Monday, July 11, 2011

Keeping up with Helen (5 months old)

Current most frequently heard sounds in our house:

"Daddy! [Or, insert here "Mommy!" or "Maggie!" or "James!" or "John!" depending on which child is talking and who is nearby.] Come look where Helen is!" This is followed by gleeful and extremely LOUD peals of laughter. This is actually perhaps the favorite entertainment of the older kids - watching to see where Helen will go, and how fast.

We keep a quilt on the living room floor for Helen to play on. The idea is (a) she is on a cleaner surface than the carpet, (b) we have a defined area for her so no one steps on her and dangerous objects are kept out of her way, and (c) when she spits up, the puddles don't soak into the carpet (it is easier to wash a quilt). But since she learned to move a month ago, that quilt thing hasn't been working so much.

She moves by about 70% rolling (over and over and over - and she is quick), 20% rotating (like the hands of a clock, to get a new rolling direction), 10% inchworming (kind of a reverse GI-Jane crawl - arms stay outstretched towards the object of interest while the legs pull up in unison under her tummy and straighten out to push her forward toward the prize). There really is nothing safe and beyond her reach, now, if it is on the floor.

She loves to go for no-nos like books or magazines left on the floor, ignoring that family rule #1 has been, ever since James was this age, "No eating paper!" Her current favorite, though, is actually the fireplace hearth. The vertically placed, 12-inch high, super-smooth, black faux-marble tiles apparently feel really good to lick.  Yuck. Now there is a place it hadn't occurred to me to clean regularly before now.

Next time you come over, you may see our portable crib/playpen installed in the living room instead. I wonder how long it will take her to learn how to climb out of that?

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