Skills and Thrills

We have been enjoying our little girl and all the new things she is constantly doing. Perhaps so much that we have completely neglected to update our blog with all the exciting moments in our house. At about 4 months MaKenna began to do new things on almost a daily basis. In addition her skills are becoming more refined and natural for her.

Crawling... not yet but MaKenna can roll across the room in about 5 seconds. In a way this makes her very mobile although it is not really crawling. MaKenna can also pivot 360 degrees and turn to face her desired direction.

Waving hi and bye... is becoming a refined skill. MaKenna began to wave sometime around the 4th of July. She hasn't yet perfected this skill but she is beginning to use it on a daily basis.

Speaking... Mama & Dada occasionally come out but are not really said as if addressing us. For awhile when she would cry she would say ma-ma-na-na-ma-ma. However, this cry has come and gone (much to Michelle's delight... she didn't really like it). The other day she said 'bye' to Ken as he was leaving for the day. This was too cute but it seems at this point it was her only imitating Michelle. On a positive note, it seems once children learn to talk they also learn how to talk back... so maybe we shouldn't rush this too much.

Sign Language... Is becoming a useful tool for communicating with us. So far MaKenna can sign for milk when she is ready to nurse (although this sign can be hit and miss at this point). We are working on "more", "all done", "change", "drink", "hungry" and "Go Broncos!". This will probably take a few more months but the progress is moving along quickly.

Sitting up.... MaKenna can sit unassisted for as long as she wants at this point. She has also learned how to pivot to her back and tummy from the sitting position.

Reading... Though we still have to do this for her MaKenna loves books. We just got her a new Brer Rabbit book from the Uncle Remus museum in Eatonton Ga. So far the colorful pictures have really peaked her interest in the book. It is hard to read and keep her from tearing out the pages at the same time.

Sleeping... Not completely through the night yet though we are hopeful she will be soon (Michelle can't wait!). However, Makenna is a trooper when it comes to bed time. We simply have to change her diaper, and PJ's, read her a book if she's not too tired, and lay her down. After that she simply rolls onto her side or tummy and falls asleep in seconds without any kind of fuss. This is really great!

So this is a brief update to our baby girl and we hope that it finds all of you well and enjoying life, God, and all of your friends and family.

-Ken & Michelle