Elizabeth's Amazing Feats!!!

It has been a little over EIGHT MONTHS since Elizabeth was born. Erin and I still can't believe how much she has grown and all the things that she is learning to do.

Elizabeth Joy is crawling now! She began crawling on July 20th and each day since then she has been getting faster and faster. Interestingly enough the things that she crawls to are not her toys. Those things which have motivated her to crawl forward include; the air vent, her mother's flip flops, her daddy's messenger bag, the stereo, and a basket used to store electronic wires. While she's crawling it's fun to get her attention, because to look at you she just doesn't turn her head. Instead what she does is take the arm of the direction she is going to look in (either right or left), she will take that arm and fling it high into the air so that she can twist her torso around to see you. We have dubbed it her "one hand push up". Elizabeth is eager to stand though, we've noticed that many times while on all fours she will lift her butt into the air and bring her knees off the floor. You can almost her her saying to herself, "this isn't working. I'm still on the floor."

Now she has learned to pull herself up to her knees. This skill was probably born out of frustration. Elizabeth doesn't like to take naps, but she's an infant and she needs them (that is what we keep telling her). So when you put her down for her nap (awake) she cries and will put up a fuss. She will turn herself over, crawl to the side of the crib, and hoist herself up to her knees using the crib bars. Once she is settled on her knees she will then proceed to cry louder thinking, "surely those parents of mine hear my suffering". And, yes, we do hear her "suffering". At the beginning I (the father) would rush in to comfort my sweet daughter. Then my wise wife said to me, "she has got to learn how to soothe herself. You've got to let her cry." Yes, my wife is wise so we let her cry. However, there will be occasions (we have learned to discern the "really upset cry") when we go into her room and hold her.