It's Been Pretty Quiet

It's been pretty quiet around here lately--except for the sneezing and snuffling. But here's a few little tidbits to keep you updated.

Allergies?
I took Andrea to the family doctor on Friday, September 1st, and told her about Andrea's allergic reaction in Montana. She got us a referral to one of the top pediatricians in our city, and we are going to see him tomorrow morning. We hope he'll be able to recommend some testing we can do to find out what exactly she is allergic to, and how severe the reactions may get.

Back to Work?
School started a week ago, but I haven't gotten any calls yet. It usually takes a couple weeks before teachers start using their personal/sick days, so I'm not too worried about it. Plus, being available only Monday through Wednesday (due to daycare issues) narrows my opportunity for work, as well. C'est la vie!

What's Andrea been up to?

Andrea is now using her sippy cup by herself. We got her to hold her own bottle while we were in Montana, and now we've got her using her own sippy cup, too. Finally! And she is showing a preference for doing-it-herself in all areas of food and drink now, which, although messy and time-consuming, actually makes Mommy very happy. :))

Andrea is also pulling herself up on her knees all the time now. We're hoping that's a precursor to standing. She really likes being able to reach higher, and see up higher, so we're hoping that will motivate her to want to go further: to stand.

Andrea is also a little explorer now. She crawls everywhere, and wants to get into everything. We're well baby-proofed, but still, she manages to squeeze herself into the tightest spaces, just so she can take a peek at what might be there. In the picture above, she is in one of her favorite spots--in between the big-screen TV and the wall!

And speaking of the TV, Andrea's got a new "skill": using the buttons on the TV to turn it off, and on, and off, and on, with no particular purpose except to press the button and see if it still does the same thing each time; which, of course, it does!

http://media.putfile.com/TV-On-TV-Off

New Word

You've likely read, in a previous entry, how Andrea is now fascinated by slippers. Yesterday, I put hers on her feet. She was playing with them. I said, "Slippers?" and she said, "Sliboors!" She actually said it twice, but then wouldn't say it again. You know how it goes.

Playing Pretend

It's interesting . . . I'm starting to see the beginnings of pretend-play when Andrea is amusing herself. She copies things that Daddy and I do, but in a play-like fashion, and without us prompting her. I know it's a sign that she's watching us and learning, but it is so funny to watch. You already know about the slippers; she also babbles to herself and her toys all the time. She recently began a new pretend-play, something we kind of showed her, but she ran with it. Remember how the guys taught her to sip and say "Ahhhhhh!" afterwards? Well, now she uses anything that might resemble a cup (eg., stacking toys) and brings it to her lips, pretends to drink, then says, "Ahhhh!" She's so silly. :))

http://media.putfile.com/Pretend-Sips

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Well, I think that's about it for now.