EV is quacking like a duck

EV has given up on blowing kisses for now, but she has taken to opening and shutting her hand like a beak and saying "quack quack quack."

Her first word??

I'm not sure whether it counts or not? She obviously associates the "word" with the action but she really has no idea what a duck is and doesn't ascociate the sound or the action with actually seeing a duck. of course it doesn't help that when we go to a park we see more geese than ducks and the ducks we do see rarely quack. I think it's likely she cottoned on to making the noise and action from singing songs like Old MacDonald and 3 Little Ducks. She definitely recognises the work "quack" too as ,when I mentioned it in conversation, she stopped playing and looked over her shoulder at me and said "quack quack quack?" complete with action and a big smile!

My vote is for word but, word or not, it is quite a party trick!

EV is blowing kisses

My mum has taught her this one. It took quite a bit of gurning and lip smacking for EV to master it but it is very cute. It has to be said that EV does not discriminate between kisses and raspberries though, offering them both up with equal generosity and delight!

EV is taking brunch

And very well behaved she was about it too.

Took EV to a really nice hotel restaurant, near my mum and dad's, for brunch. Very civilised. EV joined in really well, she had plenty of melon, some scrambled egg, asparagus, red pepper and bread roll pieces.As usual, EV enjoyed watching everyone else and charming as many strangers as she could!

EV is so well behaved when we take her out. I've found it's great to go out for lunch (and brunch!) with EV, since it's hard to go out for an evening meal without a babysitter, it really helps that I can trust EV to be happy coming out with us to a restaurant, or even the pub, during the day.

EV is putting her feet up

EV has taken to lifting her feet up onto everything she can. She puts them up on her toys, up and the bumper bar of her pushchair, supermarket trollies, even the tray of her high chair. She even managed to pick up her feet, whilst sitting on the floor and cross them, one over the other.

I guess her stomach muscles must be getting a bit stronger. She moves her feet around a lot when she is sitting, playing now and pulls one up to her to turn herself around or roll over. Surely it can't be so long before she is properly on the move?

EV is sleeping in late

EV coped really well with her jet lag when we arrived in America. She caught up 3 whole hours the first morning, waking at 4am. Then she caught up an hour a day, so she was all caught up after 3 days.

But, since then, she seems to have carried on catching up! She has slept in slightly longer and longer each morning, so that this morning she wasn't up until 9.30am! (could be because her room here is darker with the blinds closed than at home?) Lovely lie ins for me on my holiday, but will it make the reverse process that much more difficult??

EV is the life and soul of the party

My mum and dad had a few people around to meet EV today, only 30 or so! EV was absolutely in her element, the life and soul of the party. She smiled and laughed at everyone, was happy to be picked up and cuddled and generally gave off the impression of well behaved general cuteness. A little social butterfly in the making!

EV is allergic to something

but I'm not sure what. She just suddenly came out in a rash around her mouth and neck. I could see it getting pinker as I watched but I don't know what caused it. It was a bit scary when I first noticed but it quickly improved and I gave her a bath and washed all her skin. I'll have to keep an eye on her with everything that I can think of that she has eaten or touched today. (She's fine now by the way!)

EV is reading with her feet

EV was lying on my tummy in her pyjamas having a story this morning. It was one of her favourites, "That's not my lion," with touchy-feely bits in it. She was kicking her feet in the air and noticed how the pictures felt against her feet. After we'd finished the book together, she grabbed hold of it, dropping it and picking it back up to get it to open to different pages, and held it above her head. She then preceded to work through all the pages, rubbing her feet over the textured parts of the pages. I was amazed by how co-ordinated and purposeful she was. It is so much fun to just sit back and watch EV playing and investigating the world!

EV is all dog slobbery

EV met my parents dog, Lucy.
Lucy likes licking EV, EV likes sticking her hands in Lucy's mouth.
I like buying antibacterial wet wipes.

EV is travelling

By 8.30am EV had already enchanted the airport security guard, who made excuses to search me, I'm sure, just so she could get a cuddle. She had also munched her way through 2 entire weetabix with cranberry smoothie (Ev that is, not the security guard, I've no idea what she had for breakfast). We had to improvise slightly on the weetabix front as I couldn't find milk in any of the post security liquid check point shops.

It turns out, travelling intercontinental, via 3 flights and over 12 hours of airports and aeroplanes is, contrary to all my worries, EV's ideal day. Firstly, I didn't leave her sight all day (she even came with me to the loo). Second, airports offer a limitless supply of willing passersby to play the "Oops I dropped my toy" game with. Thirdly, the busy international flight means a captive audience of nearby passengers, at the mercy of a cute smile and held hostage for 7 1/2 hours with no way to escape peek-a-boo.

All of this attention unfortunately meant that EV didn't get much napping done on the flight but then she didn't do much crying either so I can't complain too much. Worryingly, EV was in such a good mood, full of endearing smiles and cute noises, that she prompted the young couple sat at the end of our row into a conversation he obviously wished she hadn't brought up. I only heard snippets... "It's only like if I said I wanted a dog one day, it's not that I'm threatening to leave you if you don't want a dog, it's just that I'd be letting you know I want one... a dog," and, "Well of course you're going to feel negative about it if you only think of the negatives, there's lots of positives too." Man, they are in for a long trip!

EV isn't even in disguise.

We went out in the woods today. Turns out we weren't in for a big surprise, although we did see a bear.

EV took a real shine to a carved bench with carvings of animals from the Jungle Book, it was designed with the help of the local cub-scouts. No real bears, fortunately though.

Since EV and has to spend the day cooped up in aeroplanes and waiting around in airports tomrrow and the weather was so nice today, I took EV to the woods and wildlife reserve near our home. We had a nice woalk and got lots of fresh air and EV had an explore on the carved bench. While we walked around, (EV was in the sling so she was up high, sitting on my hip) I showed EV some of the different types of trees and flowers and she had a feel/grab at them. It was a really lovely afternoon.

EV is waving, and pulling faces

Although not at the same time. I thought I would update my reader on these facts, as I completely missed them out over the last couple of weeks when I was being rubbish at keeping up EV's blog.

EV will wave, usually only when we are saying "bye-bye" or sometimes if they leave the room. (she doesn't seem interested in waving at other times though eg. hello, or waving back at someone waving to her to prove she can)

EV has adopted a new facial expression, screwing her nose up. It started during a period when it was quite bright and sunny and also EV was quite bunged up and snotty. The first few times we all thought it as quite funny and laughed, and soon wished we hadn't as she has been doing it more and more. I don't know which, in any or all, factors are to blame, but the nose crinkle seems to be here to stay. Thankfully, she isn't doing it quite so much now... only every time someone gets a camera out!

EV is not happy about having her face wiped

In fact she hates it. Face wiping of any kind is met with disapproval, swiping away of your hands and a disgusted facial expression.

EV doesn't like having sun cream rubbed on her cheeks, she despises having food cleaned from around her mouth with a muslin, she disapproves of having her face cleaned at bedtime or bath time with cotton wool and she detests having her runny nose wiped with a tissue.

The latest form of protest is to blow a big raspberry at you, sticking her tongue out and wrinkling up her nose. In one of my more generous moments, I wondered if she is mimicking the noise we make when we blow our noses with tissues?

EV is copying!

I was telling EV's dad this morning, while EV was playing on the floor in our room, about one of EV's friends. EV's friends favourite babbling noise is clicking his tongue against the roof of is mouth to make a king of clip-clop or ticking noise. I then demonstrated. EV looked up at us and morphing her mouth, as though she wasn't quite sure how to use her facial muscles to produce such a noise, she produced a very good imitation of the tongue clicking sound. This is definitely the first time EV has spontaneously copied back something new that she has seen or heard but hasn't been able to do before. We were very impressed. EV will often mirror back her favourite sounds now, especially raspberries and "pffff" (like you're blowing your fringe out of your eyes) sounds.

EV is picking up finger foods

All shapes and sizes, from off her tray or off a plate.

EV is glad to be home

We had a weekend away with friends over the Bank Holiday. It was great and EV loved all of the extra attention. However, EV isn't so oblivious to her surroundings as she once was and wasn't entirely convinced by the idea of sleeping somewhere that isn't home. She was reluctant to go for a nap in the room in her travel cot the during the day, she cried for almost half an hour when we put her down for bed the first night and she was awake by 5am every morning.

It's nice to know EV appreciates home though. She looked around the house with an expression of sheer awe and wonder when we first got home. "Wow! It's this place, no, it really is.... awesome! I thought I'd never see it again. And, look, there's the ceiling...the stairs. Wow!!!!"

EV is toppling backwards

on purpose

and finding it hilarious

The game of the day with EV is to lie on the bed, putting her hands up to be lifted to sitting. Once she is sat upright and unsupported she, grinning to herself in anticipation, throws her head and her entire weight back, hard, to crash back onto the soft, bouncy mattress! Then she laughs and puts her hands up for help sitting back up again.

I really hope she doesn't fancy experimenting with this one on the hardwood floors downstairs.

EV is putting one object inside another

Thanks to La Troll for teaching that skill, during our weekend away. EV can, just about, drop a small object intentionally inside a beaker.

It seems funny now that it never occured to me to teach her this, or even to persist to see if she could do it. I think sometimes a new face is much more interesting to her so that she wants to see what they can do and is much more open to their praise and new ways of playing.

She is still quite clumsy with this skill but has taken a keen interest in seeing where she can drop things and the effects of different movements (throwing, waving, wrist, fingers, dropping etc.) on the tragectory an item takes and where it lands.

EV is rolling over

At last!

She knows she can do it and actively rolls on purpose to get off her tummy. She still isn't rolling consistently and independently from back to front though. Well, only about 2-4 months late on achieving that one! I've been worrying needlessly about turning my back on the changing table for months!