Play time

Aliza has been growing in leaps and bounds as far as I can tell. Or maybe not growing so much as learning new things.....

Last week she figured out how to crawl forward. I knew this day would come and I knew that when it did we would remember with sweet fondness the days when she sat in one place. Happily, we now sit next to her and scootch along the floor beside her so that when she decides to crawl to the couch, or her table toy, or her toy bin and pull herself up, we can be there to make sure she doesn't come crashing down. She's always rather proud of herself when she manages to accomplish this:

We've had some fun experiencing some new things together lately. I made a sandbox out of some cornmeal and a baking pan (I read about it online and decided I'd get her ready for her beach house visits). Aliza didn't quite know what to do with the "sand" at first but eventually dove in and even tasted a bit. Hopefully she won't do that with real sand!

She's also been quite chatty lately. Her new favorite word is "Dag-gum", with the emphasis on the gum part. We have no idea what that means, and have spent many minutes questioning her as to what she is talking about, but so far she's choosing not to enlighten us. So for now, we smile when she says it, and sometimes repeat it back for her. She has also said cat--or rather AT, more than once, and always when our cat, Linus, is near (which is quite often).

She's been eating a ton lately and I've had some fun trying out some new food combinations for her. She's now had french toast for breakfast- minus the butter and the syrup of course. Like her daddy though, she prefers eggs and toast:

The poor thing STILL doesn't have teeth, although I'm convinced her runny nose of the past several days is evidence that teeth are sure to appear any day now. I suspect the gummy grins we love so much will be a thing of the past soon enough! She's been making her "sniffy face" quite a bit lately though and I finally captured it mid-sniff:

All of this excitment often tires her out, although she'll never admit it until moments before nap time or bed time.....unless she falls asleep before we even make it upstairs: