Baby's First Sign!

Here's a video of Anika waving hello for us at 6am this morning despite a moderate fever which has continued since last night. She's been waving for several days now.

As devotees of baby sign language (we've been signing to her since birth), we're obviously very enthused. The book we have claims that once signing begins, we can expect to see a new sign every couple of weeks. Stay tuned!

Happy Half Birthday, Baby!

First off, let's just get these photos out of the way.









Well, we are amazed at how quickly these months have passed and by how rapidly our little girl has grown (16 lbs. 11 oz. at the doctor this morning).

Luckily, our love and her magnetic personality are swelling at a rate that exceeds her needs, because she is getting more challenging to care for. The days when we could count on Anika to nap straight through a meal out are rapidly dwindling, and our attempts of late to routinize her sleep habits have kept us increasingly home bound.

But the realities of parenthood also have their upsides. During these past few weeks, Anika has grown increasingly infatuated with the both of us. She has also begun to truly play (at least in a tactile sense), problem solve, and demonstrate a full spectrum of emotions. While seeing her afflicted with separation anxiety, or causing her to cry by offering her a new toy (a purple ball), is indeed heartbreaking, we nevertheless appreciate seeing exactly how aware of the world she's become. Pretty soon we'll be explaining to her that there are scarier things than plastic balls out there.

These days we're enjoying exploring all things (er, many thing) edible. After her initial misadventure with applesauce, she came around a bit. And since then, she's embraced everything we've offered: sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, carrots, peas, butternut squash, avocado, kale, bananas and blueberries. Mmm mmm! I think avocado and banana (mashed together) has been her favorite thus far.

I fully expect she'll be rolling from her back to her stomach any day now (though she's still not wild about tummy time), and then gone will be the days when we can expect her to stay where we put her. She's beginning to push up a bit with her arms, but she's still a long ways from getting on to her hands and knees. I won't be surprised at all if Anika turns out to be one of those kiddos that never crawls. Sitting independently and using her parents as though they were trampolines is far more appealing.