On the move!

Arya is a little girl on the move. When we went to Toronto most recently (the first weekend in October), we spent about 3 1/2 days there and during that time Arya made great strides in learning that she could actually move herself around! Shortly before that time, she would get so frustrated at not being able to get where she wanted to go. She would try so hard - even getting her knees up under her body - but she just wasn't able to go anywhere yet! Then, she started "accidentally" moving herself backwards on occasion. She would seem to want to move forward, but it just didn't work and all of her efforts would just move her backwards!

During the time in Toronto though, she finally got it. She started dragging herself slowly forward using just her arms (the beginning of her little army crawl) - but she was definitely moving! It was quite a start. Then in no time, she started getting faster. Now, I have to say that I believe true crawling (on her hands and knees) is just around the corner. She uses both her arms and legs to scoot all around and also gets up on her hands and knees over and over again, only to sink back down to her forearms in order to start moving. She is just too cute when she does it though. I'll try to get some video of her soon, because I really think this stage won't last much longer, and I want to remember it!

More teeth!

Shortly before last weekend (10/14/06), we realized that Arya's top front teeth were getting very close to coming in. Her left one seemed to be a little ahead of her right, but you could just see them coming to the surface. Anyway, I think it was Saturday (10/14) that the top front left tooth broke through. Then this week the right one has been moving its way in and somewhere around Thursday (10/19) it broke through. These two haven't moved down much - they're still nearly even with her gums, but they are definitely there. I can't believe our little baby has four teeth now! Does anyone else feel like she is growing up too fast?!

Arya's Contagious Laugh

Arya has a great laugh and I love when she gets going and can hardly stop! Sometimes she laughs when we tickle her. Sometimes it is when we make funny sounds. Other times it is when we just say things that she apparently thinks are hilarious!

One night, Rajeev was teasing Arya about being a "spitter" and a "spitty girl" who spits up on us all of the time! He was just saying different variations of the words and she started laughing so much! Anyway, we got part of that little episode on video. To see it, click here.

I like the outdoors!

Arya loves to go outside. We went for a walk recently and I took some pictures of Arya. (These are from 9/21/06.) Don't you love her sunglasses? She liked playing in the grass after we took our walk, but we have to watch her carefully or else she'll eat the grass! Yum, yum!

More updates coming soon!

I'm trying to catch up on Arya's blog. This month has been really busy and I haven't had much time to post. But, as you can see, this is my 3rd blog entry tonight, so I am truly trying to get things up to date! Coming soon - Arya's first rice feeding ceremony and Arya at the zoo. Sounds fun, don't you think?

She's learning to sit up

Arya is getting better and better at sitting up on her own. She did it for the first time on a Sunday night - I think it was Aug 27, 2006. (She was 5 months and 3 days old!) It was a world of difference from when we tried to get her to sit up on the day that she turned 4 months! (I'll see if I can find those pictures and post one later because it was really cute and funny!

Of course, she can't get into a sitting position by herself - we have to sit her up and get her in place and then she takes over. She is till wobbly, and tips over after not that long, but she is starting to get the hang of it (even if she does often sort of lean over in slow motion until she is bent in half and her nose is next to her feet). She doesn't seem to mind though - after all, that gives her easy access to chewing on her toes, which has become a favorite hobby for Arya.

I am going to put a video here for you to watch of one of her first successful attempts at sitting up on her own. (It was taken Aug. 29, 2006.) It is kind of shaky because I was trying to tape while keeping her from falling over! Sorry! Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! To view the video, click here.

TEETH!!

Arya has been chewing on everything she can get her hands on for several months now. This last week she had seemed to fuss more than usual and I wondered if her teeth might be moving up. Her nose has been running for the last week and I'd heard rumors that often accompanies teething. I couldn't really see any sure signs of teeth though.

Well, tonight we realized that Arya's bottom two front teeth have broken through the gums! I think it happened just today because she chews on our fingers quite often and today was the first day I'd felt anything different. She was chewing my finger and I felt something sharp so I started feeling and looking around. They still aren't up out of the gum much, but you can definitely feel and see where they're coming in! I can't believe she is big enough to have teeth. Time is sure flying.

Arya's 1st Visit to King's Island!!

On August 6, we went to King's Island in Cincinnati, Ohio. Our group consisted of Mom, Phil, Liz, Sara, Liz's fiance Ben, Sara's fiance Landon, our friend Robby, Rajeev, Arya, and me!

Arya was so good the whole day! She got to take her first ride on the merry-go-round, and liked looking at the lights and mirrors that decorated it.

Later, Rajeev, Sara, Landon and I took Arya to the water park! Landon and Rajeev went on some slides while Sara and I took Arya on the Lazy River ride, where you float in innertubes down a slow, gentle "river". Arya didn't cry, she just sang her semi-fussy "song" for most of it! Here is a picture of Sara, Rajeev, Arya, and Landon underneath one of the water fountains that you can play in at the water park.

I just had to include this last photo of Arya, because I think she looks so cute in it! She was just hanging out in her stroller seat wearing her strawberry bib! (She had been wearing a cute little strawberry outfit as well, but it was SO HOT that we eventually took it off and just let her wear a bib and a diaper so she could stay cool!)

Anyone up for a swim?

Arya went swimming for the first time a week ago today. I thought she looked adorable in her little two-piece bathing suit with the matching sun hat. She even gave me a big smile for the picture!

It has been SO hot lately, and I think she liked the cool water. She liked kicking her feet around, but when the water got up on her belly, she wasn't so sure about that.

We went swimming again on Wednesday evening and Rajeev got to go with us. She let him float her around on her tummy and this time she didn't mind the water on her belly. We had so much fun!

Trying to roll over!

I'm going to try to post that video of us trying to get Arya to roll over. I'm hoping you can see it if you click here.

What a mobile little girl we have!

Arya is doing well these days. She has been having very happy days filled with smiles that I can't get enough of and her colic-y evenings seem to be getting shorter as we near 4 months. (At least that's what we're hoping!) She also seems to be changing faster than ever.

On June 28, 2006 (4 days after turning 3 months old!), Arya rolled over for the first time. She tends to dislike tummy time, to put it nicely. However, because I know it is good for her and helps her build muscles she otherwise wouldn't use that much, I try to help her get through it as painlessly as possible. She seems to not mind tummy time as much when she is on her changing table - maybe because she is high and can see more. Anyway, on the 28th, I put her on her tummy on the changing table and was playing with her, and all of the sudden she flipped over! I was stunned. I kept thinking, "Did I really just see her do that?" I took her to our bed so she would have a nice big flat surface to try again. I laid her down and again, she flipped right over! I tried a few more times that day, but she had no more patience left for tummy time so we just gave rolling over a rest.

Well, we kept trying occasionally with no luck until the day before yesterday. She flipped right over when I put her down, like it was no trouble at all. Then yesterday, she rolled over three more times. I think she is starting to get the hang of it!!

Arya is also learning that she can move around in other ways too. I've put her in her bed with her head in one direction only to come back and find her sideways or sometimes even with her head at the opposite end of the bed. It is amazing that she is already learning to get where she wants! And I know this is only the beginning.

I have a cute little video of us trying unsuccessfully to convince Arya to roll over. I'll try to post it soon. I guess that is all for now though.

Arya's First Fourth (of July)

Arya experienced her first 4th of July yesterday. It was a pretty normal day until evening when we took her to the fireworks. We were nervous that she might be startled by all of the noise, but it didn't seem to bother her. (I did cover her ears for a large part of it though, semi-paranoid that her eardrums would burst or something crazy like that.) She watched all of the bright lights in the sky attentively for about 20 minutes and then fell asleep for the last 10 minutes! (Rajeev says she must get that ability to fall asleep anywhere from her mom!)

A little while after we got home, Arya woke up and started screaming and just wouldn't stop. None of the normal tricks would even calm her down a little. It was getting quite scary and we ended up calling the doctor's office. By the time the nurse called us back she had finally stopped crying and calmed down, but it had lasted about 40 minutes non-stop. The nurse asked us lots of questions and eventually told us just to keep an eye on her and to call back if she started up again but that she was probably okay. She was fine the rest of the night and has acted totally normal today, but it is just so scary when something like this happens because she can't tell us what is wrong. I am just glad that she is alright, and I hope we don't have any more nights like that anytime soon.

Yum, yum!

By the way, one of Arya's favorite things to do these days is to put her fingers in her mouth. She also likes putting anything else she can find in her mouth as well. Grandma Carol got a really colorful little rattle for her (which is just the right size for her to be able to hold onto by herself), and she thinks that it is extra fun to look at AND to chew on.

I realized that the previous ponytail photo was a little dark, but this one shows Arya's love for her fingers and also shows the ponytail better.

Arya wore her first ponytail today. She's 3 months and 9 days and she has LOTS of hair! What a cutie!

Reaching out...

Arya, you're making so much progress and learning so much so fast! Yesterday was exciting. For the first time, you reached for something. Aunt Liz was holding you and you reached out trying to touch the newspaper. You were looking at the paper and then at your hand, and I think you were trying to figure out how to make your little fingers go where you wanted them to go. Some would say this was just an accident, but Liz was there and she saw it too!

Today you reached out several times to touch your musical pink bunny that sits on your changing table. You were lying on the changing table and I wound up the bunny and was holding it in front of you. You were smiling and you kept reaching out and touching the bunny's foot.

You're "talking" a lot these days, making little noises and learning that you have a voice. It is so cute and I love the little "conversations" that we have back and forth. I wonder what you're thinking when you make all of those little ohs and ahs.

Another new thing that you've been doing is grasping things. I have put a little rattle in your hand a few times and you'll actually hold it for a maybe up to a minute. You used to just drop it almost immediately. Today you grabbed your burp cloth a couple of times and held on to it and even waved it around. And of course you like to grab my hair, but that can be pretty painful. I'm afraid sometimes that you're going to pull your own hair. You did that when you were about a month old. You had been sleeping peacefully and all of the sudden I heard you screaming. I ran to see what was wrong and you had your hair tight in your hand and you were pulling. I think that the more that it hurt the more you pulled, not realizing what was going on.

You're so alert and you are learning to watch things more carefully. Serveral times this week we've put you in your bed and you will lie there and watch the mobile moving around above you. Today you even looked at the pages of the book "God Gave Us You" as I read it to you. I've read to you before, but today was the first time that you paid so much attention to what was on the page.

I know that there are so many more things that I could write, but I'm trying to get down the major ones. It is fascinating to watch you learn and to get to experience each new step that you take. And we have so much ahead of us! We love you, sweet little girl.

Back up to her birth length!

Yes, it is true! Arya is back up to her birth length! Don't you mean birth weight? No. Her weight has been increasing at a good pace. However, as a result of that difficult trip from the womb to the outside world, she was born with a bit of a conehead that made her measure a little longer than she actually was. (Maybe she just wanted to be like her mom, who was born with a conehead of her own!) Arya measured 22.5 inches at birth, but by the next day her head was nice and round and she was down to about 20.5 inches. When we took her for her two week checkup she was up to 20.75 inches and I'm happy to report that on Friday at her 2 month checkup she measured 22.5 inches and weighed 11 lbs., 4 oz. Way to go, Arya!

Meanwhile, she is learning so many new things these days! She loves it when we make clicking sounds with our mouths. She watches so intently when we do it, and often gives us huge smiles because we are able to do such cool things! :) I started making those sounds for her a few weeks ago. She often sticks out her tongue or moves it around trying to figure out how to make the sounds herself. It is adorable! When we were in Toronto visiting Rajeev's family last week, she actually started making clicking sounds herself! Rajeev's sister can even back me up on this report because she witnessed it too! I don't think Arya always knows how she does it, but we still think it is fun to watch her learn this amazing new skill!

Other great accomplishments include sticking out her tongue quite frequently when we stick out our tongues at her. Are we teaching her things we'll regret later? :)

I just have to add one more new thing that she did today. I had put Arya down on the changing table and was unfolding a clean diaper before taking her dirty one off. She was lying there on her back, kicking all around and all of the sudden she put her feet down on the changing table, lifted her bottom up, and scooted herself up the table about 3 or 4 inches with one big push! I couldn't believe it! She did the same thing later when she was lying on the floor. I am starting to think that we may not have as much time to child proof the house as I thought we did!

Well, I need to go. Our little one is practicing using her loud voice to express herself right now. (That is secret code for "she is crying".) More updates to come...

New Beginnings

First of all, I am not Arya. Arya is only 5 weeks and 3 days old, and although she is learning new things every day, typing is one that will probably have to wait for a while. So, being her mom, I have decided to try to write things down for her.

Arya and me on Easter Sunday - April 16, 2006

My sister, Arya's Auntie Liz, has talked before about the internet and blogging becoming a new form of history keeping for this generation. When I was growing up, you just wrote things in a baby book. Well, I have a baby book for Arya, and I'm doing my best to fill in all of the spaces. But eventually there will be more things to write than will fit in a single book. My own mom has told me again and again, "Write things down! You think you'll remember everything, but you just can't!" I understand her now. Arya is changing so quickly and it is amazing to watch her do so. But even this early, things start to run together. Was that just last week that she started making her first "cooing" sounds? How long has she been so alert, watching everything around her? Maybe those are just tiny things, but maybe someday Arya will want to look back and find out when she started sleeping through the night or read what she was like as she was growing up. Or maybe I'll be the one wanting to look back and remember. Either way, this is a place where we'll be able to do that. Three cheers for the internet!