Up, Up and Away...

OK...we had some pretty monumental events happen in our household this past weekend, a little blog update will catch everyone up to speed...

Hailey has been trying to pull herself up to a stand for about the past 2 weeks. Last week she did it: she pulled herself up using our living room chair and stood using her own strength for close to 2 whole seconds (with dad hovering right next to her)! Of course she crashed right back down again, but the determination she has is pretty amazing. She seems to have a slight issue with one of her legs not wanting to bend at the knee (you try standing up with one leg out in front of you) but she still manages to do it! It's like watching someone attempt a rock climbing wall for the first time.


This past Friday (June 8th), she started 'parroting' the word "Up". You say "Up" and she most definitely says "Up" right back. The jury is still out on whether or not she knows what "Up" means, or if she is just saying it because it makes everyone around her smile and say it back to her.

Which reminds me....what is in the rulebook about first words? I thought that her first word would be so obvious that you could confidently get it tattooed on your arm - but it isn't really like that. She has been saying DADADADADA and MAMAMAMAM for a while now, but not really in reference to us. It never stops after 4 letters, so I haven't counted it as a word. This time.... 'Up' is very clear, it isn't part of a run-on sentence and she repeats it right after you do. She seems to say it the most often when she is throwing a ball around. However, Nathan says it to her every time he lifts her out of her car seat (which let's face it...is a LOT).


I think the rules must be:

• It has to be one word, not an entire soliloquy of vowels
• She has to be able to say it again
• It has to have a connection to something - an action, object anything.
  

The last, but not least tidbit.... She crawled this weekend. We stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's house and she decided it was time to bust a move. Not far mind you, just enough to get her toy and sit back down, but she really put one knee in front of the other and moved herself forward. Most of the time, she gets up on both feet and does a little tri-pod action with her head - but she really used her knees this time.

That's it...game over...we're doomed. Actually, our stuff is doomed, and the dog...the dog is doomed too. Let the baby proofing commence!

What a wonderful week of firsts. Nine months hit and they come fast and furious. When moments like this happen, I find that I am absolutely astounded by the whole process of learning and discovery. I watch her eyes and can see her putting it together then looking at us for confirmation and cheers. It is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I also have noticed that Nathan and I still have that connection...we still know what the other one is thinking. We had a lot of "Holy crap - did she just do that?!?" moments this weekend, without having to say a word to each other.

And so it begins...she's crawling, standing, starting to talk...she's going forward, getting bigger and as she would say....she's moving "UP"!

for more pictures visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/theyspot/