Sydney Grace Huff: December 2008

We're having a ball with Sydney. It's so incredible watching her discover things and learn what her body can do. She's been feeding herself the little bits that I give her when she's sitting in her highchair and she seems so proud of herself when she picks up the bit and manages to get it out of her clenched fist and into her mouth. It's so fun to watch. Another proud moment is when she sips out of a cup, not a sippy cup, but a real glass. She hasn't figured out that she can put her hands around the glass yet, but she certainly gets a reward when she sips and swallows. Thank goodness for the plastic bib with the catch-all bottom, as she'd be giving herself a bath at the same time.
Syd's got the wave down pat now. It's all to say hello. Today my Mom pointed out that Syd is trying to say "kitty" now too. It's more of a "keeeeeeeeey" with lots of saliva, but it's coming. Sadly, that might be her first word, no mama and dada here, it's all about the kitties.

A couple of weeks ago I installed a mobile above her crib. It's a little late, but I got it eventually. I found this really fantastic wooden butterfly, it's been painted with watercolors and is just beautiful. Her crib bumpers have butterflies, caterpillars and flowers on them as well. So, I put the baby girl in her crib to take a look at the mobile and she looked up at the butterfly and then turned her head to the side and reached out for the butterfly on the bumper and then looked back up and repeated the action. What a fantastic moment when you see your child recognizing something that you haven't pointed out or taught her. It was awesome.

So, she's got the two bottom teeth in now and they've been steadily growing, now I think we're working on her uppers. "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth..." It could be her theme song. When her lowers were coming in, she would put her fingers in her mouth and hook them on her bottom gum and pull down and out of her mouth. Now, for the uppers she's clicking and clucking her tongue, pulling her tongue across and down her top gum. She's pretty sweet. You can tell she's a little uncomfortable but no real complaining.

Last update - she loves being chased and has figured it out. When Dave or I hold her and the other one of us follows them up the stairs or down the hall, she can't get enough. You're sure that her giggles are going to just explode. She's started to grab on tight with her arms and legs, like the beginning of the hug. I can't wait. On that same note, Sydney will open-mouth kiss. She grabs the side of my face and brings her wet slobbery mouth to mine and snorts. If you're not careful she's snag your lower lip and bite down with her two bottom teeth, I was sure that she'd broken my skin once. Daddy's not getting the same treatment, but I'm sure that's because he has whiskers, not for lack of love - Sydney gets so excited when Dave comes home.

Developmentally she's sitting up great, and she's working on the pincher action with her fingers. She hasn't made any moves toward crawling yet, but for that we're grateful. She's still sleeping 6 pm 'til 8 am, with a pit stop at about 3 for refueling. She's our big sleeper, napping twice a day too. Her legs are getting stronger and she's spending more time standing in our laps. As for the new play thing- taking things in and out of a pail.

We're having a ball and we're so grateful for her. Can't wait for Christmas.