Little Miss Walker

How quickly things change!

First, a health update.... Jadyn's visit to the doc yesterday AM revealed her ears were clear -- yay! no ENT specialist visit! -- and that she had gained almost a pound in 4 weeks. She is now up to 18 pounds, 9 ounces, and her weight is tracking right along the 5-10% growth curve. Mommy is going to stop worrying about whether Jadyn is eating enough (or so she says). Jadyn got her H1N1 booster shot at the visit as well. And she has now come down with a little cold that appears to be going around the 'waddler' room; let's hope she doesn't share this one with Mommy and Daddy.

For the past week or two, we have witnessed Jadyn willing to try walking a step or two into a parent's arms, egged on by one or both parents. But on Sunday night, with our wonderful neighbors over for dinner, she made the choice to take a couple of steps of her choosing away from Daddy and toward her friend Cleo. All 4 adults were watching intently without encouraging, and as fast as the moment came, it went again, as J dropped down to her knees and wondered why we were suddenly all clapping for her. Then on Monday evening, and again at several times today, Jadyn has chosen to walk many steps between two "safe" locations -- the coffee table and the doorway to the kitchen, for instance. Check out this video for proof of her new status as a walker!


Over the past couple of weeks, Jadyn has added a few more tricks to her repertoire of cute baby antics: taking a firm hold of her toothbrush to brush her teeth by herself (Mommy still makes the buzzing sound of the Sonicare for effect), putting her hand over her mouth and nose and then waving her hand outward to blow a kiss, carefully pointing out noses on all members of the household (cats included), growling 'bow-wow-wow' when she sees a dog or hears one bark, and also imitating the cats' meows. She has also discovered that she can fit a finger perfectly inside a nostril. Temper tantrums now sometimes include knocking her head on the floor for extra effect (we're trying not to give this particular antic any response). After a few prompts from Mommy, she began identifying the moon, when the clouds have cleared so she can see it. She regularly uses the sign for "all done" at the end of meals and when she is finished on the swings at the park, and we think she signed "more" one day at the dinner table, too. We'll keep practicing that one.

Here's another couple of shots of Jadyn on her bunny chair. Super cute!