Growth in terms of weight seems to be plateauing a bit. Anni is 17.6 pounds. Unfortunately, I know this because she had to go to the ER last week. (She is fine now!) I would guess that Elli is somewhere around 19 pounds. We continue to rock 3-6 month clothing, but are integrating more and more 6-9 month items into our wardrobe.
I’m cherishing these toothless grins. No teeth yet! Thank goodness the girls love food and don't seem to mind mushing it around in their mouths. We are getting more hair, though! It now gets snarly in the bath tub, and it’s harder for me to achieve fuzzy, spiky hair-dos with a towel. As for color, in the words of a favorite L.M. Montgomery character: “I’d say it’s definitely auburn, and that’s sort-of close to blonde.”
This week, after 3 failed prior attempts (necessary equipment was unavailable), the girls sat and joined us at the table for 2 restaurant meals. (I even allowed them to digest some IHOP pancakes. Yum!) The girls love to people watch. (I’m certain that we have a lesson in staring at people ahead of us. ) Fortunately, we always seem to make friends. And, we make a lot of elderly people happy. Oh, the girls are simply delighted to smile and stare at the retirees who are shopping or eating. Anni will even wave upon command. (Elli has to be in the mood.) It’s a good thing I’m a happy person, because I have to say “thank you” a lot. My light conversation skills are getting good exercise. And, in all of our travels, the girls babble and squeal in the car – more often and more boisterously if I have the radio pumping.
Thanks for our beautiful seat covers, Grandma B! And our place-mats, Auntie Jess!
Both girls are crawling full-time now. Elli will pull or push herself up to standing in any given situation. Anni gets her little butt waggling so fast that I can hardly arrive at her destination in advance. They have been practicing taking steps with Luke. I’ve seen a huge improvement in their dexterity in recent weeks. They can orient objects in space – picking up fairly heavy toys and arranging them at the angle they desire. They carry objects of interest with them from room to room, and bang things together to see what noises they make. Everything new they pick up gets the “shake test” to see if it rattles. Elli likes to swiftly deconstruct stacked blocks and toys. Anni prefers to disassemble them layer by layer, and gets quite upset if it happens any other way.
Mailing Envelopes Get the "Shake Test"
Elli Masters Multi-Step Toy Repetition (This just amazes me.)
Remember last month when Elli was doing everything and Anni was content to watch? Yeaaaaaah. That changed a couple of days ago. Suddenly Anni is getting herself into all of the trouble she can, moving from one thing to the next. We can cover just about all of the “off-limit” items/areas in a matter of 5 minutes. And her sense of timing is uncanny… (or is it? ) She seems to wait to embark on her adventures until my services are employed elsewhere (i.e. changing a very stinky diaper).
Language development has been a big growth area. The girls can make an assortment of noises with their lips and tongues from clicks, to clucks, to kisses. Anni will “kiss kiss” a certain baby in a favorite book, and give fishy kisses when prompted. Elli gives French kisses, which are sloppier than you can imagine. Anni understands the phrase “turn the page” and Elli understands “switch”, as in: switch the hand that is holding the toy so I can wash the other or put it through a sleeve. Elli will initiate Peek-A-Boo by hiding her eyes behind a book or burp cloth. Both girls use common syllables, such as: “mum-mum” and “nine-nine” (Elli sounds very German when she says this). I know they mean something specific, but I haven’t quite figured it out yet. Elli does say “moo” whenever I do, but it’s more primal - like an “ooo” that initiates from the gut. She uses this to call Lucy (Anni makes kissing noises, because this is how Luke calls the dog).
That’s probably enough… It’s been a big month!
