Walking...

I am not sure when you can officially say a child is walking...but Katerina is certainly doing a lot of it. Just within the last week she has gone from taking a few steps and falling, to walking across the room on her own accord. She prefers walking I think, but still crawls, particulary if she wants to get somewhere fast.

It has been very fun to watch her delight as she can get from one object to another while walking...such as the couch to the stairs. And she has soooo much energy!

p.s. ignore the date on this picture...our camera keeps screwing up the date...

Discoveries

Katerina has made several discoveries recently, which has been fasinating to watch and observe.

She has discovered that grass is soft, bumping and feels kinda funny. She doesn't want to crawl on it because she doesn't like how it feels.

She has discovered that while teeth are good for chewing food, when she puts her fingers in her mouth and clamps down--it hurts!

She has discovered her nostrils--and that her little finger fits perfectly up there!

She has discovered that walking is lots of fun, and if she whines and fusses long enough, Mommy or Baba will hold her hands so she can walk around the house.

Finally, she has discovered that throwing up is much different than "spitting up"... she had her first stomach bug on Wednesday night. Mike and I had just fallen asleep and woke up to her throwing up. She proceeded to throw up several more times that night. We did a lot of laundry and she got her first midnight bath. We set up the pack n play in our room so that we could hear her, but she eventually ended up sleeping in our bed. We felt so bad for her. Luckily it was only a 24 hour bug. Its now Friday night and she is finally back to her old self and eating chicken fingers and peas!

11 Months Old!

Only 1 month until Katerina turns 1. We can hardly believe it. Here are some of her recent milestones:

She stands by herself with ease.

She is taking a few steps --her max is about three before she falls.

She will wave "bye bye" and "hi."
She claps whenever she is excited and will clap along to patty cake.

She has experienced many new table foods, including fish, spanikopita, peanut butter, and blueberries!

She hasn't had cake yet...we are waiting for birthday party!

10 Months Old

I cannot believe that Katerina is 10 months old already! During this past month, she has survived an ear infection after two different medications. Here are some other recent accomplishments:

Katerina has discovered table food! In fact, that is pretty much all she eats now. She is now even trying the food at daycare. Tonight, she had meatballs, cheese, peas and broccoli.

She says Mama and Ba, albeit indiscriminately.

She can "walk" forward and backward while pushing/pulling something, like her high chair.

Doing What She's Not Supposed to...

Katerina is becoming mischievious. Why is it when there is something that a baby isn't supposed to do, that's the thing they try to do the most??

For example, forget trying to work on the laptop now when she's around. She comes right up to you and tries to type. In fact I was googling something the other day, and she kept hitting the backspace button...it took me forever to find the recipe I was after.

She sort of understands the word No...or at least my tone "Katerina...No!" She has been testing me lately. She will start to go over to the shoes by the kitchen door, and I say " Katerina...(pause)" and she will stop, look at me and I say "No". I usually have to say it a couple of times, and then sometimes I need to pick her up and move her away from it.

The other day, she was going toward the humidifer in her bedroom, and I said "Katerina (pause) No"...as soon as I said Katerina, she started moving faster toward it with a smile on her face. I think she thought it was a game. I tried very hard not to laugh. So I just picked her up and moved her. She got mad...and started right back toward it...it was pretty funny.

Katerina's First Valentine's Day!

Katerina celebrated her first Valentine's day yesterday. She is so loved! She got all kinds of gifts from relatives...money, books, clothes, and even a stuffed monkey holding a heart! Thank you all for thinking of her.

Mike and I have never gone over the top for Valentine's Day because it is such a "Hallmark" holiday. In fact, many years ago I told him never to buy me roses on Valentine's Day because it is such a rip-off. Well, Mike broke the rule this year and decided to buy each of his girls a rose...it was very sweet.

Now as a parent, Valentine's Day brings on a whole new, wonderful meaning. It is a great day to remind Katerina how much she is loved.

We got Katerina a book for the bath as her Valentine's Day gift...she enjoyed "reading" while getting nice and clean.

9 months old!

Katerina turned nine months old yesterday...her first birthday is just around the corner, which doesn't seem possible. Here are some of her recent accomplishments:

• She can pull herself to standing and then while holding onto the couch/toy/ etc, she can walk around it.


• She can also get down from standing with ease, either by kneeling or crouching down.


• She is eating meats mixed with fruits or veggies.


• She can drink out of a sippy cup.


• When given a book, she can turn pages.


• She is practicing using a "bbb" sound and "mmm" sound...maybe trying to say Baba and Mommy?? It is so adorable watching her try to form the sounds with her mouth.


• She enjoys "patty cake" and "this little piggy"