Full On Crawling

Well, it didn't take very long for Grace to go from crawlingish to crawling.  She's on the move now, and can really, really motor.

"Target identified.  Pursue and eat XBOX"

I love her crawling determination and form.  Grace only crawls when she sees something she wants, which is exclusively something she's not allowed to have like a shoe, a glass or Carrie's graded essays.  Plus, her single-minded drive and that one armed, dragging the body move she uses reminds me of the T-100 from the end of The Terminator, after it's been crushed in the factory but keeps relentlessly chasing after Sarah Connor.  She can't be bargained with. She can't be reasoned with. She doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And she absolutely will not stop, ever, until she tries to eat something fragile, important and/or dangerous.

More Like Crawlingish

I'm pretty sure that every parent thinks their baby is exceptional.  It's human nature to look at your kid and see someone that's smarter or stronger, prettier or more developed than all the other babies in the world.  I'm certainly no different.  Every time Grace learns anything new, I see it as evidence that she's not just an ordinary baby picking up new skills on a normal schedule but instead some kind of superbaby, the next step in human evolution.  This tendency also makes me see things that aren't quite there.

For example, I've been absolutely convinced that Grace has been on the verge of crawling since she was two months old.  With any sort of progress, whether it was reaching out with her arms, kicking her feet, rolling over or just having a particularly determined look in her eye, I was running to set the baby gates up.  However, after months of false starts and unrealistic expectations, it looks like Grace has turned a corner and really is on the verge of crawling.

It's taken a lot of time and effort, a perfectly normal amount of time and effort of course, but Grace has figured out how to get herself up onto her hands and knees in a sort of crawling start position.  The only thing is, she hasn't figured out what to do next.  She wants to move forward but doesn't know which arm or leg to move first so she just sort of rocks until she tips over, hilariously, heartbreakingly close to crawling.  But not quite there yet.  I'd call it crawlingish.

A few of last thoughts on the video.  First, I don't have any idea what we were watching on TV, but the countryfied soundtrack isn't working for me.  I feel like Grace's determined effort should be set to a more epic soundtrack, maybe some Ennio Morricone or something.  Second, do I always sound like Kermit the Frog when I speak?  If so, why hasn't anybody told me?  Last, that's Grace's party outfit, which needs to be noted because it's incredibly adorable.

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She Writes the Songs That Make Her Whole Foot Sing

One of the unbelievable joys of being a parent is coming up with novel ways to entertain your kid.  Carrie and I both revel in the challenge, but have drastically different styles.  I tend to be more physical, playing games that get Grace moving around.  Contrastingly, as befitting an English teacher my wife tries to engage our daughter's mind with stories and songs.  Her latest single is one of Grace's favorites, and definitely the one I like the most.  So, without further ado, I give you the world premiere of the sure to be smash hit "Singin' Toes".  Enjoy!

I think we can get this played in regular rotation on Sesame Street, give that the corresponding puppet show is already worked out.

She Got Game

Despite being three years older than my sister Amy, she's been taller than me for as long as I can remember.  She sprouted past me sometime around kindergarten and never looked back.  At 6'1", she's got an inch that she'll lord over me at least until we get old and start shrinking.

Amy was always the tallest girl in her class, so naturally she found basketball - or basketball found her - at a really young age.  Now that she has a niece, and a tall one at that, basketball is one of the first things Aunt Amy has tried to pass on.  Amy gave Grace her first basketball and a hoop as a gift, which Grace absolutely adores.

I'm Sure Beetles are a Delicacy Somewhere

We've done our best to make sure Grace is eating right, following our doctor's every guideline and varying her foods to give her the things she likes most often.  Turns out though, our menu was a bit more diverse than we thought.  Yep, the thing Grace eats most often and likes the best is bug milk.

Similac Advance in delicious beetle flavor.

Since we're first time parents, you may expect Carrie and I to be in a panic about feeding Grace recalled formula, but that's not the case.  Even though she's eaten the bug infested gruel every day for the last few months, she's shown no ill effects and it doesn't lead to any serious health risks. So honestly the Similac recall gets a great big "whatever" from us.  If the urban legend is to be believed, we've all eaten a few whole spiders in our sleep, so what's the big deal about a little bit of ground bug powder?

Meeting the Mouse

My mother is a pretty big fan of all things Disney.  More than pretty big, actually.  Obsessive.  Well, maybe a step down from obsessive.  Lets go with dedicated lifelong fanatic.  Anyway, I bring this up because I was going through Grace's closet the other day and came across a Mickey Mouse doll that was buried under an avalanche of clothes and toys.  Given my mom's appreciation for the Mouse, I thought it'd be nice to record Grace and Mickey's first meeting for posterity.  Of course, I thought this after their first meeting had already occurred, so this is their second encounter.  It went pretty much the same as the first though.

Mickey was of course enamored by Grace, while, as she does most things, my daughter found Mickey to be delicious.  Grace didn't really notice my spot on Mickey Mouse voice over, but who can blame her, she had feet to eat.