We have been working on introducing new foods to Sara Beth. Every time we sit at the dinner table, Sara Beth will longingly gaze at us as we eat our food. So, this past week, we decided to put her teeth to work. While eating a fruit salad, I picked up an orange slice to feed to her. Heather pointed out that citric acid and babies don't mix. The next fruit I grabbed was an apple slice. Since Sara Beth eats baby food apple sauce on a regular basis, I knew that this one wasn't going to cause lasting damage. So I placed it in her mouth. She initially tried to suck on it; I helped her out by grinding the apple against her lower teeth. She started to get the idea and began to furiously gum the slice. Since then, her hunger for apple slices is insatiable. Whenever we are eating apples, she will want some. Now we will typically bite off a small grain sized piece and put it in her mouth. She will chew it down and ask for more. Tonight at dinner, I put a full sized apple slice in her mouth. She knew just what to do and got to work grinding it with her teeth and gumming it with no prompting on my behalf. Once she gets those upper teeth, she will be an unstoppable apple eating machine.
So there is a story about this bow in her hair. But first, the back story. We have been placing bows in Sara Beth's hair since she was born. But as she has grown older, the long dark hair has fallen out, and has now been replaced by the blond duck down type hair. And while soft, it does not have enough texture to solidly hold bows. Note how the bow is precariously attached to her head in the below photo.
Well, Heather took advantage of the great weather we had last week, and took Sara Beth on a walk. At the beginning of the 40 minute long walk, the bow was in her hair. At the end, it wasn't. So, not wanting to leave a bow lying around, in case a squirrel choked on it or something. So she retraced her steps and walked the whole circuit until she found the bow in the middle of the street, at the very end of the loop. But since Sara Beth loves walks and it was about 75 degrees outside, no one seemed to mind.
This is a shot from the following day. Note that the bow has been swapped out for a hair band.
Sara Beth is getting better at playing with her toys. This purse contains plastic toys in the shape of lipstick, mirror, bracelet, and money. And the purse sings. I don't like singing toys. They play the same song with only little variation. Fortunately, the purse has an on/off switch on it. Unfortunately, whenever Heather plays with Sara Beth, she turns it back on, and then switches the volume control to the "Extra Loud" setting for good measure. She claims that Sara Beth likes the music, but I suspect she does it for me.
One final anecdote, and then I'll sign off for the night. This evening, Sara Beth and I were having a grand old time. Dinner (including apples ) had been eaten, she had taken her bath, and we were winding down, reading "Voyage of the Dawn Treader." She yawned a couple times, so I figured it was time to get Heather for Sara Beth's nighttime meal. So, Heather comes in, and I pass Sara Beth over. In Heather's lap, she turns back towards me and begins to cry. She wasn't done playing. I picked her up, and she calmed down immediately. We walked around the house and played for a while, until she was REALLY yawning, and only then did she consent to having her night time meal.