As we stand outside of her looking in, closely observing, adoring, and wondering about her, she's growing in so many ways. She's now twice her birthwieght and 4 inches taller. Yes, we're still amazed. Yes, I'm obviously a proud, first time Dad. Not a day goes by that we don't notice something new. If you don't have children yet, this is a warning - they grow quickly. Take lots of photo and video.
A month ago, when we tried to get her to sit up, she'd fold in half and fall over. Today, while she can't do a sit-up, we can sit her up and count on her playing independently for at least five or ten minutes before growing tired of the whole affair. Stronger... bigger... whoa...Last month, she mostly batted at things with her hands. This month, she has nearly mastered "grabbing". God, help us... She's even gotten to the point where she can hold onto her bottle while drinking. (Not for a full feeding, yet, but wow!) You can actually see the makings of hand-eye coordination unfolding in front of you if you observe her for an hour or so.
Picking things up that rattle, shaking them, and putting them in her mouth is a new past time. Alright, putting anything in her mouth is a new past time. We're thinking she may grow up to be an excellent food taster/quality control officer for Food TV or something like that. "Emeril Lagasse and Presleigh Pina Present... BAM! Taste THIS!"
About this standing and walking thing... This girl has been just itching to walk since she was 6 weeks old. I'm serious. Ever since she could grab my fingers, she's been trying to hold herself up. (Okay, she was really wobbly in the beginning, and now she's just mildly wobbly...) But, lately, we've been experimenting with leaning her up against a wall or the couch so she can enjoy the new point of view and stand - no hands, Daddy - with only the support of what she's leaning on. Assisted sitting, assisted standing, totally unassisted gabbing!!!
Can you imagine a Pina who doesn't run off at the mouth? Neither could we, until Presleigh came along. Fortunately, last month, she began vocalizing and putting a few letters together (none that exist in the English language, but they seemed familiar to her). Her conversations have consisted mainly of "raspberries" and glottal run-ons, but she's mastered the letter "m" the letter "ahooahooawwwwoooouh" and the digraph "thththththth" (both voiced and unvoiced for all of you linguists out there).
A couple of weeks ago, Presleigh showed off her first gymnastic move, which was a tumble from the seated position to a prone position, where after a few moments of frustration and some whining, she planted both hands on the floor in front of her and began lifting her head and torso a bit. Now, she's proven herself to be a capable roller, rolling from her back to her tummy, but uncertain what new move to add to the combination. America's Best Dance Crew is back on MTV, so perhaps we'll let her get some new ideas for her routine.Maybe next month, she'll start pop-locking...
She still thoroughly enjoys showing off all the cool clothes she got from uncle Jeremy at Christmas, including a cute, hooded number she wore to her four month checkup. Hopefully, she won't associate the pain of four needles in her leg with the cute outfit. As with all of her clothes, she's decided it tastes great. She was a champ and didn't cry for more than 10 seconds after the shots, though. She's tough like her mom.Mommy's still pushing to get her on food, but the doc says it's not going to make much of a difference. If she's sleeping through the night now (which she is 5 to 10 hours)
adding the solid food isn't going to make much of a difference. We're stocked up on formula, so we might as well use it, you know? Besides, with all the things she's putting in her mouth, we wouldn't want to distract her from her new favorite delicacy - her toes!
