Abi’s Razor

Heard of Occam’s Razor? If not, see Wikipedia article describing Occam’s razor. Well, Abi’s Razor is the principle that if you are unsure of her goals, assume she is trying to take the most destructive path. Abi likes to stand up in her bath, and to drag items into the bath with her. Today, she was trying to pull a glass bowl into her bath.

In other news, Daddy reports that Abi was trying to reach his laptop in the living room. She knows that she is not allowed to touch his laptop. So, she crawled towards it whenever she thought that he was not looking at her. She looked very innocent when she did think that he was looking at her.

Abi’s 9 month physical

Abi had her 9 month check-up today.   She is ahead of the curve on some of her gross motor skills such as cruising.  She is also advanced in certain aspects of cognitive development.  For example, it is early for her to understand object permanence (i.e., that an object or person exists even though she cannot see it at the moment).  It is also advanced for her to use “mama” as something beyond a nonsense word is fairly early.  We believe “mama” means “feed me now” and/or “play with me, Mommy”.

She is a little below average in height, and the doctor thinks that she will be around average height.  She is also below average in weight.  Given her cognitive & motor development, the doctor is not concerned about her growth.

Her diet should now include all foods besides nuts, honey, and shellfish.  She should be eating the same or similar food as we do, in addition to formula and/or breast milk.  She can stop drinking formula at 12 months, but can continue to breastfeed as long as she & Mommy want.

The doctor also indicated that she seems to have a milder case of stranger anxiety than most babies her age.

Happy 9-Month Birthday Abi

Grandma, Grandpa and Gregg want to wish Abi a happy 9-month birthday.  Wish we could do it in person but this will have to do for now.  Hope to see you soon.

Love and kisses

Abi’s enjoying her first Hanukkah gift from Grandma

New foods

Abi has recently tried greek yogurt, an orange, egg yolk, and and prune puree, and loved them all.

We’re Cruisin’

Abi cruised today.  Like crawling, she will only cruise in a directed manner (i.e., when she wants to reach a particular goal rather than for generalized  exploration.)

Abi the Scientist

Daddy reports that Abi was trying to figure out how her xylophone works.  She hit keys, and stared at the underlying mechanism.  She then turned the xylophone on its side, hit keys & continued staring at the underlying mechanism.  She even tried to take the xylophone apart.

Abi & solid food

Enjoying solid food, but have not yet mastered getting it into her mouth

Thanksgiving in pictures: Uncle Richie & Auntie Luney

Thanksgiving in pictures: Visiting Grandma

Visiting Grandma

Thanksgiving in pictures: Abi in NY

Thanksgiving in pictures: driving to NY

Abi’s 1st Thanksgiving

It was so great having Abi and her parents visit for Thanksgiving weekend.  We had so much fun playing with her and for the first time I felt that I understood her rhythms – playful, tired, hungry, etc. – which made it that much more fun.  Abi is such a delightful baby – so expressive, so observant, and she even slept in the new crib that Grandma and Grandpa got her.  (Wish she slept more though!) Abi’s Great Grandpa Bill and his friend Carolyn think that she is a living, breathing doll. They enjoy being with her so much and they talk about her all the time.  Even Cousin Steven seemed taken with her – now that’s an accomplishment.  Too bad she had to go back to Arlington – wish she was here all the time.

Grandma enjoying Abi