She's on her knees!

Watching the development of a child is an amazing experience.  Jennifer seems to learn new things every day; be it something useful or not.  One day she might realise her voice can get more things done around the house once she raises the decibels.  Another day, she learns that throwing her toys will make dad and mum 'fetch'.  Then she learns (while being fed) that she would rather make gargling sounds rather than swallowing.  She knows it is much more fun to bang her hands on the computer's keyboard than playing with her rattle....and the list goes on.

Now, she has started crawling, which has opened up a whole new realm for her.   This doesn't mean she can crawl about like Baby Bink (Baby's Day Out); but she is getting there.  Right now, visualise a kid behind in his dad's car trying to get it out of the garage: the car moves forwards and hits a wall; it moves backwards and hits a wall; and somehow, without getting the car out of the garage itself, the kid succeeds in turning it 180 degrees!  That's more or less how Jennifer crawls...she hasn't yet mastered the 'pushing forward with her feet' yet; she still pulls herself forward with her arms.  

This new found freedom amuses her tremendously.  Forbidden Objects like dad's slippers, newspapers, tv wires, usb cables and the like are now literally within her grasp.  Thank God she is not strong enough yet to pull things out (like pen drives out of the USB ports!) but she keeps trying.  And she gets stuck in the weirdest places...like with her feet below the coffee table and with half of her body outside; a situation that usually ends up with a high pitched version of her saying "HELP!"  

This crawling around has its benefits and troubles as well.   Benefit: she can keep herself busy, exploring her environment.  Trouble: the environment is not safe.  A newspaper to us is something to eat for her.  A thing on the floor is something to eat for her....everything is meant to go into her mouth!  Everything.  As if her other senses do not work and she depends entirely on her 'taste'!!!

But it is (still) amazing to watch.  While watching TV, we end up watching her rather than the program.  I guess in no time, she will start sitting...and then pull herself up...then stand...then walk...etc..etc..lot's of things to look forward to (or dread!). :)