bun’s latest thing, saying, “cold me,” then stripping off her clothes and laying down on blanket she’s spread on floor. she’s really getting into posing for pics, so i got several awesome facial expressions and you can really start to see what she’ll look like as a little girl (especially the bottom right pic).

she’s talking more and more and continues using sign to help us understand when her verbal isn’t clear.  virginia started full-time preschool at heidi’s house at the beginning of january and she’s loving it.  last night she was telling us about her “friends” who are “boys” (using words and signs) and then, the new thing, telling us their names, which was very cool.  it seems like she has a new language/verbal/cognitive thing happening at least once a week and we love it when we notice it.

*we’re using the swing as a highchair until she starts finger foods.

virginia and the book, 01/16/10 from wendy morissette on Vimeo.

growling virginia, 1/14/10 from wendy morissette on Vimeo.

giggling sisters 1/10/10 from wendy morissette on Vimeo.

I’m woefully behind on updates.. i have pics from thanksgiving and christmas to share, plus hazel’s 10th birthday (when did she get to be 10?!?). Hopefully, i’ll get them up before miss v’s 6 month update, which will NOT be a month late, i promise!

When she was younger, a few months ago, her best friends were lights. She’d stare up at the ceiling, cooing and smiling, flirting away at the light fixture. Since then Virginia’s discovered that people are also fun to flirt with, she’s learned to smile and laugh and get excited to match the mood of those she’s with.
Over the last few weeks, she’s learned that her hands can do more than just flail around randomly. At first she needed to use both hands in order to get one of them into her mouth. She’s now a pro at one-handed, unassisted finger sucking. Not content to rest on her laurels, she quickly progressed in the Grabbing Things category, discovering that she can get her hands to bring other things to her mouth for analysis. This has opened up a whole new world for her and we’re introducing toys little by little.


Speaking of flailing, Virginia used to practice her swimming strokes — with one hand — while nursing. when on her left side, would breast stroke with her right arm, when on the other side she was doing freestyle. That progressed to doing freestyle with both arms and now she just pets Wendy or holds onto her shirt.

She’s also very close to being able to sit up on her own, so we’re giving her time in the boppy. That allows her to work on it without completely falling over everytime. Her core body strength is impressive and she’s able to pull herself from an incline into a full sitting position or from a seated forward fold. Her legs are also very strong, with a little balancing help, she can stand for a long time and really enjoys showing what a big girl she is.

down…. and UP! from wendy morissette on Vimeo.

We’re having so much fun watching her discover more and more of the world around her. For a while, her very best friends were her feet, watching her ‘discover’ her feet and play with them. She smiles and giggles and looks around to see if we’ve noticed how clever she is. At about the same time she figured out she could use her hands to grab things.

Along with objects that can be grabbed, she’s paying more and more attention to what we’re doing, especially when we’re eating and drinking. The look of intense curiosity on her face as she tracks each bite and drink is hilarious and endearing. The soda cans are always mesmerizing, however, whether we’re drinking or not. Sometimes she’ll just be staring, transfixed, at a shiny, shiny Diet Coke as if waiting for it to move on its own, or start talking to her.

We don’t know how much time we have until Virginia can roll/crawl across the floor , but she’s beginning to figure out some of the basics. She rolls from side to side with her feet in her hands (classic happy baby pose) and does a reverse inch worm – arching her back and moving slowly away from her original position. We’ve watched her do a combination of those motions and go in a complete circle, with her head as the center point.