a few stories, and snow in the house...

I wanted to write out a few events that happened yesterday and today. They are too cute to forget, and too cute to not share with others.

Heidi loves to play with a container of old-fashioned clothes pins. She decided to turn them into a new game. She picked up a couple, pulled to stand at the bathtub, and threw them into the tub. She knelt down, picked up a few more pins, pulled to stand, and threw them in. Heidi repeated this over and over, until they were all in the bathtub. She giggled and was so excited and proud of herself the entire time. (and great self-directed therapy activity to help strengthen her leg muscles, and to practice getting down from standing)

Heidi crawled through her tunnel, and both dogs watched. A few minutes later, Sophie went through the tunnel to get at a toy. And then later, Skipper walked through the tunnel on his own accord. I never dreamed he would do something like that! (and the tunnel is a great crawling activity for Heidi. Now if only she would get up on all fours to crawl - she prefers her fast army crawl)

Heidi received a present in the mail. Some animals to go with a Noah's ark toy. She noticed the box on the counter, and was very excited to see the animals inside. I took them out one at a time, and handed them to her. Her anticipation was contagious. She was so happy to hold each animal, and then looked forward to the next one.

Today, Heidi and I came downstairs in the morning. Our customary first task is to open the curtains in the family room, so the sunlight can come in. When we pulled the curtains back this morning, I noticed there was snow. Not just snow outside, which I expected, but snow inside as well! There was snow next to our sliding glass door. All the wind last night blew snow into the house!!!! And this wasn't the first location where we have had unwanted snow. It has also come under the front door, but that has since been fixed. Now we have another thing to add to the ever growing "to do list."

Word count for Heidi

At close to 11 months old, Heidi has the following words that she uses consistently, on her own, with no prompting.

2 verbal words: hi, mama

8 sign language words: hi, bye, more, milk, all done, hooray, up, where/uhoh

She will verbally imitate other words such as "dada" and imitate other signs such as "eat." I can't even count how many words and phrases that she understands. Heidi will follow a simple direction, such as "go get a book" or "give it to Sophie." She will look for the dogs, Kelby, Grandma, or Grandpa when asked to. If I ask "are you hungry?" she will sign "milk" if she wants it. When given a choice between two foods, or two books, she will reach for the one she wants. And sometimes points.

Here is a great, but fuzzy, picture of Heidi telling us "where did it go" or "uhoh, it fell."  Take your pick. I think either description is close.

Heidi

We finally got to see Laura and John.

Heidi and Laura, cheering for Syracuse basketball.

All adults are looking at the camera. We gave up trying to get the dog and baby to look at the camera at the same time along with everyone else.

Florida!!!!!

Heidi, Grandma, and myself had the wonderful experience of traveling to Ft. Myers Beach, Florida in order to visit my Grandma. So thankful that we were able to go, and we had a great time. Lots of new experiences and sensations for Heidi.

Without any more waiting, here are the pictures.

Heidi's first time at the beach. 

Heidi and me.

Heidi splashing in the ocean

Heidi drinking water from Grandma's cup

Grandma and Heidi at the pool.

Heidi and me, watching the activity in the kitchen.

Heidi in the hallway, playing the "catch me" game

Heidi practicing standing, and isolating her pointer finger :)

Heidi loved swimming. She was very relaxed.

Grandpa Gene, Heidi, Grandma. Practicing our wave.

4 generations

Heidi sleeping on the plane. We had a busy week!

10 months old

Totally a cliche, but I can't believe Heidi is already over 10 months old. I love every moment with her. It's been requested that I give Heidi updates more frequently. So first some pictures....

I convinced Kelby to put Heidi's new swing in the basement for now. Too cold outside. Please excuse the backdrop, we are still working on the basement.

Heidi swinging.

Heidi has decided to use us as climbing gyms.

Heidi and Daddy

She loves music. And she has learned how to push the buttons on the keyboard. Finally, she is strong enough to hold herself off her stomach for a few seconds at a time. She still prefers to army crawl. And she is super fast!

Heidi

 I love her different facial expressions. Very expressive with her eyes, eyebrows, nose, and mouth. It is as if in this picture she is saying, "mom, what IS that thing in front of you face???"

Heidi 10 months

Here is Heidi, pure enjoyment and happiness. Love

Heidi 10 months.