Anastasia has started a lot of new tricks in the past week, so I thought I'd write them down so I don't forget. A few of the cutest:
* Hugging. She hugs everything. First she would "Hug Mama" or "Hug Dada"--which she always does cheek first. She leans her head against you, then wraps her arms around you as far as she can reach, and then pats you with one hand. It's adorable. But lately she hugs everything. She hugs her toys; she hugs the floor; she hugs the wall; the other day when she wanted a bath, she hugged the side of the bathtub. (Of course I had to give her a bath then, only because it was so incredibly cute.)
* Saying "no." Not in words. She just shakes her head. It started the other day when I was trying to give her some teething medicine; she pulled her face away and then shook her head violently back and forth. "You don't want the medicine?" I asked, and she shook her head again. "No no no no no!" I said. "Are you saying, 'No no no no no!'?" She kept shaking her head, laughing a little now, and it's quickly become one of her favorite games. She definitely knows what it means, though, and uses it when she doesn't want something. I really hope to catch this on camera sometime soon, while it's still so adorably cute, so I can look back at it once she starts the real toddler tantrums and remember how darling her first "nos" were.
* Reading. She loves books (how could she not, with me for a mom?). I've always read while I nursed her, and now sometimes when I'm trying to nurse her to sleep, she'll roll away, sit up, crawl over to her own books, and sit there and turn the pages, watching me as she does so for approval. "See?" she's clearly thinking. "I can read my own book, just like Mommy!"
* Follow directions. She'll do all sorts of cute things when prompted: hugging, of course, is one of her favorites, but she'll also clap her hands, dance, pat the dog (or Daddy), and touch her tongue to her nose. (The last one is probably my favorite.)
Showing posts with label memories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label memories. Show all posts
11.20.2008
Anastasia crawled!
Anastasia crawled this morning. Really crawled on her hands and knees, not belly-scootched like she's been doing for a while. We were in the bathroom. I was going to take a shower, so I put her on the floor with a bunch of toys while I got ready. As usual, when I set her down, she landed on her hands and knees and stayed there for a minute. Usually she rocks that way for a while and then lowers herself to her belly and moves around that way. But today, she sat there very still and serious for a minute, and then she crawled: first one hand, then one knee, and then the other hand, then the other knee. She went about four steps before she lowered herself to her belly to play with a toy. But after weeks of watching her get frustrated as she tried to do this, I was very impressed!
Now, of course, she already seems to have forgotten how she did it, because when she tried again later, she got frustrated again. But of course it's only a matter of time--and a very short time, it looks like--before she's moving all over the place too fast to keep up with. My easy days of babywatching are over. Time to get ready to run after her all over the house.
Other tricks she's learned recently:
* Clapping. Mary and I both occasionally have clapped for her when she did something cool, but she suddenly started imitating it without really much prompting. Now she does it on cue. "Clap your hands!" I'll say, and usually she'll respond by clapping them and giggling, a big grin on her face. Adorable.
* Peek-a-boo. I definitely didn't teach her this, and we only played it a couple of times before she figured it out. I really don't think I'd done it more than once or twice--you know, the whole thing where I put a blanket on her head and say, "Where's Anastasia?" and then whip it off with a triumphant, "There she is!" But after we'd done this a few times, Anastasia started doing it herself. The first time, she used a book. She put it on her head like a hat and looked at me expectantly, with an unmistakable "I'm-playing-a-game-now!" face.
"Where's Anastasia?" I asked agreeably, although I didn't really think she was going to do it. But sure enough, she waited just a minute--with an impressive sense of comedic timing--before whipping the book off her head and grinning at me. "There she is!"
She really is at the best age now. I think I say that all the time, but it's true what a neighbor told me: she just keeps getting better.
Now, of course, she already seems to have forgotten how she did it, because when she tried again later, she got frustrated again. But of course it's only a matter of time--and a very short time, it looks like--before she's moving all over the place too fast to keep up with. My easy days of babywatching are over. Time to get ready to run after her all over the house.
Other tricks she's learned recently:
* Clapping. Mary and I both occasionally have clapped for her when she did something cool, but she suddenly started imitating it without really much prompting. Now she does it on cue. "Clap your hands!" I'll say, and usually she'll respond by clapping them and giggling, a big grin on her face. Adorable.
* Peek-a-boo. I definitely didn't teach her this, and we only played it a couple of times before she figured it out. I really don't think I'd done it more than once or twice--you know, the whole thing where I put a blanket on her head and say, "Where's Anastasia?" and then whip it off with a triumphant, "There she is!" But after we'd done this a few times, Anastasia started doing it herself. The first time, she used a book. She put it on her head like a hat and looked at me expectantly, with an unmistakable "I'm-playing-a-game-now!" face.
"Where's Anastasia?" I asked agreeably, although I didn't really think she was going to do it. But sure enough, she waited just a minute--with an impressive sense of comedic timing--before whipping the book off her head and grinning at me. "There she is!"
She really is at the best age now. I think I say that all the time, but it's true what a neighbor told me: she just keeps getting better.
7.14.2008
becoming a mom
Lately Anastasia has begun to distinguish among people. More specifically, she's beginning to notice a difference between the two main categories of humans in her world: "mom" and "not mom."
For a lot of parents, I hear, this stage is frustrating because she's less and less willing to be comforted by anyone who falls into the category of "not mom." Babies who could once be passed off to someone else for a while become more clingy. Moms get more tired as they become more in demand.
That's the reaction I expected to have, anyway. I was tired when Anastasia wanted to be held all the time; I thought it would be even harder when she insisted that I be the one to hold her.
But my expectations were--as is so often the case--completely wrong. The truth is, I love this stage.
I've spent a lot of time in my life with babies and little children. I'm familiar with the pattern: you play with the baby until it gets fussy or cries, and then you pass it off to mom. I never realized how strange it would feel when suddenly I was the one people were passing the fussy baby off to. (How does one know what to do at that point, anyway?) But even stranger was the moment when somebody passed her to me--and she stopped crying. Just like that. She stopped crying because I was holding her.
Which is something I've never experienced before.
But I guess it's only one of the first of the amazing things that happen when you cross the barrier into that magical, unique, one-woman category of "mom."
For a lot of parents, I hear, this stage is frustrating because she's less and less willing to be comforted by anyone who falls into the category of "not mom." Babies who could once be passed off to someone else for a while become more clingy. Moms get more tired as they become more in demand.
That's the reaction I expected to have, anyway. I was tired when Anastasia wanted to be held all the time; I thought it would be even harder when she insisted that I be the one to hold her.
But my expectations were--as is so often the case--completely wrong. The truth is, I love this stage.
I've spent a lot of time in my life with babies and little children. I'm familiar with the pattern: you play with the baby until it gets fussy or cries, and then you pass it off to mom. I never realized how strange it would feel when suddenly I was the one people were passing the fussy baby off to. (How does one know what to do at that point, anyway?) But even stranger was the moment when somebody passed her to me--and she stopped crying. Just like that. She stopped crying because I was holding her.
Which is something I've never experienced before.
But I guess it's only one of the first of the amazing things that happen when you cross the barrier into that magical, unique, one-woman category of "mom."
6.27.2008
teaching herself how to roll over again
So yesterday when I was posting the video of Anastasia rolling over, she was watching it with me. She hadn't rolled over in a couple of weeks, but I figured it was just because she preferred to be on her back right now.
Apparently she'd actually forgotten how to do it...but watching the video reminded her.
When I put her on the floor after watching the video, she immediately rolled over several times in a row. She's done it again every time I've put her on her back today. How clever is she? She reminded herself of her new trick!
Apparently she'd actually forgotten how to do it...but watching the video reminded her.
When I put her on the floor after watching the video, she immediately rolled over several times in a row. She's done it again every time I've put her on her back today. How clever is she? She reminded herself of her new trick!
6.20.2008
moments I want to remember forever
A few things I never want to forget:
...the way Anastasia looks up at me while she's nursing and suddenly smiles and then starts "talking" to me like she's telling me all about her day...
...the way she sounds exactly like a dolphin when she "talks," with squeaks and whistles that no adult human could imitate...
...the way she sometimes imitates sounds I make, like "I-ah-oo" (I love you) or "ok"...
...the way she says things that sound just like words, most commonly "ungee!" (but it doesn't really mean hungry; we checked)
...the way Matt plays the "animal sounds" game with her: "What does a cow say? Moo! What does a horse say? Neigh! What does a dog say? Ruff, ruff! What does an Anastasia say? Ungee!!!!"
...the way once when she wanted to nurse and I was getting ready for bed, and she was rooting and wiggling and looking for me, and Matt curled up next to her with his face right next to her face to comfort her...and she kept rooting around until she suddenly took a big gulp and latched on--to his nose! I came to bed to find him shaking with silent laughter, trying not to move, as she sucked and gnawed away on the most protuberant part of his face.
...the way Matt takes her out of my arms as soon as he gets home from work, looks her in the eyes, and tells her that he thought about her all day...
...the way Anastasia nuzzles into my neck when I hold her up against my shoulder and wraps her arm around my neck like she's determined to hold herself there...
...the feeling of her damp, slightly sticky, tiny little fingers gripping mine...
...the way she smiles and giggles when I touch her nose and say "boop!"
...the way total strangers gather around me everywhere I go to admire her and rave about how adorable she is...
...the way her eyes are a different color every day...
...the way she fusses and cries when she's tired, and when I take her into the bedroom and lie her down on the bed, she suddenly quiets and gets still and content and looks up at me thankfully with her big, dark eyes...
...the way she cries when she's really mad, with her arms flung up by her face and her little features all scrunched up and her skin red, and even though it makes me sad it makes me want to laugh at the same time, because it reminds me of the moment she was born and how she cried then, and how happy I was...
...the way I love her more every time I see her, and I never knew it was possible to love anyone so much.
...the way Anastasia looks up at me while she's nursing and suddenly smiles and then starts "talking" to me like she's telling me all about her day...
...the way she sounds exactly like a dolphin when she "talks," with squeaks and whistles that no adult human could imitate...
...the way she sometimes imitates sounds I make, like "I-ah-oo" (I love you) or "ok"...
...the way she says things that sound just like words, most commonly "ungee!" (but it doesn't really mean hungry; we checked)
...the way Matt plays the "animal sounds" game with her: "What does a cow say? Moo! What does a horse say? Neigh! What does a dog say? Ruff, ruff! What does an Anastasia say? Ungee!!!!"
...the way once when she wanted to nurse and I was getting ready for bed, and she was rooting and wiggling and looking for me, and Matt curled up next to her with his face right next to her face to comfort her...and she kept rooting around until she suddenly took a big gulp and latched on--to his nose! I came to bed to find him shaking with silent laughter, trying not to move, as she sucked and gnawed away on the most protuberant part of his face.
...the way Matt takes her out of my arms as soon as he gets home from work, looks her in the eyes, and tells her that he thought about her all day...
...the way Anastasia nuzzles into my neck when I hold her up against my shoulder and wraps her arm around my neck like she's determined to hold herself there...
...the feeling of her damp, slightly sticky, tiny little fingers gripping mine...
...the way she smiles and giggles when I touch her nose and say "boop!"
...the way total strangers gather around me everywhere I go to admire her and rave about how adorable she is...
...the way her eyes are a different color every day...
...the way she fusses and cries when she's tired, and when I take her into the bedroom and lie her down on the bed, she suddenly quiets and gets still and content and looks up at me thankfully with her big, dark eyes...
...the way she cries when she's really mad, with her arms flung up by her face and her little features all scrunched up and her skin red, and even though it makes me sad it makes me want to laugh at the same time, because it reminds me of the moment she was born and how she cried then, and how happy I was...
...the way I love her more every time I see her, and I never knew it was possible to love anyone so much.
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