The Van Buskirk Tribune

She can do it!

Today, Ella hit a few more milestones.

1.)    She took her first (assisted) steps. Before now, when we held her hands while she was standing, she would not take steps. We had to lean her from side to get her to move her feet forward, and she usually just moved them back. Now, she takes forward moving steps!

2.)    A new word! “Ball.” I took video of it, but it is really dark, and you can’t see her very well. You can hear her, though. Right after I say “ball” she says it. She was saying it really loud before I got the camera out, but I guess she is camera shy. J

A milestone that she hit earlier this week was getting from a sitting position to hands and knees. It started with getting stuck, then moved to a few face plants, and now she can smoothly move from sitting to (trying to be) crawling.

As for crawling, I expect she will be forward moving in a matter of days. I have seen her move one leg forward a couple of times, but then plops on her tummy when it is time to bring the other up.

My baby is becoming a toddler right before my eyes! YIKES!!!

I have waited eight long months to hear my child call me "Mama." On this first day of August, this wonderful word came from my daughter's mouth. "Mama." At first, I thought she was just babbling. She has been babbling all sorts of things for about two weeks now, mainly just "baa baa." When she first said it, I made a big deal, smiling, praising, and giving her lots of attention. She smiled, waited a second, then said it again. I made a big stink once more, how could I not? :)

Then, a little while later, I went to put her down for a nap. Our nap time routine includes singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." While singing, she put her hand on my cheek and said "Mama."

I am over the moon! This one word has never been so sweet.

In honor of the upcoming holiday, Independence Day, Ella has decided to use this time to kick start the next step in the transition from baby to toddlerhood. On Friday, June 27^th, Ella got up on her hands and knees for the first time. As you might know, this is the very first step towards crawling. Since Friday, she has started to rock back and forth, and I am trying to bribe her with toys to get her to move forward. So far, she’s only figured out backwards.

On Tuesday, July 1^st, Ella pulled her self up from a sitting position to a standing position. This is something I am not quite ready for, because when she gets good at standing, she’ll start cruising, and cruising leads to walking. She’s only seven months old!

These things are just a small part of her wanting to become more independent. When she is being held by someone (not usually anyone outside of her little family circle), she will “steer” you towards something she sees or wants by leaning and reaching towards the way she wants you to go. Right now, I am her vehicle of choice, and the day is coming where she is her own vehicle. We have far too many things for her to get into, and none of it is baby safe!

Here is a short video of Ella doing what we call “the butt hump.” In this video, you’ll see that she lunges forward, instead of backward. This is the first time I’ve seen her do that…