She Puts One Foot In Front of the Other

Well, Brigid had a better night last night despite the raging cold. She had a full day's dosage of antibiotics for her ear infection. The doctor gave us a prescription with the idea that we'd fill it only if we thought she needed it. A screaming kid who has a fever who keeps tugging on her ear probably needs the antibiotic, so I filled it Tuesday, gave her the first dose then gave her the two yesterday. She went to bed at her regular time last night, about 8:30 p.m., and slept through most of the night without coming into our bed. She woke briefly and cried but settled back down and didn't stir again until 7 a.m. She came in and nursed and fell back to sleep between us until about 9. I was late for work but I didn't care; I was exhausted and needed the extra shut-eye. When I left for work this morning, she didn't seem as bad; her nose wasn't as crusty and she was in good spirits, unlike the last couple days.

And in spite of her cold, Brigid has truly had an explosion of development in the last week and a half. Whereas she had been teetering precariously any time she let go of the furniture in an attempt to walk, only in the last couple of days that has changed. She now walks the length of the room, in the center of the room. She's wobbly, but she's walking. And when she does fall, she plops down on her bottom and then crawls quickly to any steady object -- the wall, the couch, your leg -- to help her stand so she can walk again. Each day for the last three has seen marked improvement. And she's "talking" more. Her babbling has taken on a different sound and quality, as though the babbling is connecting to things. She also does some signs for things, looks at items she knows when you quiz her (like "where's Daddy?" or "Where's your bear?") and she goofs around to get a laugh, knowing her action will cause a certain reaction. She'll lay her head down on the floor on her stuffed bear and look cute for you to say, "Ohhh, awwww, so cute. Lay headie down go nigh-nigh." She'll pop her head back up, smile, and put it back down again so you can say the same thing. She'll do this over and over and over again. Then she'll get up and walk over to another stuffed animal or her dolly and do the same thing.

When I ask if she's all done in the high chair (or even just say "all done?") she raises her arms up to let us know she's all done. She's begun saying Dah Dah to mean Daddy. She says Ma muh ma muh but I don't know if it's discriminate yet. She will look to Patricia or Margaret if you mention their names, so she knows who you're talking about.

She's also figured out how to get down the little step between the living room and kitchen. She had been crawling head-first down until the other day when she took a good face plant. Then, all of the sudden, I noticed her figuing out how to best circumnavigate the path. She crawled to the edge, sat down and scooted her legs out in front of her to get her feet on the floor of the kitchen first, then she scooted out further and got into the kitchen on her legs instead of her face or chest and belly. Smart, smart kid. She really enjoys walking from the living room to the kitchen and back, and loves taking the magnets off the bottom of the refrigerator. Of course, she tosses them on the floor, but that's an activity she can do forever. When she's not screaming to be held because her nose is so stuffy, she's screaming to be put down so she can go off on her predetermined path ... living room, kitchen, living room, kitchen. So much for being able to contain her just in the little area of the fenced-off living room. I think it's just to help us adjust to a lifetime of independence.

PS The picture of Brigid in the polka dot dress is a bonus -- it's the dress Lisa Lewis gave us for Christmas.