Week 43 –Peek-a-Boo with Dirty Bird

For the first several months, as a first time parent, you are focused – almost obsessed - with the cleanliness of your baby. You bathe her (even though she does nothing but just lie there) everyday, change your baby’s clothes every time there is a drop of anything on it (sometimes like 6 times in one day), you sterilize everything she touches, uses, or goes near and don’t go two steps without wipes, a burp cloth or rag in your hand, at the ready so that your baby will be completely clean at all times. I guess that’s why it’s shocking to realize that we have reached a monumental stage in Elise’s life, and it goes to show that she’s growing up: the dirty stage!

Now that the weather has finally taken a turn for the better, we have been spending a lot more time outside. Last year I spent a LOT of time hanging out on the porch with Elise because she has loved being outdoors from the start. Sometimes we swung on the porch swing, sometimes we watched the cars go by and sometimes we just swayed back and forth on the porch enjoying the fresh air. This year, outside time is distinctly different, and not just because I can’t keep her on my lap for more than three seconds.

With her newfound mobility and endless curiosity comes a new kind of outdoor experience, which consists of grass, dirt, mud, leaves…and a whole lotta fun. Though skeptical at first, Elise loves crawling and walking in the grass, and doesn’t seem to mind dirt squishing between her toes. Another sign that she’s growing up is that she isn’t trying to put every leaf, blade of grass and dirt clump that she picks up (and there are many) directly into her mouth. Instead, she likes to use this time to play the previously mentioned Sharing Game, generously handing all of these treasures to her parents (blade by blade by blade). And now at the end of the day, her bath is not just for show…she seriously needs it! From her dirt covered feet to her grimy hands to her filthy outfit, Elise is a total dirty bird. And it couldn’t be cuter.

Although, she is doing something new that has serious competition for cutest thing ever. Elise has learned how to play peek-a-boo! It started about a week ago, she was lying on the changing table, getting her diaper changed, and I threw her pants over her face. She reached up and grabbed them and pulled them down really quickly, with a very serious look on her face, then bust into a huge grin. Then she pulled them back up over her face, held it there for about five seconds, and pulled them off really quickly again very intensely, then breaking into a grin from ear to ear. The hilarity of it is that she pulls the object off of her face with such force she actually grunts, a la Monica Seles or Maria Sharapova! Maybe she’s a little tennis pro in the making. I am actually surprised that she has not bruised herself with the way she snaps that thing down off of her face.

The cutest thing is when she raises the hiding thing (a pair of pants, a blanket, etc) too high, so it's above her head and isn't actually covering her face (but then pulls it down quickly anyway with a grunt and a smile). She has also learned to play peek a boo by hiding behind something and then poking her head out, then hiding again. The newest trick, which she learned in the past few days, is blowing kisses. She jams her hand in her mouth and then quickly moves it away with a grunt (always grunting! She is so lady like!) in response to us blowing kisses to her.

These are examples of the amazing things that make you realize that she has actually been paying attention to what we’ve been doing all this time! And she might even be learning a thing or two. Guess that means it’s time to really start paying attention and make sure we’re teaching the right things!