First Steps!

This weekend my baby took her first steps.  Her Daddy set her down on Saturday and moved his hands out a bit and she walked right to him.  We tried to get it on video and it wasn't as obvious, but then later on Sunday I set her down a few steps from her bookcase and she walked right to it.  And then grabbed a book and turned around and handed it to me!!  It was Flip Flap Fly, her favorite.  Every time we get to the snake part and I start hissing she giggles like I'm the funniest thing ever.  We've got to get it on video.  There are so many things that I'm so grateful we had the presence of mind to video because they have been so fleeting.

I feel like time is flying right now.  It seems like every day yesterday's major development has become old hat and she's working on a new accomplishment.

Last night I sat her down in her high chair while we made/had dinner.  She ate cantaloupe, steak, and baked potato, tiny pieces that I cut up for her picked up by her little fingers and fed to herself, by herself.  Even the slippery cantaloupe - she had to work at it, (and she wasn't sure she liked it at first, which surprised me) but she did it.  In fact, she loves to feed herself so much that we have to run around removing cat hair from her fingers/mouth on an hourly basis.  And if there isn't cat hair around to eat, she'll pretend to take a hair off Daddy's leg and put that in her mouth!

She dances every day, crawls and cruises all over the place.  We finally got the stair gate installed because we couldn't keep her off the super-exciting-to-climb stairs. 

Every morning when I go in to wake her up she crawls to the edge of the crib and pulls herself up to stand, then reaches up with both hands for me to pick her up.  When I do, she lays her head on my shoulder like she is totally exhausted and is super snuggly for about 2 minutes.  Then she is hungry.  NOW.

She has this new game where she hands me something, and I take it and say thank you and pull it into my chest, then stick it back out to her and ask if she wants it, and she takes it, and we do it over and over and over again.

She also loves to throw a ball, then she lifts both hands up in the air and SMACKS the floor with them as a transition into crawling over to get the ball and throw it again.

She often squeals with glee when she sees a kitty, inevitably warning them of her presence and causing them to run like hell.  She can point to or show me a kitty when offered pictures of different animals.  She also seems quite interested in ducks.

She still loves to walk while holding our fingers, with chest puffed out leading her, and tiny tushy sticking way out behind.  Walking her up to a toy and expecting her to walk around holding it instead of us may just result in a crying jag.  Until we pick her up.

She loves to turn lights on and off.  She has taken to applauding herself every time she touches a light switch.  She also applauds if you say, "Yay, Zoë!"  And I swear she claps every time If You're Happy and You Know It comes on her little Scout toy thingy (they must sing that one in daycare).

Sometimes I wish I could just freeze this stage.  It is such a wonderful, happy, exciting time.  That I'm already nostalgic for!