As I type this, Melody is jumping in her doorway jumpy thingie and sucking on a frozen apple slice through a mesh feeder thingie. Yes, I said thingie twice. Why am I starting off with this information? Just to illustrate--sniff! My baby is growing up!
I expect her bottom teeth to appear any minute. Her fingers have taken up residence in her mouth. Any object she holds goes in there too.
Her favorite place to be is on her tummy. She has plenty of stuff to "do" while she's there, like look at herself in her mirror.
Her favorite games--there's the boring patty cake and peekaboo that I play with her. (Cuz, well, they work. She loves them.) But daddy's more creative. They have a routine where they do the hand jive, the mashed potato, the alligator, and the twist.
Her favorite person--toss-up between mommy and brother. She has to love me, I'm her mother. But the bond she has with Theo is really special. He made up a game where she lies on her playmat and he pulls it around. He's driving her around in a "schoolbus." He even tells her to put on her seatbelt! And to think we once worried that he didn't engage in imaginary play. She loves the game too, because it's an excuse to smile in awe at Theo as he walks around with her. Yesterday Theo held up a microphone to her and she broke out into wild laughter, which made him laugh. I love watching my babies! Which also includes my orange babies, who tend to sniff her periodically and then walk away. They're incredibly gentle with her...they just know.
We've taken to having Melody in bed with us when we read to Theo at storytime nightly. She loves books! She has no favorite at this stage, but she enjoys the process of looking at the pictures and the turning pages. Although again, she tends to watch Theo more than the books, with wide eyes. She likes to touch him. She grabs him and pokes him and pinches him. Like the cats, he's very tolerable around her and giggles and asks me why Melody is pinching him.
With Melody's gums still bare, breastfeeding is still a pleasure! The best part is her excitement when she knows it's mealtime. When she sees the "dinner" draw near, she flails her arms around and smiles, and her eyes twinkle! My favorite times are when she gets impatient with me and actually grabs my boob and brings it to her mouth. What a genius.
I started her on solids this week. Just a tablespoon of rice cereal here, a bit of smashed banana there. She likes everything she's had so far, but it's too soon to tell what she favors. I'm going to try to make as much of her baby food myself as I can, at least in the beginning. There is an awesome website for this: Wholesome Baby Food.
We still attend weekly playgroups with other mommies and babies in the 'hood. Melody really responds well to other babies. Like her brother, she's turning out to be a real observer.
On to stats--she's 15 and a half pounds and 24 inches long...that's 2 feet!
Now, Melody is asleep on daddy's chest. She's got him smitten, all right. He wants to build her a tower and keep her in it when she gets older. That closes my monthly report. I'm gonna go snuggle with my family!
