The Power of Words

Today, Staley and I were working on crawling.  (Well, actually, I've mastered crawling, so I was helping Staley.)  Staley is often very content to sit and play, and she still prefers rolling as her primary means of independent mobility.  She is starting to get up onto her hands and knees, but has still not figured out how to move herself forward on her stomach or on her hands and knees.  So during our play time today, I was using the most powerful motivational tool that I know...my cell phone.  I would place the cell phone several feet away from Staley and then help her move forward on her stomach to reach it.  I would then let her play with it for a minute or two (so sorry if anyone got a random call from me), and then I'd take it and make her scoot forward to it again.  After we had done this about 3 or 4 times, I took the cell phone away and placed it several feet away from Staley once more.  Instead of moving forward with my help as she had done previously, Staley rolled onto her back, looked right at me, and signed 'more.'  I guess Staley has already figured out that you don't have to learn how to crawl if you can just tell someone what you want.  I must say, I was quite impressed with her understanding and use of her one sign.  Oh, the power of language!  Unfortunately for Staley, I still believe in the power of mobility as well, so I deliberately misinterpreted her 'more' to mean 'more crawling' and made her scoot forward to get the cell phone once more.

The Good, the Bad, and the Unfortunate

The Good:
Zach took Friday off work for a 2-day family trek down to St. Louis.  We enjoyed taking Staley to Grant's Farm and the zoo, and we got to spend some time with our friends and their new baby twins.  As always, Staley did great traveling.  She napped for most of the ride down and back, enjoyed the sights (zebras still appear to be her favorite zoo animal), and slept great in the hotel. 

Family time at Grant's Farm

Petting the goats (who then tried to eat Staley and Zach's clothes)

The fun tram ride at Grant's Farm

Hanging with new buds Mason and Madison

The Bad:

The carpenter for our house project came on Friday to finish up some of the trim work.  He finished his work for the day on Friday afternoon, locked up our house, and shut the door to the basement before he left.  Unfortunately, the cats were upstairs...and their litter boxes are in the basement.  So from Friday until Saturday evening when we got home, the cats did not have access to their litter boxes.  Apparently the next best thing to a litter box is our bed (for peeing) and the corner couch cushion (for pooping).

The Unfortunate:

So instead of getting home from a fun week-end away and relaxing for the evening, we instead cleaned up kitty poop off the couch, rented a steam vac to clean the violated couch cushion, threw out our mattress (along with the sheets and comforter), and went out to buy a new mattress (so we'd have somewhere to sleep for the night).  On the plus side, the mess was contained to those two specific spots...and at least we weren't gone for a week.

"More, Please"

This is Staley's new favorite phrase.  Can she say it?  Nope.  But can she sign it?  You bet!  Staley now officially understands and uses the sign for 'more' consistently. (We just add the please to hopefully start some early lessons in manners).  She doesn't even need prompting.  Once a bite of food has entered her mouth or the last Cheerio has been eaten off her tray, she's signing for 'more' before she has even finished swallowing.  Eating is good motivation when teaching her to sign since eating remains one of her favorite activities.

And along with her official first sign, we've come to a consensus and declared 'mama' Staley's first word.  She still doesn't always use it in context, but she has become more consistent crying it when I walk away or saying it when looking at me.  I still wasn't convinced (I'm a stickler about being absolutely sure before declaring a 'first'), but Zach was ready to make it official.  (And who am I to complain about my daughter's first word being 'mama'?)  She has also said 'up' several times when playing a game where she stands up and then plops down, and she said 'Papa' a few times one day when her Papa Sancken was over.  And 'uhmah' or 'mum' are frequently paired with the sign for 'more', so that one is getting close.  Staley is so alert and interested in her world, and it will be fun when she can share more of her thoughts with us.  But she can already share one thought--'more food, please'--and that's a good start.

Special Greetings from my Little Pumpkin

Big Drinker

Over the past few weeks, we have been giving Staley a little water at meal times to help introduce her to cup use.  After she finishes drinking her water (with us holding the cup), I will let her play with the cup (which is always great fun.)  Yesterday, during her after-drinking-play-time, she began lifting the cup to her mouth.  I put a little more water into her cup (just to see what she would do), and she drank it down...ALL BY HERSELF.

Mommy's big drinker!

Cousins are the Best!

Each month, Staley's baby book has sections to fill in.  I can write her routines, favorite toys, foods she likes, funny things she does, places she's been.  One of the sections is:  "My friends are______________."  And it makes me smile each time I can fill that space in with "my cousins."  Staley loves spending time with her cousins, and I love that Staley has cousins nearby who are close in age.

Elliott loves to give hugs, tickle her toes, and share his toys.

Even though Staley has a few pounds on him, Liam can hold his own...

as evidenced by trying to eat his cousin...

and steal her toys.

Girl's Day Out with Olivia and Lila was fun, although Staley missed Cade while he was at school.

Olivia is such a fun and loving big cousin.

Staley already looks up to her.

In One Piece

I stood on our deck today.  Our deck that is no longer in the middle of the backyard.  Our deck that is attached to our house.  Our deck that is still in one piece.  And my husband and my father-in-law are still in one piece too.  It's a good day!