Mom's taking a short break from studying for the bar, so we'll keep this update brief:
Carmela turned 1 last month! Even though she had her big celebration on the 15th, Mom still made her a birthday cake and Mom and Dad sang Happy Birthday on her actual day, May 30.
Baby steps! Ela has tried taking a few steps on her own, and she kind of likes it! It's scary and exhilarating, and she has the most wonderful look of excitement on her face (after she plops down onto her butt). Sometimes the steps go forward, sometimes they go backward, sometimes they stay in one place. She'll get the hang of it.
Climbing! Yes! Carmela has figured out how to climb things — she hikes up her little knee, finds a good hold, and pulls up with her arms, pawing and clamoring along with her other foot. She does best when Mom or Dad is there to help (she still feels a little unsure about this business), and she hasn't yet gotten it firmly established that she can't plop her butt down on the stairs because she'll topple backward over the edge. Also, she can go up, but she's a little scared to go down because she doesn't know how. She has great enthusiasm, though! And Mom's working on teaching her how to get back down.
Words aplenty! Ela doesn't talk too much, but there's a near-constant stream of babble, and her vocabulary is growing, even if she doesn't use it yet.
Ela's almost graduated from the baby food and is moving more into small, cut-up bits of whatever Mom and Dad are having for dinner. Bread, cheese, and toast remain hands-down favorites, although lately, Carmela discovered how to spit things out (open mouth, extrude tongue, let food spill onto chest, smile winningly), so she's been doing that a lot with her toast. She tried cherries yesterday and gave them a big thumbs up. Tonight we're trying kiwi (if she ever wakes up from her nap ... and considering it's going on 8 p.m., which is bedtime, tonight's looking a little questionable).
Ela has developed a little bit of separation anxiety, possibly after all the recent disruption to her routine because of Mom's bar class. She makes the most pitiful expression — big pouty bottom lip, big watery tears, eyebrows raised — as she crawls as fast as her little arms will carry her toward the door while Mom tries to sneak out. Thankfully, Dad gives *awesome* pony rides, so those serve as a pretty good distraction while Mom leaves. This is definitely the hardest and most heartbreaking part of bar prep, and Mom hates it.
Motor skills: Ela is able to play with her toys in whole new ways now that she has a firm grasp of object permanence. She loves to play with things that go in other things, and sometimes find a way to put things in places they don't go. She likes cars, push toys, and other toys that roll, and she really likes to play with balls. Mirrors are still a thrill. These things pale, though, compared to talking on the phone. Ela will drop anything to talk on the phone (and we have a couple of old defunct models she gets to play with). She also loves to talk on her penguin tub toy, her Desitin tube, and her Little People construction worker — anything she can hold up to her ear and jabber at is A-OK with her. Incidentally, Ela goes into hysterics if she can't have a latte cup when she and Mom make a trip to Starbucks (Mom gives her her own cup with a lid so she can play with that and Mom can enjoy her decaf americano) or the set of keys when we lock up the house.
Big girl! At her last doctor appointment (which was earlier this month), Ela measured 31 inches (long? tall?) and weighed in at 20 pounds. She's long and thin — back in the 95th percentile for length (height?), but only in the 30th for weight. Mom has tried feeding her more, but honestly doesn't get it, as Mom has precisely the opposite problem.
This little monkey is so much fun — we love her more every day!
