Sunday, April 22, 2007

Walking with Terry and Heather

It was a beautiful day outside today. Heather and Terry came to visit! So, Vanessa spent a lot of time practicing her walking outside.

Vanessa looks to her aunt for a little guidance in walking.


Walking so fast!


Aunt Heather and Uncle Terry read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?" to Vanessa together. If Heather read the words on the page, and Terry made the sounds for the animals, they could almost get through the page before Vanessa turned it!

Vanessa has her Uncle Terry all tangled up! Or shall we say, wrapped around her little finger?
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Saturday, April 21, 2007

Oh so mobile!

Thank goodness we just got some child safety gates for the stairs, because Vanessa's mobility has dramatically increased this week! Her crawling no longer has a belly-flop component. I kind of miss the cuteness of the belly-flop, but I'm glad she doesn't practically knock the wind out of herself anymore!

I was talking with another mommy today about a particular crawling phenomenon. And that is, when you tell a baby to stay away from something, she'll turn around at you and grin, start breathing fast, and crawl off in the direction of the forbidden item just as fast as she can go! Vanessa demonstrated this for the first time today. Boy, I'm in for it now.
Vanessa's crawl is a pretty typical knees-and-hands kind of crawl now.
Vanessa is proud of her new crawling technique!
It was a beautiful day outside, and Vanessa and I went on a new kind of walk: I held her hand while she did the walking (no stroller involved!). After our rather short walk, we explored the back yard and Vanessa met the turtles made by her late great-great-grandma Edna.
And what are you supposed to be doing in your crib, my dear?

Vanessa likes to stand in her crib now instead of taking her naps. It helps to project her cries better so that she can make me more aware of the fact that she'd rather be playing, despite the fact that she's really tired. :)

Every time I figure out how to help Vanessa take her naps, she gets a little smarter and a little sneakier, and I have to develop a new strategy.
This week, I've determined that Vanessa likes to be put down twice for every nap. The first time, she wants to make sure one of her parents is still around, so she needs another hug and another song before going to sleep. Well, I think Daddy and I will always be happy to give you an extra hug, Vanessa!

Monday, April 16, 2007

Sleeping like her mommy

Aww, isn't this cute? Vanessa often sleeps with her bottom up in the air just like me when I was little! (James will tell you that I still sometimes curl up like this when I'm sleepy.)

Vanessa and Revie played again earlier this week. I was glad to see that Vanessa was much nicer to Revie this time!


Vanessa likes to cruise around on her safety gate by grabbing onto her toys as she goes. I like to think of it as bouldering. Maybe she'll like rock-climbing one day!
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Sunday, April 15, 2007

First step?

So, if a baby is standing by herself for about 5 seconds, then takes a step forward to grab onto something, and doesn't fall over, does that count as a first step?

If so, our baby took her first step today! If not, I'm sure I'll be just as proud later when she wows me with some real walking!

Friday, April 13, 2007

Big bully

Revie was trying to kiss Vanessa the other day, and Vanessa wasn't so nice! Hopefully one day when Vanessa is older, she'll find this picture as funny as I do!

We've been working on teaching Vanessa the word "gentle." I hope she learns fast!

Monday, April 09, 2007

Some Easter Fun

So I realized it had been awhile since I posted to the blog. I have some fun pictures, but I really want to tell all of you how silly our wonderful daughter is. Often when she's lying on her back, she'll start flapping both arms like she's trying to take off. If I pretend to eat her fingers or her toes, she just starts giggling hysterically. Very contagious.

It's also really cool to see how quickly she's growing up. Every day when I come home from work, I'm half expecting Vanessa to say Daddy, run up to the door, and give me a big hug on my leg. ;) She's really mobile now. She can crawl slowly all around the room, can walk with support from Mommy or Daddy, and can pull herself to standing. Must babyproof house faster....

She's also really interested in what you're saying. Story time has become very exciting for her, especially if silly sound effects are involved. She loves it when we sing to her which means she must not have developed her sense of pitch yet. I'm pretty sure she knows her name is Vanessa and that we're Mommy and Daddy. Grandma, Grandpa, and Nana are close. Oh, and she definitely knows banana (her favorite real food).


We went over to my parent's house for Easter.
We actually managed to get one picture of the three of us.

Here Vanessa shows off to Nana how she can walk with a little bit of help from Mommy.

Poor sleepy Vanessa is about to get attacked by...

The incredible hugging Nana, aka Nana Banana!

Vanessa wasn't so happy with Lily barking to say hi. Poor Vanessa!

Vanessa is thinking very hard about making a silly face for the camera...

But she settles for a smile instead.






Saturday, April 07, 2007

Teething!

Vanessa had her very first tooth pop through her gums yesterday! That seems like a very big step to me. What a big girl!

So Vanessa has had a few grouchy mornings this week, with her teeth coming in and a slight cold that she and I have been sharing. After her morning nap, though, she's been so cheerful and active. I guess she's just not a morning person!

You might not be able to tell from this picture, but Vanessa is asking to be picked up. She just happens to be holding her socks which I let her play with. I laugh because sometimes it seems like she can't drop certain objects when she wants to. She shakes them and shakes them, but they're still tight in her grasp!

Vanessa has been impressing me and daddy with her new ability to sit up from a crawling position. That's what she's about to do here.

Oh, I have to tell you about her new crawling technique! We call it her bunny-hop flop. She bunches her knees under her body, much like in the picture above, and then she pushes off with her feet, throws her arms up in the air, and does a belly flop on the floor. Sometimes she does it so hard it makes her grunt! It's not a terribly effective crawling technique, but it does get her to go forward. I hope she'll find a much gentler method soon!

Mommy loves Vanessa SOOOO much!
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Monday, April 02, 2007

A trip to Williamsburg

Vanessa went with us to Williamsburg this weekend to visit all kinds of family! She handled the drive to and from pretty well. She had a great time. She got to stay up late, sleep in, and explore lots of new territory inside and out.

Vanessa played with her new friend Abigail (10 months) on Friday before we left for Williamsburg. Abigail showed Vanessa a little bit of her crawling technique.
Vanessa with her daddy and Joanna. Vanessa loved Joanna's hair!
Vanessa and grampa just relaxing. They played lots and took some walks outside in the beautiful weather.

Uncle John helps Vanessa stand up.
Aunt Kalena's turn to hold Vanessa!
Uh-oh, Vanessa, Nana's got the giggles. What did you do now?
Uncle Brian gave Vanessa a little entertainment with her dinner.