The Locomotion

It was bound to happen sooner or later, but came sooner than what we expected all the same. Elizabeth is crawling and quite well too. At first, she scooted around backwards, then crawled backwards, then crawled sideways (of all things), and finally, just a couple of days ago --she crawled forward! She hasn't really stopped crawling since. I can put her back in the middle of the floor, and minutes later she'll be off at after something else she shouldn't be getting into. Elizabeth has a facination with our entertainment center's broken door, the framed photo of herself, my laptop's cords, and the folded laundry. The Christmas tree has thus far been spared her curiousity, but I find it intersting that even with a floor covered with toys, only those items she should not be getting into are what she most desires. Elizabeth wants to eat electric cords, but won't eat her rice cereal! Confounded child.
Tyrone was actually the one who got Elizabeth to start crawling forward. Those two were meant for each other. She gives BIG smiles and LOUD laughs when he comes home, and he can't wait to play with her. Well, Tyrone was hogging our little girl during church on Sunday and only handed her over to me when a diaper needed changing and when the princess was hungry. Typical. Anyway, she was on the floor during the final hour of Sunday services while Tyrone taunted her with his shoe. He egged her on until she put one hand in front of the other with legs in sync. It was then that she crawled forward for the first time. Talk about one proud papa! Tyrone loves to watch Elizabeth slowly inch her way across the floor (and sometimes she slow, other times fast).
It is fun to watch Elizabeth crawl and see how she maneuvers and works out problems on the floor. She's a very smart girl. She just can't seem to figure out how to open her mouth when I hold a spoon. Either way, she's great fun and very active. She is so wiggly and curious!

Thanksgiving Break

This year we went to Tyrone's parent's house for Thanksgiving. We were only able to stay for a short two days, because Tyrone had to work the day before the holiday, and I had to work the evening after. However, Elizabeth had fun either way. Grandma and Baby became great friends, and Uncles Shelton, Mason, and Dusty enjoyed playing with and holding their niece. The only challenges faced came in the form of sleep deprevation. Elizabeth didn't want to nap because there was just too much fun stuff going on around the house.

Tyrone and I played several games with his brothers, including Killer Bunnies, Munchkin, Bang!, and Mad Gab. We had lots of fun, even though Mason managed to get me killed numerous times during certain games. Not that he did it on purpose, but I refuse to sit next to him the next time we play. Tyrone won a couple of the games through his own form of cunning and deceit.


For Thanksgiving dinner we got together pot-luck style with Tyrone's aunts and uncles who live in the same town as his parents. We met up at the school cafeteria for the meal. There were lots of people and tons of pumpkin pie.


Elizabeth has been working on crawling now for several weeks. Once she figured out how to get up on all fours, she started rocking back and forth. She already scoots around the floor quite a bit and has no problem with mobility. --That is, she does do everything backwards (literally, she goes backwards everywhere she goes).

On the Move...

This last week, Elizabeth mastered the "sitting up" idea, and can now sit on her own for several minutes before toppling over. She's enjoying this as well as her new found freedom on her belly. The more time she spends on the floor, the more she realizes that she can move around. Currently, she scootches backwards on her stomach by pushing herself with her arms. However, earlier this week she figured out how to get up on all fours. --Not only that, but she rocks back and forth when on her hands and knees. What's next for our baby girl? Crawling is the most likely option, but with her cuteness and smarts, college or a high-profile modeling career could be in the works as well.

An update on the whole solid food situation: she still doesn't like rice cereal, but will eat oatmeal (to a certain degree). She still has to learn how to keep her tongue out of the way when she opens her mouth.