Babyness

I didn't think it would happen so fast. I remembered that it would happen, just not yet. This time of following a baby around the house making sure she doesn't put anything in her mouth that shouldn't be there. Making sure she doesn't pull herself up on something that will tip over with her. Making sure that she is safe in all of her new adventures and wanderings. Julianna started crawling only a few weeks ago and now she is going everywhere. We close all the doors to rooms we don't want her in, but even still she finds plenty to keep the rest of the family hopping to make sure she, and her surroundings, stay safe. At the moment she has pulled herself to standing and is busy pulling dvds off the movie shelf. They were in alphabetical order. Now she's laughing as she drops another. Now she's sitting and shaking a rattle as hard as she can. Now she's crawling toward me...pulling up on the chair...and now I'm back after some snuggling and giggling. So, yes, I know all about the following the baby thing. It just seems that since it was so long ago that my boys were babies, I'm a little surprised when baby things happen. And that they happen so quickly.

Here are some other baby things I've been reminded of lately.

*Cheerios that have been sucked on then dropped in the seat of the high chair stick like they've been super glued.
*Things like magazines or grocery lists will become a mid-morning snack if left in reach of a 8 1/2 month old.
*There's this game called "how many times will mommy pick up the toy I just dropped before she realizes that we're playing this game."
*Babies learn things on their own. For example, Julianna knows not only what dancing is, but how to do it when she hears the word.
*No matter what you put in front of things you don't want a baby to get to, they figure out a way to get there.
*Even if you have a basket full of really fun toys in the living room, baby's favorite toy is the remote control.

And some things I've learned about Julianna in particular.

*She loves music. (It must have been that Def Leppard concert she went to six weeks before she was born.)
*She especially loves the birthday song.
*She loves it when other people clap but she will only clap if no one else is clapping.
*She is ticklish under her arms.
*She loves yogurt but not chicken noodle dinner baby food.
*She enjoys chocolate. (I gave her the tiniest taste of my valentine Hershey bar and she tried to dive out of my arms to get to the rest of it on the table.)
*And just when I thought it wasn't possible, she gets cuter every day.