Need I say more?

I had a major breakthrough today.  Despite all of the time I have spent swaddled, I've officially figured out the art of focusing my attention on an object (stationary or slowly moving), willfully reaching for it, and successfully grasping that item for further study.  Sometimes I enlist the help of my other hand.  I find that munching on the object after procuring it helps me do more thorough research of that object's finer details...

Jerry has taken a liking to my play gym.  I have yet to see him stare or bat at any of the cool toys hanging from above, but I guess he just loves it because it reminds him of me :-)  It's fine with me.  I have plenty of other toys and am happy to share.  Hmm, maybe he'll share some of that interesting cat food with me in return...

I just love hanging out with Mom as she plays the piano.  I often lose track of time while listening since I'm having so much fun.  I feel very fortunate to have such a great teacher.  I'm also thankful that Grandpa and Grandpa H. gave us this great piano!

The three of us went to the Bay today and I decided to take the plunge and test out the water.  Ahhhh, so warm!  I think I'm going to enjoy swimming very much.   Mom, if you're reading this, can you be sure to sign me up to get on that waiting list for the swim club down the street?  Thanks.

Don't you just love my new hair style?  Mom and I are in the middle of a cradle cap eradication session so I thought I'd give you a progress report.  Quite lovely if I do say so myself.

After a long, hard day and one of my larger-sized feedings I have been known to do silly things.  Sometimes I will attempt to play games with my bottle or babble continuously for a minute straight.  I guess I'm the silly, talkative type of drunk.

Check out the cool chair and ottoman that Grandpa and Grandma T. left for me.  Thought I'd kick back and try it on for size today.  This must be the world's largest chair.  Either that, or maybe I'm not quite as big of a girl as I once thought.  Hmmm... I'll have to mull that one over and get back to you.

P.S.  Notice my preference for "one sock off, one sock on".  Diddle, diddle dumpling doesn't have anything on me!

I've been studying Mom's musicianship and technique earnestly these days.  I think I've almost got Bach's Art of the Fugue down pat...

P.S.  Notice my leisurely practice attire and the glob of drool on the bottom on my neck.  Wait a minute!  I don't have a neck!  Okay, okay I'm getting sidetracked here...  I tend to drool when concentrating on my music.  "It's my thing"...

Boy, have I got it made.  A stylin' bouncy chair, a nice toy and a comfy sleep sack. Who in their right mind wouldn't be smiling?

I'm trying to break the world record for number of smiles in one day.  Think I can do it?

These hands are amazing, I tell ya.  What more does one need in life than their mom and dad, a binky, and their own hands to stare at in constant amazement?

I took my first road trip today.  We went all the way to Philadelphia which is a big deal for me.  We had a fantastic time until I had a complete meltdown in the car on the way home, but that's another story...  My boyfriend (Isaac) and I had a lot of fun playing together.  I even let him sit in my cool pod chair.

Today is my last day to spend time with Grandmpa and Grandma T. before they head out.  I will surely miss them.  We had a great time together.  Grandpa took this nice photo of us before leaving.

I've been doing much more with my hands these days.  Sure, Mom and Dad may have to help me out here and there, but I just love munching on my hands and bringing whatever else might be attached to them to my mouth.  I've been known to bonk my head with this rattle, but it's still one of my favorite toys now.

Not only am I now occasionally able to nap without being swaddled, but today I napped (albeit very briefly) in the sleep sack (please note outstretched arms) while lying flat on my back in my crib.  No, this does not mean that I am totally done with the miracle blanket and it definitely doesn't mean that I will no longer need to be in my carseat (please note carseat nearby in crib for added security) in order to sleep.  It does, however, mean that there's hope and that at any given time I may be able to do one or both of these things if the planets are aligned just right.  Now let's not get ahead of ourselves here.  I'm going to need to ease into this...

P.S.  Please note that although there happen to be 6 binkies napping along with me, there are still times ...

Well, I'm officially three months old today.  I got to play in my (Simon's) exercsaucer for the first time today and had lots of fun.  You can click on the video above to check it out.  If the video doesn't play after a while, you can right-click HERE and either Save Target As...(Internet Explorer) or Save Link As...(Firefox) to save it to your hard drive first.

Guess I look a tad Chinese in this picture, wouldn't you say?   Dad has been trying to learn Mandarin while driving to work in his car.  By the time I'm old enough to learn a foreign language in school, I think it will be a standard offering.  At that point, he'll be lucky to keep up with me for more than a few weeks...

Grandpa and Grandma T. came to visit me for the first time today.  I know they were hoping to meet me sooner but I assured them that it's much better this way since I'm all grown up now and much more easygoing (sort of).  Grandpa and I had some fun together today.  What is with the Grandpas anyway?  Is there some universal law that all grandfathers like to do the "stick out the tongue" game (see my July 3rd blog entry)? Oh well, I figured I'd might as well humor him since he is my grandpa and all.

Like Grandpa:

Like Granddaughter:

Some days I'm just not in the mood to read, but today this book caught my eye.  It's a fine piece in a series of English literature by Eric Hill about a curious dog named Spot.  I'm really looking forward to lifting the flaps by myself someday to reveal the many interesting characters!

You know what I said 4 days ago (see my 7/29 blog entry) about how I could hold my head up really high?  Okay, scratch that. Now this is really high.  I'm pushing up well with my arms well too!  After a while, I get kind of cranky though (see below) which means it's time to stop.

Today I am 12 weeks old and the whole family is in a good mood.  I guess that makes sense considering I slept a total of 17.5 hours today!

I can hold my head up high now.  It requires a lot of effort, but I need to work out if I'm going to get in shape so I can enjoy exploring this cool world...

It's official.  I'm a big girl now.

Here I am today:

And exactly 7 weeks ago:

The more things stay the same, the more they change, I guess.  Notice any differences?

Sometimes life's just a bit too much and I need a little help tuning out all of the stimulus out there in this crazy world.  Hold all of my calls, please.  I need to unwind for a little bit...

I've got these cool things called hands.  Even though I'm not staring at them yet, I'm often seen grabbing one with the other and twiddling them around.  I like to munch on them too.  Very tasty...

Today I feel a lot better.  I guess some days are better than others...

Some days I just feel kind of blah.

I've been enjoying hanging out in the swing more and more these days.  This thing is cool.  It's a 6-speed, somewhat automatic (Mom and Dad shift gears when needed) with a radio.  It seems that there's always something new to notice each time I go for a ride in this baby.

P.S. I think I kinda look like Grandpa H. in this photo, don't you?

Now that I can hold my head up on my own (sort of) for a short amount of time, we all went out and picked up a cool new chair called the Bebe Pod.  It's sort of like the next-generation Bumbo Seat which came on the scene and won a bunch of awards in 2003.  Even though it looks like it is made of plastic, it's actually a very comfortable foam which is extremely light and easy to clean and is approved by various health experts as a great and safe way to help me develop the sitting skills I need.  So much better than a high chair for someone my age...    I can't believe that these things weren't even around when Simon was my age. My, how quickly technology changes...

I had my big two-month checkup today with Dr. Nguyen.  I weighed in at 9 lbs, 13 oz. and measured 22 inches long with a head circumference of 38.6 cm.  I've now grown 3.5 inches and have gained almost four pounds since birth!  I was having a grand old time hearing about what a healthy girl I am when before I knew it, the nurse was coming at me with four long needles.  I was not pleased to say the least.  Word is that every time I go see the doc I'm going to be getting more shots.  Gee, I can't wait...  On the bright side, I haven't yet had any severe reactions to the shots and I'm hoping to keep it that way.  I'm all smiles again now that the immunizations are over.  Time to spend some time with Dad...

I've been downright ecstatic today.  I've got Mom and Dad right where I want them.  All I have to do is crack a smile and they just melt.  I know that the "experts" say that I'm not supposed to be able to laugh yet, but Mom and Dad both witnessed that I giggled for the first time today.  

I'm on another nap boycott today similar to the one I staged two days ago.  It's not that Mom and Dad are keeping me up for too long, trust me.  I could overstimulate myself in a dark cave while wearing a blindfold these days...  Here I am between one of my many non-naps.  Sarah wanted me to help her decide what she should order for lunch. How should I know?  Unless they've got milk on the menu, I'm not going to be of much help.