Try, try again...

Here I tried to start a new journal and failed miserably. I think I need to give up on trying to rehash what she's accomplished. I have most of the milestones recorded elsewhere.

I guess I should talk about her initial attempts to crawl. They were quite funny. I nicknamed her faceplant. She had this odd technique where she would plant her hands and then stick her butt up in the air while keeping her feet on the ground. It looked most like the downward facing dog pose that is used in yoga . The biggest difference is that she would look forward and not behind her. Then, she'd push with her toes until she fell face forward on the floor - hence, faceplant. Then, the arms would come back out and the process would repeat. It was truly amusing to watch, but it got her from point A to point B in a reasonable amount of time so I certainly can't criticize. That's been the biggest hurdle for me with childrearing. I watch her and think, "That's not the right way to do that." At the same time, she gets the goal accomplished so I have to learn to let her be her own person and do her own thing. Crawling was the big one. I kept saying she wasn't crawling because she wasn't on her hands and knees crawling like a 'normal' baby. Eventually, Chrys pointed out that she got the job done and I should just admit she was there. I did...it was recorded in her calendar. A few weeks later, she figured out the 'right' way, but she had that extra time of mobility that I couldn't deny.

Now, of course, she's moving on. She's still quite content to crawl, but is becoming less pleased with not being able to really see where she's going. Tonight, I let go of her hand while she was standing up and she stayed there for 8 seconds, twice. This beats the previous 5 second record observed by her father. There's actually a funny story that goes along with her learning to stand. After we got past the tears of hitting various body parts against the floor, she decided it was a ride. She would stand with one hand on something for balance, get this really excited look on her face and then let go. The giggles that came with the falling to the floor were priceless.

Heh...someday I may get in trouble for recording just the funny stories of her growing up. I figure, though, that when I look back, I'm going to want to remember those and not stuff like the fact that she's got another cold and we're struggling with the fights agains the nose sucker and gasping for air as she nurses. That's not the fun stuff. Kids are all about good memories...so bring on the funny stories.