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Archives for February 11, 2003

Mom Daughter Night

This is Christine. I had Katherine to myself this evening, as Steve had workaholic Tuesday. Two momentous events happened this evening. While she was playing on the activity gym, Katherine rolled from her back to her stomach for the first time! Like previous attempts, she got as far as turning on to her side. I gave her my finger, which she grasped, and pulled her gently to her stomach and rocked her back to her side. She tried to roll over a few more times, grunting and resting intermittently. Ten minutes later, she rolled to her side and fell onto her stomach – victory!! She repeated this once more, and to celebrate she took a nice long, warm bath. This was probably one of the most pleasant bath experiences I’ve had, largely due to a trick that we learned from Patty (put towels underneath the baby so she doesn’t slip in the baby tub). We put lots of toys in the tub, and Katherine had a great time trying to reach and kick her armada of yellow rubber duckies.

After bath time, I settled her into the little vibrating chair (not on) and read several stories. I pulled out one her first books “Discovery Farm” – a cloth book that contains all sorts of crinkly, jingly, soft objects. One page one (which is fairly boring), she managed to grab the left page with her right hand and the yellow chick in her left (new!). She paused as if to deciding to turn the page, and promptly used her right hand to push the page over (new!) to get to her favorite section which contains a felt duck that rotates and a crinkly tractor that folds back to reveal a textured sheep. Like a pro, she moved the tractor back with her left hand to get to the sheep, which she felt. And, then with her right, she grabbed the duck and moved it back and forth (new!). I was so surprised by this whole set of developments that I had to call Steve to share the experience. We spent the next five minutes crinkling the tractor, moving the page around and then finishing up the book. To close the evening, we listened to some lullabies and Katherine drifted off to sleep after a nice snack. What an evening!

Patty in Action with Katherine

This is Steve. I had a conference call this morning so I got the opportunity to watch Patty in action. She’s great with Katherine. She sings to her in English and Spanish (alternatively), plays with her, and reads to her. Christine and I have definitely noticed that Katherine is very curious now and craves new stimulation and experiences. She’s become more coordinated so she can interact with the world around her. The picture on the right is Patty reading to Katherine laying on Katherine’s activity gym.

I really missed Katherine today at work. She’s growing up so fast and everyday brings new experiences. I’m truly the proud father who thinks his daughter is the most beautiful, well-adjusted, and smart girl on earth. ๐Ÿ™‚

Katherine rolls over

Katherine is growing up so fast. On Sunday, Katherine started to roll over on her side. We bought a chime for her activity mat which she had a great time kicking it to make it sound off. Christine and I watch her discover that she could use the momentum of her legs to pull her body over. It was a fascinating experience to watch as we witnessed Katherine learning a new skill. She would kick her feet out and turn her body using her legs as ballast. We practiced the maneuver several times until she could repeat it at will. We can no longer put her down and leave as she has the ability to rotate her body out of a chair or changing table.

When I checked on Katherine Monday morning she had rotated nearly 180 degrees in her crib and was having a vociferous conversation with her mobile. Katherine is really babbling up a storm now. Instead of crying she’ll babble to Christine or I to let us know she’s hungry. With a little more experience, I think we’ll be able to determine what Katherine wants by her babble (an early form of communication). It’s truly amazing watching her grow up as I can see the wheels turning in her head. Patty, our wonderful nanny, reads to Katherine every day and tries to expose her to new sights, sounds, and experiences. Christine and I do the same in the mornings, evenings, and weekends when Patty isn’t around. Katherine is soaking it all up and starting to understand and want to manipulate her surroundings. The second picture below is me reading to Katherine.

Katherine loves to watch TV though we turn it off when we notice her watching it. She’ll crane her neck around to see what’s on the “boob tube”. She especially likes sports and shows with a lot of action. Christine and I have decided to restrict our TV watching to when Katherine’s asleep. We want her to interact with her environment and not be distracted/entertained by the TV.

The last set of pictures are Katherine hanging out with Bisco. Bisco really wants to play with Katherine but realizes that she’s just too small. Bisco has adjusted well to Katherine joining our family. He often feels a bit neglected but Christine and I try very hard to give him some quality time after Katherine has gone to sleep. Christine and I are looking forward to when Katherine is old enough to start interacting with Bisco. Hopefully, they will be great pals.