Entries from December 2009 ↓

Impressive things Ezri has done in the last week or so:
1) Walk holding only one hand of an adult.
2) Stand for multiple seconds holding onto nothing.
3) Lower herself from standing gently to sitting on the floor with no bump.
4) Eaten pieces of her first bagel.
5) Climbed up onto the IKEA poang chairs for the first time.
6) Begun to master the art of drinking from a sippy cup.
7) Used her radio flyer cart to walk around on her own.

2009 was certainly the year of Ezri for us. She’s ready for 2010.

Bring it on.

We checked out the board book Perfect Pets Peek A Boo! A Busy baby Book by make Believe Ideas Ltd. from the library.

While the text on this is pretty insipid, the flaps are great. Pets hide behind related objects – a horse behind an apple, a cat behind a mouse toy, a rabbit behind a head of lettuce and a dog behind a bouncy ball. The final spread shows all four animals and is covered by two flaps that open like shudders. When closed all the reader can see is the eye of the dog whose name is Bouncy.  Ezri loves touching the hole with the eye and then opening the flaps to reveal the animals.  The person who designed the flaps on this book gets two thumbs up.  The author – meh.

In other news, Ezri enjoyed rocking in a rocking chair all by herself for the first time today.  The chair used to be her Aunt Amy’s and is only a little big for Ezri.  She only tried to climb up and out of it once – mostly she was content to rock.  A big smile for the rocking chair.

With the holiday, I missed last week’s report on Ezri’s reading and am just catching up.  Here is Ezri looking at Sandra Boynton’s The Belly Button Book.
It features a song ode to belly buttons and many hippos proudly wearing swimsuits at The Belly Button Beach to show of their belly buttons. It is super silly stuff, but fun and the rhyming rhythms work well for reading aloud. Ezri currently loves belly buttons. She likes you to find hers and she likes finding the belly buttons on others. Sadly, Eric has discovered she may pull any hair she finds near the belly button.
In honor of her belly button fascination we read The Belly Button Book and we purchased her Where is Baby’s Belly Button? A Lift-The-Flap Book by Karen Katz. Various of baby’s body parts hide behind a hat, bath bubbles, a cup and a cat. It is a new holiday gift book and I am waiting to test it on Ezri, but I anticipate it will be a hit as it features babies and body parts which are keen interests of hers at present.

There was fun with ribbons, bows, and wrapping paper.

There was a toy that made noise from Diane, one of Ezri’s library friends. She kept going back to this package after she learned it sang when you pushed on it. It is now on the fridge and provides entertainment while a grown up gets her morning coffee. COOL! It’s a toy that makes noise that will help me get breakfast.  I think it might be educational too.  After playing with it, we did notice she was making a lot of “d” babbling noises.  Coincidence?

She also got a drum from her grandparents that she loves. Once we learn how to post a video clip we’re doing that to show her real appreciation of the drum.
Ezri had Christmas pancakes with us and joined in the family pancake brunch tradition. Merry first Christmas, Ezri.  I know it was one of the best holidays for Eric and I.

Ezri was out in the snow for maybe 5 minutes.
She face planted trying to crawl and it was over.
I let her touch snow mitten free and she had to see what it tasted like.
I threw a snowball toward (not at) her.

Here she is wondering what snow tastes like.

Ezri is one lucky baby.

You really could have just sent the boxes. A box filled with crumpled newspaper brings an amazing amount of joy to Ezri. The mail brings us holiday parcels these days. Ezri enjoys it when boxes come and I let her push them around the floor.

If they are big she can climb on top of them and then inside them. She can reach around and pull her toys with her into the big boxes. If they are small she can put things into them and pull things out. She can lift and shake them over her head. Boxes both big and small are the best.

While I am sure whatever present Laura put in this box will be great when we open it on Christmas, the box was a heckuva good time this afternoon.

Ezri has been really enjoying photos lately, so I pulled out some photo albums and we flip through them and point at the people in the pictures.

She’s also been enjoying her Babybug magazines and will sit through the short rhymes and stories. Her ability to point and turn pages has really upped the fun at our storytimes around the house. She used to be more interested in chewing Babybug, and while that still holds appeal, she is more captured by reading together than ever before.  Babybug has fingerplays we can do together which I appreciate.

Also, she did her first drawing today. Clearly she is an artiste. This work was done on a magnetic doodle toy, but soon she’ll be working in oils and pastels – or possibly we will start with crayons. I signed her initials at the bottom for her.

Today Ezri and I decorated our tree with felt, wooden and plastic ornaments. There will be nothing breakable this year. Eric did build a tall wooden stand so the tree is raised three feet off the floor. He also bolted the tree to the stand, so it cannot be pulled over. How’s that for baby-proofing the holidays?

Ezri really likes the cow jumping over the moon ornament. She enjoyed pulling out the ornaments with me and pointed at the lights.

We also went to the DG Library staff holiday luncheon today. As with many a library staff, there are some fine cooks and bakers there. Yum & Fun.

Yes, Ezri, that present is for you from your Great Aunt Janine.

Ezri has been smiling with a wrinkled nose in the last couple of days. This smile is a little like that, though not as nose-wrinkled as some. Eric says the look reminds him of a face his sister sometimes makes in photos.