erik, jess, grace and ethan

Quick Update

September 26, 2008

We've started up a blog. Check it out at Keeping In Touch. This was our solution to the storage issues and the clunkiness of using the current webpage. We will post updates and small pictures on the blog, but provide high resolution pictures on our account at Phanfare.

Quick Update

September 6, 2008

We are trying out a new picture hosting service. Check it out at Phanfare.

Quick Update

August 17, 2008

I've put up new pictures of Ethan for Month 2. I cannot believe that he's over two months old now and that summer is drawing to a close. His latest medical check-up had him at 24 in. long and weighing 14 lbs. 10 oz. He got a couple of shots and was none too pleased about them. He's dramatic enough without any real pain. He is starting to develop a routine, which is nice because we can now get out an do things. He loves being outside, and being that Grace loves the lake, we tend to spend our time at the beach. Grace loves her little brother, but we have to keep an eye on her because she doesn't realise that she is bigger than him (for now). We he cries, Grace tells us to get him, or she'll sing to calm both her an him down. She likes take care of her "Ethan", too, a doll she carries around and mimics what we do with Ethan. Grace has almost completely dropped the third person use of her name and now says I, me, my and mine more. She has also just started to love coloring pictures, so I'm sure some masterpieces are going to start going up on the fridge soon.

The Adventure Begins

July 13, 2008

We have two children; the oldest one is two years old and the youngest is a newborn. Contemplate deeply on that sentence; there are many emotions resonating in it.

The month since Ethan was born has been an adventure, but mostly very positive, although it did not start out that way. In the hospital Grace loved her new baby brother; it was kind of like going to the zoo and seeing all the cute little animals...and they stay there when we leave. It was just another fun outing for her, especially since she stayed the night with Mummu and Papa during Jessica's labor. Reality hit when she arrived at home on Sunday and found that cute little baby still in the arms of Mommy. There was "the look", but no other outward reaction; Daddy still gave her plenty of attention. Things changed that evening when Daddy picked up the baby and started talking to him in the same voice he talks to Gracie. Was that Mt. St. Helens I just heard? Ok, ok, Daddy's giving baby back to Mommy. Grace, do you want to pick up something from Mummu and Papa's? Lesson learned: Grace is Daddy's little girl and any attention Ethan gets from Daddy in her presence needs to be a gradual build up.

After that initial collision, things went better, but Grace might also have been internalizing her stress. It is hard to say if it was the stress or her four new molars coming in, but two days after Ethan came home, Grace caught a 24-hr flu bug. She woke up earlier than usual on Tuesday morning and was quite cranky. I picked her up and she would not let me put her down. Within 30 minutes I was cleaning myself, her and the floor of vomit. That happened twice that morning. I spent the next two days confined to her bedroom so that neither of us would spread the germs. Despite being ill, I think she enjoyed having Daddy sleep (and work) on the floor next to her. Dar came to help, and I placed my orders over the monitor, which was in the den where Jess, Ethan and Dar were resting. Jess, who is a nurturer by nature, was stressed because she couldn't help her little girl (not allowed to pick her up for four weeks). It was harder because she got to listen to everything we did over the monitor.

Surprisingly, I think those two days of isolation helped Grace deal with the idea of sharing her parents. After the flu, she has been really good, with the occassional crankiness of her new molars moving. Any tantrums (and the've been small) were completely ignored by us, which taught her that is not how she's going to get what she wants. We have been tantrum-free for a couple of weeks. Plus, Grace is being a great little helper. Of course she is still a two year-old, but we're glad she has adjusted well.

Ethan slept like a rock that first week home. It was hard to tell if he was even in the same room with us. We were thinking we had a nice quiet baby, following the high-need one that Grace was. But during the second week things started to change. Ethan is nowhere near what Grace was for fussiness, but what moderate level of fuss he has, he has volume to make it feel like more. We have to find ways to protect our ears when he's crying. Dixie will cower in the corner and Grace will leave the room. One day Grace and I were out for a walk while Jess was giving Ethan a bath; I could hear his cry two blocks away.

When he is not fussing, Ethan is a great baby. He really only wants his Mommy, so Daddy gets to enjoy him is small bursts before the crying starts. But he loves to play. He studies everything and he tries his darndest to talk. He is a strong baby. At his two week check, he was already 12 lbs. He can push with his legs really well. During his fussy times he will stand on Jess and beat on her chest with his fists. He can scoot around, too, so we need to keep a good eye on him.

Grace's birthday was disrupted this year. Since Ethan was born a day before her birthday, we obviously could not have a party on her birthday. The four of us celebrated a little later in the week. Jess and I got her a play kitchen, which she loves. She will skip her beloved books (temporarily) to go play with the kitchen. We bought her plenty of toy food and utinsels to go with it. Mommy and Daddy have had many pretend (and rather odd - fish and cucumber soup?) meals prepared for us. We then held a bigger party a couple of weeks after her birthday. We had a house full of friends and family. We had a good time, and Grace had a blast. Most of the day Jess and I didn't know where our two kids went, so many people wanted to hold Ethan and play with Grace.

In all, this first month with Ethan home has been good. It was an adjustment, but certainly not as bad as becoming first-time parents.

Grace is starting to wake up, so I need to end this. Check out new pictures in both Ethan and Grace's pages.

Pictures updated

June 29, 2008

Added Ethan's nursery pictures.

Pictures updated

June 9, 2008

See link in Ethan -> First Year -> First Two Days.

Ethan James Lavan

June 8, 2008

Ethan James entered this world at 1:31 AM on Saturday, June 7, 2008. He weighed a whopping 9 lbs. 9.4 oz. and measured 21 in. long. We are all doing fine. Grace was very excited to meet him, but was a little concerned when he started to cry as she held him. We'll see how she feels once he is a permanent occupant in "her" house. Ethan and Jess should be released from the hospital today.

I will post pictures soon. Also note that we will likely be changing to a different host service soon, which means the http address will change. For the time being, most of Grace's older pictures have been removed from this one to make room for new ones.

Spring Update

May 10, 2008

We can sum up our lives right now with one word: busy. There is very little in our house that is not going through some form of modification. The home office is well under way. The room was gutted down to the studs. The new electrical, insulation and drywall was installed. Trim is in the process of being installed. We'll probably have the carpet folks in to measure this week. In addition to that, we have painted more in the past six months than ever before. Then there is the preparation for the arrival of the new little one. We bought furniture and have been cleaning and organizing. Work on the nursery cannot start until the home office is done. But we have all summer to finish it; the baby will sleep in our room for the first few months. And then, of course, Grace tests our stamina with her boundless energy. She loves her "Daddy time" and makes sure Mommy has left her alone to have all of Daddy's time. As always, books are her favorite pasttime. But she is now starting to "read" to Mommy and Daddy, and some of her dolls, too. She loves playing outside, and often enjoys a picnic on days with Mumu and Papa. She loves singing; she can make it through a couple songs by herself including "ABC" and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". She can count up to 15, but sometimes skips over 4 and 5. She knows all the colors in her box of 16 crayons. And because of this she is very good at making her opinion known; she can demand what color crayon she wants to use and how many jelly beans she would like to eat. She still cannot ascend/descend stairs real well; she's way too interested in other things and doesn't focus on climbing.

We've updated Grace's pictures.

One Big Flurry of Activity

January 11, 2008

Happy New Year!

We closed on the new house in October and moved in in November. We used the three week gap between closing and moving to paint a few rooms and get the hardwood floors on the first level refinished. It felt good to rid the house of gold shag. We were equally relieved to find untarnished hardwood floors underneath. Just those few little things made the house feel like ours.

Moving is nothing short of chaos. We moved our stuff out of the old house on a Friday. We hired professional movers this time, and I might mention that they are fast. I thought that I would have time to pack things up and enjoy a few final moments in the house. But five minutes into the move I was thrust into a traffic directors role. Bodies, boxes and furniture were moving everywhere. I barely had time to finish answering one question before another came at me. On top of that two separate realtors wanted to show our house. Before I knew it the house was empty and I was standing in the midst of nothing. My entire life was packed up in a large truck that I no longer knew the whereabouts. Jessica's mother, Dar, was there to help. She and I cleaned up the house before Jessica got back from work. We then loaded Grace and some miscellaneous stuff in the car and headed north.

We repeated the whole thing the next day when the movers arrived at the new house. Let me say I was relieved to see the big rig pull up the house. This time I was prepared to do nothing other than stand around and answer questions. Our niece, Sam, watched Grace; Jess and I had our hands full making sure our stuff went where we wanted it. The movers arrived that cold and snowy morning at about 9 AM. They were done by 3 PM. That's pretty fast in my book. They had the easy part, though. For the next three weeks we unpacked, cleaned and rearranged furniture.

The first night in the house was a hard one. We brought Grace to the house a couple of hours before bedtime. In hindsight we didn't offer her enough time to adjust. By bedtime Grace was still running high on the thrill of being in a new place. Jess had a hard time putting her down initially, which is never a good sign. That night Grace was up every 30 minutes. That and the fact that we weren't used to our new room yet meant that we got almost no sleep that night. I had to work the next day. Sleep deprivation and a desk job don't mix well.

My "office" for the first week was the den - it was the only place in the house with working phone and Internet connections. I used TV trays for a desk and the couch for a chair. If Grace were to see me I'd never get any work done, so I had to shut the doors. With that room being one of the warmest in the house, it got a little toasty.

Telecommuting didn't feel much different at first. I was used to occassionaly working from home in Lakeville. But after a week of it, I started to get a little lonely. Luckily I do make frequent trips to the Twin Cities to see my coworkers. I do find that I get more done in a day. I don't have the commute or the typical office interruptions. I can work during the time that I normally spent commuting. I am also always connected, which means that I can check in on my tests every so often in the evening, if need be.

Things started to sort out over the next few weeks. Grace started sleeping better, and by four weeks she was sleeping through the night and playing in this house better than she had in the other house. My office moved to its temporary location on the second floor. I installed the Internet and phone connections. I also have a worthy desk, albeit it is not the one I want to use in the long run. Jessica started her new job and quickly got settled in. Enough of the house was in order by Thanksgiving that we even hosted the Thanksgiving day dinner. We painted more rooms and even started retiling the main (and only) bathroom shower.

The house makes a great playground for Grace. Since it is an older house, it has a "servant" area in the back of the house. One can make a circle around the first level by taking the servants' doors through the living areas. Grace makes laps around that. She also likes the two staircases: a maid's staircase and the main staircase. The butler's pantry has a swinging door, so she likes going in and out of that one.

Snow! And lots of it. The Northland (and upper midwest for that matter) received a lot of snow in December. The first of two bigs storms dumped about eight inches on us. The second storm hit on Dec. 23 and dumped about 11 inches. Lucky for me my snowblower blew a connecting rod about two feet into the job after the second storm. I had to shovel the whole driveway and sidewalk. I got the snowblower fixed, but I'll be a little more diligent about checking the oil from now on. And then on the second week in January, the temperatures shot up and melted quite a bit of our snow.

This was the first Christmas in 10 years that we were able to spend in our own home. Part of our motivation for moving was to make that possible for our children. We went to the Christmas Eve service at our church, where I love the singing of carols and the lighting of the candles during the candlelight part - they turn the church into a little bit of heaven. We held Christmas Eve dinner at our house. Jessica worked half a day, so Jessica's parents watched Grace while I made ham and meatballs. We had a full house and it felt good. On Christmas morning we had a nice little breakfast of French toast and ham before opening our "Santa" gifts. Grace was a little slow getting into present opening - it took he until the day after Christmas. We had Christmas day dinner at Jessica's parents' house with my grandparents and aunt.

I need nothing at Christmas. I am at the point in life where I just enjoy celebrating the holiday with family and friends. Grace doesn't understand the holiday yet. That will change next year, and I can't wait to watch her anticipate it. I remember the wonder I felt as a young boy. Now I know how quickly all that passes. It is important to let the children enjoy that when they can.

We hope that you all had a good Christmas and enjoyed the start of the new year.

Summer's Gone and We're Outta Here

September 29, 2007

The big news - we're moving. We've been in the Twin Cities Metro now for nine years. We have always planned on moving back to the Northland, and having Grace pushed us to that decision this summer. So we're packing up and heading north. No small feat with a 15-month old. But we are looking forward to it.

With the decsion to move weighing on our minds, the summer passed by very quickly. Even so, we were able to get out and do a lot. Grace took her first jetliner flight in July when we traveled to Chicago. We were expecting the worst, but it turned out alright. She slept on both flights and seemed to really enjoy watching the jets come and go from the terminals. She even slept well in the hotel room. At that time she was just starting to walk on her own. She had taken her first steps over the 4th of July. She wouldn't get better at it until about a month later. Now she can tear around the house like a pro, much to Dixie's misery.

Grace has really grown up over the summer - she lost that baby look and now looks more like a toddler. Being able to walk has given her learning a boost, and she sleeps much better, too. She investigates everything and needs to know the names of them (even when Mommy and Daddy aren't sure what she's pointing at). She'll even try to say them, but her vocabulary is still pretty limited - she's better at making animal noises. She loves playing in water: her bath, the lake or her pool. Bathtime is a nightly ritual, and she gets mad every night we take her out of the tub. I'm not sure if all kids do this, but she likes to drink the bath water. She loves the lake because there is water and other kids to watch, too. The other day, Grace was teaching a two-year old boy how to swim with his diaper on. His mom loved that. Grace really enjoys hanging out with her Mumu and Papa - it is hard to put her to bed on nights she gets to play with them. She likes watching their chickens (which she calls bock-bocks). She loves to say "hi" and "bye" any chance she gets - she sometimes takes strangers by complete surprise by shouting out "Hi!". She has to announce "Baby!" everytime she spots a kid under five years old. She says "buh" for ball - the l's must be hard to say. One of our neighbors has several balls in the window in their garage - Grace points to them each time we walk by. Dixie is still "Dee", but we try to keep those two separate - Dixie can get nippy, especially now that Grace can chase her. She has other "words", but they are Gracie speak that Mommy and Daddy don't understand yet.

Hope you all have had a good summer. We'll check back in when the chaos of the move is done and we're settled in.

It's Been One Year Already?

June 17, 2007

Grace turned one year old on June 8. We had a good turn out for her birthday party; many friends and family helped make the day special. And we couldn't have asked for better weather; sunny and warm with a slight breeze. Presents were the last thing on Grace's mind - she was more interested in all the people and kids at her house. She loves company, especially Mummu and Papa (Jessica's parents). But she did enjoy watching her friends Paige, Aiden and Brendan run around. She had to say "hi" to them all. The day also marked the first time that Grace was offered cake. She's very delicate when she eats. It would have taken her a week to eat the cake a pinch at a time. And after each pinch, she had to scan the room to see if everyone was watching. With all that activity, by the end of the weekend she was pretty wiped out.

Over this past month, we didn't see much developmentally new in Grace; she just seemed to get better at what she was doing. She is still not standing or walking on her own, although she can do both accidentally. She loves to dance to music, any music. Our koo-koo clock will chime and she'll dance. She likes rocking chairs; she sings a little song "yah, yah" when she sees them. (So, that's what we call them, yaya's). She loves going for walks, playing at the beach, playing in the grass and just about anything outside. She likes to study things, too. She'll work a leaf around in her hand, examining all its edge, before sticking it in her mouth. She does that with anything new and interesting. She concentrates so hard that she startles easily, so we have to be careful not to talk to her until she presents to us the object. Bath time is becoming more fun. We ask her if she wants to take a bath and she takes off immediately for the bathroom. She loves to watch the water fill the tub. She also has a fascination with sticking her face in the water. Since we changed her bedtime routine, Grace has been sleeping better. She gets a bath, a seranade, a book, nursed and then put to bed. Grace is now starting to mimick our noises, or the dog's noises. The other day, Dixie howled at the clock, so Grace had to howl, too. Of course, I had to re-enforce that behavior. So now howling is a favorite activity. But she'll copy our coughs, sneezes and inflection ("Grace, sit down" = "see dow"). She does not like to be left alone; one of us has to be giving Grace our full attention. That means if we want to get any projects done around the house, we cram them into the couple of hours of free time we have during her naps.

Now that we have passed the year mark, the updates to this page will be less regular. I will update as things of interest occur.

Index Finger, Cheese and Airplanes

May 18, 2007

We have seen some big changes in Grace this month. She's very proficient at pulling herself up, and if she's not paying attention, she can stand. But she loses confidence and falls as soon as she realizes she's not holding on to anything. She can can bend over and pick up a toy. She has also learned how to sit down slowly rather than just falling down. That saves a lot on head/butt trauma. She cruises all over the house. Gaps between furniture do not stop her - even the walls are fair game. She loves to stand at the windows or doors since our main-level is higher than the surrounding property. She watches the animals, planes and people. We tried keeping the windows clean, but that was a losing battle. The kitchen table makes a great play area, until she hits her head on the underside. She can crawl like the wind (okay, maybe a breeze), especially when chasing Dixie or Daddy. When chased by Daddy, she likes to fall belly flat on the floor so that she can get the "raspberries" on her back. She loves to go for walks or rides in the Burley. She especially likes going for walks around the pond - there are noisy ducks and geese to feed. Her vocabulary has expanded. In addition to "hi", she now has "mama", "dadda", "a-pay" (airplane), "buh" (bird), "ah-duh" (all done) and "nigh-nigh" (nursing). She has more signs, too. She signs, "hi", "all done", "where?", "so big", "nursing", "bye-bye", "light" and maybe "book". She points her index finger at everything and either announces or questions, "pwee" (we are not sure what that means.) Her favorite things to point at are birds, airplanes and the moon, but anything is game. Eating at the table can be a challenge because she can watch through the picture window all the rabbits, ducks, squirrels and birds in the backyard. She eats just about everything now, except for allergens like milk, peanuts and honey. Her favorite food is cheese, especially cottage cheese. We've learned to give her other foods like bread before cheese, otherwise there is little chance the less favorable stuff will get in.

Her eighth tooth finally came in (I'll miss the lucky seven grin). She made her first trip to the dentist after chipping her top two front teeth in the bath tub.

Sleeping remains a problem. Ever since her bout with pneumonia in March, she has woken up often during the night. Some nights are real bad and she's up every hour. We are working on changing that by shifting her bedtime, pre-bed activities and pre-bed snacks.

Spring Thaw, Freeze and Easter

April 14, 2007

Jess and I often wonder, "Where did our stationary little baby go?" Crawling has added an entire new dimension to this parenting thing. Sometimes I feel like a hawk. As Grace explores, and naturally in the most dangerous areas, I wait nearby to either catch her or move her away from the danger. She loves to crawl under tables, which inevitably leads to a bumped head. The stairs have become a major fascination; just the other day she climbed from bottom to top, with me hovering right behind her. Basically, she will pull up on anything she can. She is also beginning to experiment with her feet and getting more daring by venturing out from her support while holding on with one hand. For those rare occasions where she sits still on the floor, she is usually giving herself a hand; clapping is a new fun activity. She also loves making the "so big" sign (arms straight up over the head) when asked how big she is. Her vocabulary has not increased any more than "hi". She does try to say, "Hi, Dixie," but it comes out, "Hi, d-e". Other than that, she only makes word-sounding noises. She loves to make eyes at people; she will squint her eyes, wrinkle her nose and smile her seven-tooth grin.

For a moment in March, I thought for sure winter was over and we could at last begin to enjoy spring. How often do we get 80-degree days in March? But, I was fooled. A week later winter was back. We spent the wintery Easter up north with family. Grace did the best she could to show off for everyone, but she was also coming down with another cold and ear infection. We went to church dressed up in our Easter Sunday best. Grace slept through the service. While we were gone, the Easter Bunny had dropped off some baskets for her (the effect is lost on her, but entertains her parents.) A couple days later, Jess took Grace to have professional pictures taken of her in her Easter dress. The photographer had a live rabbit as a prop. Cute and cuddly as it may have been, Grace would cry when it came near. But we did get some good pictures. When we settle on which ones to keep, we will send them out to family and friends.

March Madness

March 18, 2007

We had our own version of March "madness: around our house. It started three weekends ago with two winter storms within a week or each other. For two weekends, I shoveled snow into piles 5+ feet high on the side of the driveway. The last of the two weekends we planned to go to a waterpark in Duluth with some friends. After some serious contemplation we decided we would attempt the drive even though the storm was just ending. Surprisingly, the drive wasn't too bad; there were few other nuts on the road. We made it to the waterpark fine and visited with our friends and played in the water. But that night (Friday), Grace started showing signs that she was not feeling well. By Saturday afternoon, she looked like a sick little girl and had very little interest in the waterpark; she simply clung to Jessica the whole time. We left a little earlier on Sunday than we wanted, but we knew we were going to have to get home. Jess brought Grace to the doctor on Monday and she was diagnosed with a cold and pink-eye (a cautious daignosis, we believe). She was given drops and we did that for a couple of days. On Wednesday, she seemed like she was doing better, and then that night she started developing a fever and grew restless. On Thursday, Grace had her 9-month well child check. A chest x-ray showed that she had developed a mild case of pneumonia and an ear infection in both ears. At this time, I had also developed a cold in my chest and not feeling well, so I wasn't much help for Jessica. Grace was put on antibiotics, but the first one caused her to vomit in a fashion similar to the Exorcist, so we needed to get a milder one. She seemed to do well with the new one until Saturday night when her fever jumped up and she started vomitting again. This change in illness caused us to bring her to the ER where we sat for five hours and accomplished little other than getting more tired and more sick. We got home a 3 am and slept for a couple of hours before Grace woke us up and still did not look good. So we made a morning trip to urgent care where they determined that her fever and white cell count had gone up and her oxygen level dropped. Not a good sign when she has pneumonia. So, she was admitted to the hospital for the night (Sunday). On Monday, I had one of the most sever migraines I've ever had and could not make it back to the hospital to pick Jess and Grace up. Luckily, Jessica's parents were down and they were able to pick them up. By Monday night, we could see an improvement in Grace, and slowly over the next several days, she started to get better. Right now, she just has a little cough and I'm feeling much better. We just need to get our schedule back and some rest.

The good news (maybe?) is that Grace is crawling pretty good now. She's really exploring the house and gets frustrated when we do not let her get into things. The main-level gates are up, which means Dixie gets confined to either the lower or upper half of the house.

Closer to Crawling; Eating Better

February 11, 2007

Overall, January was a quiet month, as it normally is after the rush of the holidays. Thus, we were able to spend some more time at home with Grace rather than out and about shopping.

Grace is now eating much better, although in a very low volume. She prefers to feed herself and will sometimes refuse food until we give her control of the spoon. She still does not like to eat fruits straight, so we need to mix it in with oatmeal. She has some veggie/fruit puffs that she can pick up. She seems to enjoy those, and Dixie does too when Grace throws some over the side of the highchair. She is getting closer to crawling. She can get up on all fours, but when she is there she is not too sure what to do and ends up sliding down onto her stomach. She can also scoot around on one knee when properly motivated. That often involves trying to reach an object she is not supposed to have. So, Jess has been busy shopping for child safety equipment for our house: gates (five of them), outlet covers, cabinet locks, bannister guards, etc. We are not looking forward to navigating all the gates, and I'm sure Dixie is going to be even less thrilled. We have to decide what floor she'll be trapped on and move her food and water dishes there.

We're not sure yet, but we think Grace's first word might be "hi". She says it consistently when she sees us and it is accompanied by a hand wave. She says "mama" and "dada" indiscriminately, among an ever-growing array of other sounds and noises. She has discovered that her tongue is good at making silly noises that make her parents laugh. Her volume level goes up dramatically when she gets tired, and she makes a point to talk over us if we are having a conversation. She has also taken up the habit of teeth grinding. We quickly find a toy or a pacifier when that starts.

Other than that it has been a pretty quiet month. I expect the next month is going to see her crawling or very close to it. Then I'll feel like a hurdler jumping all those gates.

Happy New Year!

January 13, 2007

What a big month; December. Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year, and in my anticipation of it, I dream up sublime images of what it will be like. But every year it sneaks up on me and rushes past in the chaos of holiday preparations. The result is that I savor it most when, during the post-Christmas lull, I reflect back on all the good memories. It fuels my anticipation for next Christmas.

Of course, this was Grace's first Christmas. She is too young to understand the meaning of the holiday or the excitement of opening presents, but she did delight in gathering with the familes. When away from home for the holidays she exhausts herself visiting, and by the third day, she is ready to go home. She did enjoy presents more than we thought she would. The wrapping paper crinkles when torn and it must taste good, too?! She tasted every package placed before her.

We saw many changes in Grace this past month; not necessarily new things, but improvements in what she was already doing. Verbally, she has expanded her repertoire to include multi-syllable "words" and inflections. She will sit on the floor and jabber to all of her toys. She has changed how she plays with toys; she has begun to understand that different toys have different functions. Blocks are for knocking down, rings are for pulling of the ring holder, balls are for throwing, bells are for ringing, bears are for cuddling and so forth. She has grown bored with her "little baby" toys; we packed up the gym and some of the simpler rattles. She seems to know what a toothbrush is for (she brushes the best that she can, after watching Jess). Her top two teeth have just broken the surface, and unfortunately, she likes to grind her lower teeth against her top teeth. She loves holding and drinking water from a cup or glass and will place spoons in her mouth, but is still not fond of solid food. She loves standing and is very skilled at pulling herself up from a sitting position. Yet, she has absolutely no ambition to crawl. We think she'll go straight from sitting to walking. Her world has become one for exploring and learning, and it is fun to see her start that adventure.