What a week. One would think that having a week off from work would mean having plenty of time to keep the blog up to date. One would be wrong. It did mean extra time to play with Sara Beth however. She has become much more comfortable eating baby food. She has decided it is easier to consume food with an open mouth. The cats still distract her, but it is no longer necessary to schedule an hour to feeding her four tablespoons of oatmeal. Her bib is also likely to survive a couple meals before it needs to be washed. Yesterday, Heather and I had a meal of steak and sweet potatoes. Sara Beth longingly looks at the food and batted her little eyes as if to say "Father Dearest, might I please have a tasty morsel of big people food?" I couldn't help but give her a couple mouthfuls of a real sweet potato instead of the pureed stuff we normally feed her. It was a hit and she downed the bites and then looked wistfully at her loving father for more. Unfortunately, I came up with the idea of giving it to her when there were only the few bites left. Heather thinks that next time, she will share her potato with Sara Beth.
Sara Beth and her Grandma had a grand time playing together. Sara Beth would play with her toys and look up and the changing screens while my mom checked her email.
At only 4 1/2 months, Sara Beth is still old enough the help unwrap her gifts. She will grab onto the paper and pull. The paper rips apart to her great joy, but then, instead of extracting the next hand full from the package, she will then attempt to stuff the first hand full of paper in her mouth. Since no one gave us edible wrapping paper this year, we had to dissuade her. To head off the question, that is our friend's kid helping SaraB unwrap her gift.
Like a typical baby, Sara Beth wanted to play with the boxes and wrapping paper as much as she played with the actual gift. A teddy bear was one of the exceptions. She loves to cuddle it and bury her face into it.
Sara Beth plays with this toy while we eat dinner. She now sits at the "big people" table in her high chair, after she made it clear that she did not want to miss any of the action by sitting in her swing while everything exciting happened at the table. It has been drooled on, spit up on, thrown on the floor, and it keeps on being a viable play toy while at the dinner table. The suction cup on the bottom is a lost cause.
After stocking up on diaper wipes, I realized that the box was just the right size for a makeshift train for Sara Beth. We careened through the hours making cho-cho noises; cats bolted at the sight of a mobile baby careening towards them. SaraB loved the experience. Instead of throwing the box away, it now resides under her crib on the chance that she wants to take a train ride in the future.
After a long week of playing with family, Sara Beth got to snuggle with us in bed one morning.