Milestones

Hey, remember me? I’m the person who supposedly writes this blog. I know you probably forgot all about me, but I’m still here, floating around in the background, making a mental list of everything I need to mention on here.

So much has happened since I last had the time to write it down. Elina has learned to clap and wave. She has mastered her high speed crawl and looks for anything she can use to pull herself up. She will come over to the couch pull herself up and smack you on the leg until you look at her and acknowledge her achievement. She absolutely loves it when we clap for her. No matter what, it makes her smile when I clap and cheer.

Elina has also taken those first tiny little steps.  She takes a few tiny steps while holding onto the coffee table, the couch or our hands, and Elina seems quite pleased with herself when she gets where she was trying to go. I’m quite pleased with her too, even while secretly telling her not to grow up too fast. It’s perfectly okay to wait a few months before walking independently, climbing mountains and running marathons.

The other night at dinner, she and Pop had a laughing conversation. Lina would give one of her squealing laughs and Pop would reply with a similar more manly laugh. Back and forth these two went, Lina clearly delighted with the exchange. Lina and I often have similar exchanges at home, where I repeat whatever noise she makes, it’s usually yelling.

One of her favorite games is peek-a-boo. It is also one of the only things that will keep her still while I’m trying to change her. I simply place a small burp cloth over her eyes and ask where Lina is. She then grabs the cloth and gives me a huge grin when I shout “There she is!” This also works when she is sitting (or standing) with her back to me. She twists and turns until she can see my face and waits for those magic words.

Now let’s talk about those first words. One morning as we were getting ready to go, she looked right at Mason, held out her arms and said “Yeah-yee!” Clearly she said it with intent, therefore I had to count it. Later in the day I thought, I wonder if that means I’m Ya-ya, the other word she says all the time. That same evening while I was getting her dinner ready she was watching me, as soon as I stepped out of her line of sight she yelled “Ya-ya! Ya-ya! Ya-ya!” When I reappeared she stopped and smiled up at me. When I disappeared again for a second, the same thing happened. She may not have her M’s or D’s mastered, but she clearly has our names figured out. On Friday at my parents house, she was sitting on my lap, playing with Pop. All of the sudden she yelled “Pop!” To which we both replied, “I think she just said Pop.” To make her point Lina looked right at Pop and yelled “Pop!” She is starting to get her M‘s too as I’m sure she said Mom a couple of times. But when she is really talking, I’m quite sure I’m going to miss those grunts, growls and yells she seems so find of.