. She gets "ma-ma" right about 90-95% of the time now unless she is really tired or something and then it is "ubum". But the really cool thing is now she is really using language appropriately. She refers to me and Tray by name (ma-ma or da-da) and can call us if she wants us. And she can show us things and say the name, like pick up her duck, hold it out to us, and say "duck." Right now she likes to say "up" a lot too. Everytime I ask her does she want to do something, if the answer is yes she says "up".

In other non-talking related news, she can help clean up her toys now. I have to hand her whatever it is I want her to put in the basket, but she'll dutifully place it in the basket. And the last two days she's really gotten funny about playing peek-a-boo. She will "hide" behind all sorts of things or around corners, but what is so humorous is that she'll only hide her face or her head. The rest of her body is clearly still visible, but she thinks she's "hiding". It is really cute.

Walking

Well, my computer is pretty much shot. It's been one thing after another trying to get it up and running and internet functional. Anyway, Penny has really been walking the last few days. I don't think I have seen her crawl at all for the last two days. She walks every where she wants to go now. And she's fast too! Poor Mullet!

One thing that I have really enjoyed the last couple days is how she holds my hand to walk. She used to hold on for balance, but now she will hold it like a big kid would hold your hand - not because they need to, but because you ask them too. It feels so nice and it makes me smile. I love her so much!

More Mischeviousness

Currently Penny finds humor in making you think she is going to do one thing and then doing another. She often tries to hand you a cheerio or some such only to rescind the offer and eat it herself. Well, my mom and I will sit across from each other in the floor and let Penny walk back and forth between us. She will get almost to my mom and then turn around and run back to me really fast giggling at her little joke. It is too cute.

Penny has had a great time with her Nana being here since Sunday. My mom has the magic nap mojo and P has taken two naps a day everyday. Plus, I changed bedtime tactics and have gotten her to sleep at night with nary a tear the last three days. Pray that that holds.

Let's see - what else has been going on. Everyday I see evidence that she understands more and more words. My mom was wearing a shirt with appliqued flowers around the neck. She would point outside to Penny to say, "see the flowers?" and Penny would point to her shirt. I need to be more careful about what I say because everyday I realize some word or another that she understands that I didn't think she would and just because she can only say ten or eleven words doesn't mean she doesn't understand a lot more than that. She probably says a lot more than that too, but unless we catch the context right we don't realize what it is she said.

Other things: She has stopped wanting to ride in her wagon and is concentrating on climbing in one side and out the other over and over. This is a nice reprieve for the backs of us caregivers. :) She can now walk backwards - not by herself, but when holding on to your fingers. My mom showed her how to drum her fingers and this evening she tried to get me to do it. I didn't know what she was doing until my mom told me. Unfortunately, I don't have any fingernails since I cut them for the fiddle. Also, she's been doing this off and on for awhile, but today she did it all day over and over - kicking the ball as she walks. She's going to be a soccer star! Oh, and a really sweet thing. About ten minutes before I was due to come home, she went to the window and started watching the road for my car and got upset that I wasn't there. When she does see me at the road, she gets so excited and practically mobs me when I come in the door. Nothing like it for the self-esteem I tell you.

Peek-a-boo

On the way up to Georgia yesterday, Penny started playing peek-a-boo with her blanket. It was sooo cute. She'd hold the blanket up for the longest time and then start giggling before she pulled it down. On the way home this evening Tray had some shirts hanging from the door hanger next to her and she took one of his long-sleeve shirt sleeves and was pulling it across her eyes playing peek-a-boo with me. It was so much fun.

She has a very mischevious sense of humor. She likes to grab ahold of my hair and rub it on her face. This makes her laugh a very distinctive silly laugh. She laughs the same way when she grabs ahold of Mullet. She knows she's doing something she isn't supposed to, but she likes it and so she does it and laughs about it. It's hard to get upset with her when she does it because her little devious laugh is so cute (even though in the case of grabbing Mullet I kind of have to be stern because I don't want her to get scratched or something).

Big Two Days

The last two days or so have been amazing in terms of Penny's development. She is changing so fast, we have trouble keeping up with it all. I'm going to try to write it all here, but I'm sure I'll forget something. But trying not to forget things is the reason I write them here to begin with so I will do my best. In no particular order:

1. For about two weeks or more she's been really into her wagon. She loves to climb in and out of it and will get in and sit down and wait for you to come push her. Actually, she loves to climb into anything she can get into, including her toy basket, the laundry basket, and the boiler we let her have to use as a drum.

2. As of today, we discovered that she understands "in" and "out" as concepts. You can ask her to get a particular toy and put it "in" to something and she will, and then if you ask her to get it "out" again she will.

3. She understands lids and likes to place them onto containers.

4. She's been fake laughing for awhile now. If she hears someone laugh even in another room she'll imitate them with a fake laugh. But starting today she is fake coughing. Every time Tray clears his throat or coughs (which is more than he realized until she started doing this!) she will imitate him by fake coughing. It is really pretty funny.

5. Tonight she started feeding herself with the spoon for the first time. I still had to dip the food onto the spoon but then I just handed it to her and she fed herself. Really, really cool.

Also, yesterday I took her to baby music class at the YMCA. It was so much fun! We played with all kinds of instruments. She especially loved the big drum. As soon as the teacher pulled it out, she crawled over to it and started banging on it with her hand. Once she was given a drumstick she went to town. The other two (older) kids never got the hang of it - so I was kind of proud that she knew what to do. And at the end of class the teacher turned the drum upside down to use to clean up all the other stuff and Penny (of course) promptly climbed inside and sat down. She was happy as a clam. She had fun with all the instruments and all day today has found things around the house and used them as shakers or to bang together like she learned to do yesterday. I didn't get any pictures b/c Tray had the camera with him, but I will take it next time. She had a total blast. I feel such a sense of pride at how well she did. One of the most annoying criticisms I've gotten is that Penny will some how not be socialized because she is not in daycare (despite the fact that lots of people are stay at home parents with their kids). That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard, but believe me I've heard it. Anyway, everytime we go somewhere like this, I am continually validated because she is wonderfully capable of interacting with other children and adults. She isn't even remotely shy or clingy to me at all. I know it's wrong but it just makes me want to rub people's faces in it! There's nothing wrong with her because she isn't in daycare. She's fine!

Finally, today we had a pre-Fourth-of-July party. I bought Penny a new baby pool. It is really neat. You hook it up to the water hose and it fills up with a couple inches of water and then starts sprinkling water out of holes in the top of it. It was super hot outside this afternoon and we set it up in the shade behind our house. Penny was scared at first, but we turned the water way down so the sprinkler parts didn't spray so big and she got in and started splashing around. A little later we turned it back up and she enjoyed the sprinklers. We also had a watermelon and we let her have some. She didn't know what to think about that. I think she liked it, but she kept trying to eat the rind instead of the watermelon part.

Here a few pictures from the last week and from today with her pool. We are headed up to the farm in Georgia in the morning, so I am sure there will be more Fourth of July festivities to report.

Ubum

I think that "Ubum" is how Penny says Mommy. I know it seems strange, but twice now I've tried to get her to say ma-ma-ma-ma and she responds by saying ma...ma...ubum..ubum. Today I said ma-ma to her and she looked at me and very intently said, "ubum." The only thing I can figure is that if you say the word "mommy" without the initial "m", as in "ommy" it can kind of come out like "ubum". It's a little wierd, but I'm pretty sure that's what she is doing.