Carmela and her bear.

Miss Carmela June, 4 months

4 months!

Carmela got a new Fisher-Price Jumperoo recently. We weren't sure how she'd take to it, but it turns out she loves it! She furrows her brow and drools in concentration as she swipes at the toys on the toy tray and bounces, bounces, bounces. Unfortunately you'll have to turn your computer or your head sideways to watch, but it's definitely worth the crick in your neck.

Ela had her 4-month visit to her doctor last week. She's 26 inches long now (95th percentile — she must get it from her dad's side of the family) and 14 pounds. She's getting so good with her hands, and with her hand-eye coordination. Where she used to bat and swipe at things sort of indiscriminately, she now looks at something (crinkly lion toy, dangling zebra toy, Mom's scarf or hair), reaches out her hand, grabs it, and scoops it to her chest or her mouth. She's very vocal, and loves making raspberry noises. Lately she seems to want to lurch forward to try to grab at things, and she's very, very interested in solid food — she studiously watches the fork travel from the plate to Mom or Dad's mouth, and she purses her lips when we chew.

She still doesn't love tummy time and her reluctance to be on her tummy means she doesn't roll over much — we're not sure what this means for crawling, but given how she is with her legs, she might just skip it and go straight to cruising. She also doesn't like sudden loud noises, and she's really particular about bedtime — she's more than ready for her milk and cuddly soft blanket at 7:30 or 8, and she's so, so mad if it doesn't happen. Ela sometimes gets mad at apple toy — she wants to pick it up and put it in her mouth, and she gets so frustrated that her hands won't work well enough to grasp it. Sad, but kind of funny, too.

Ela went to her first Hebrew Immersion Playgroup on Friday, where she met baby Aviva and baby Paige, and did the Hokey Pokey in Hebrew with Mom. She saw Aviva at services the next morning, and the two of them studied each other and reached for each other, and then held hands by way of baby introductions. Very sweet. Oh, Ela wore her Rosh Hashanah outfit to services, except we added white tights. It's chilly out now!