Week 11

Dear Zayde,

This week I learned to stop being a bobble-head.  When adequately supported in an upright position, I can keep my head relatively steady.  Sure, I get tired eventually and face plant into the nearest bosom, but I'm learning to use my neck muscles for more than simply staying attached to Mommy while eating.  As they say, it takes baby steps.  I've also learned that every time I lift my head up while on my tummy, Mommy cheers.  Every.  Single.  Time.  She's also a fan of the bubbles I make with my lips.  Poor thing needs to get out more.

As Bubbi and Mommy can confirm, I learned this week that there is a clear correlation between my hands and my pacifier getting back into my mouth after it's fallen out.  We were all taking a nice walk in the marina when my pesky pacifier decided to jump ship and land on my chest.  As usual, I attempted to use my Jedi-baby mind tricks to will it back into my gaping mouth,  but it's a stubborn little sucker (pun intended), and it refused to budge.  This week I've learned to bring my hands together near the center of my chest and then up into my mouth, so I thought that I might suck on my fists for a while until the pacifier decided to behave itself.  Lo and behold, when I brought my hands to my mouth, the pacifier, caught up in the movement, landed right back where it belonged.  Bubbi and Mommy exclaimed with glee because they are easily amused and must lead incredibly boring lives to be entertained by something so mundane.  The good news is that I was able to continue with my preferred method of sucking, and now I have a new trick to practice.  I have yet to repeat this performance with consistency, but I know it won't be long until I've mastered the mind-hand-mouth-pacifier connection.  And if it works for the pacifier, imagine what else I might be able to get in there!

This week I learned that I have Great Uncles and Great Aunts, and you know what?  They're indeed pretty great.  Just like grandparents, these older folks hold me, talk to me in pleasant voices, and hand me to the nearest parent when I start to fuss or get particularly stinky.

Have you even been to a park?  I learned that parks are places where children play and babies lie on blankets while gentle breezes and warm sunshine lull us to sleep.  We went to the park with my boyfriend and his older sister, whose baby clothes I often wear.  She sang and danced for me, and I found her to be quite interesting, especially after Mommy told me that in just a few short years I would be running around just like this adorable girl.  It was an all around wonderful experience, and the only thing that would have made it perfect is if Mommy had mustered the courage to feed me out there.  I hear a picnic in the park is pure bliss.

Speaking of eating out, this week I learned that it is possible for both my Mommy and Daddy to leave the house at the same time.  On Friday they had something called an anniversary, and to celebrate, I got to spend an evening with my Grandma and Savtah.  They held me and played with me on my mat, and they even gave me a bottle full of milk.  I hardly noticed that my parents were gone, and I was fast asleep by the time they returned.  I really hope they have another one of these anniversaries soon because being loved by my grandparents is a glorious way to spend a few hours.

It's almost time now for my evening walk.  I've trained Mommy to take me out every evening about this time.  It's much better than staying inside during the early evening hours when there's nothing to do but cry about the passing of another day.  I love the sunset and the motion of the stroller bumping along the sidewalk, and it's great exercise for Mommy.  She says all this walking will get her back into her old jeans in no time.  I'm not sure what she means, but I think we're going to have to walk pretty far to get to wherever those jeans are.  We keep going around and around our neighborhood, and we haven't found them yet.

Your still blonde and blue-eyed granddaughter,
Zelda