Low Crawling

Today Lena started moving. It is not what you would call textbook crawling, but she is moving. Lena moved forward on her elbows and pushed off with her leg. I tried to get it on video but every time I got the camera out, she rolled over. She moved forward a little this morning but this afternoon she continually moved forward.

I wonder what will happen tomorrow.

Sitting better

Lena has been sitting better each day. She wanted to play with the musical instruments and picked the tambourine. Here is a picture from this morning.

Mount Rainier

Sunday we decided on the way back from Starbucks with the run group that we would take a trip up to Mt Rainier. It was clear enough to see the mountain on part of our drive but not when we got close enough. It was still beautiful. Megan loved wearing her new winter boots and Lena was very warm in her outfit. We stopped at one of the waterfalls to walk around and use their bathrooms. The rain increased from when we stopped, ate lunch to when we were ready to walk around. Then we traveled up to the new visitor's center. There was a lot less stuff to see inside compared to the previous one. The rain had turned to snow but we felt warmer with the snow than the freezing rain. The girls had a blast with the snow. Megan loved throwing snow balls. She threw a very small amount of snow but still had a lot of fun.

Before we left the park, we stopped at a bathroom for Megan to go one more time. We had to have stopped at least 5 times on this trip. I cannot wait for the trip for the drive to Kansas! I wonder what the daily record will be! When we pulled into the parking lot, I thought this lady looked familiar. It was a friend from high school, who I had not seen in 14 years! It was great to catch up for a few minutes in the rain.

Clapping

Lena starting clapping today for the first time by herself. I need to get it on video.

She loves clapping and splashing in the pool. I love seeing her expression on her face when she splashes water on her face.

Lena's checkup

Yesterday we took Lena to the checkup on her head. The doctor was not concerned about her head size since Megan's head is a little bigger but proportional. Her head grew a little but not to the degree it did from her 4 to 6 month checkups.

Both Megan and Lena have swim lessons on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the same time. It is nice not to make separate trips to the Y but makes showering very tricky. Last Tuesday (the 12) was Lena's first lesson. She did great. She does not kick, paddle, etc on command (yet)but she does not mind when she dunks or face gets wet. This past Tuesday (the 20th), Lena realized we were going swimming and once she was in the water, she had the biggest smile on her face. Today she squealed with delight. I am so happy that the girls love the water.

Babbling

For the last few days, Lena has been babbling more. She looks at Megan and me and says "mema, mama, or mmmmoommooomm." Today she started saying "daddaadddaaa." Not really directed at any of us, but just to practice saying it. She still doesn't have any teeth, but her gums are really sensitive. She likes to shake her head no, but she doesn't mean no, she just does it for exercise. She likes to chew on her hand while she eats her rice cereal.
Megan really likes her Leapfrog Leapster. She plays it several times a day. She really likes the drawing application which is nice because we have limited art supplies at our apartment right now. She also plays Clifford, Nemo, Cars, and the Princesses. They all are teaching her basic numbers, letters, spelling, read along, and some question and answer. There is even an application on that tries to teach her to write her letters, but she has trouble staying on the designated line. She can draw a very good smiley face and loves to draw them on everything and names them for anyone around. She also drew a witch that turned out really well. It had arms and legs and everything.

Port Townsend

Sunday we traveled to Port Townsend. The weather was wonderful. It was clear, sunny, but a little chilly in the morning. The girls did great on the drive. It was just under two hours to get there.

We walked around it's downtown before driving to Fort Worden state park. It was a beautiful park. The beach was beautiful. It made me think of the beaches growing up. They had a beautiful lighthouse. Megan loved walking on the sand. Lena was happy in the backpack. Before leaving Fort Worden, we stopped at a marine science center. George took Megan in while Lena ate in the car. Megan loved touching the different items. She touched anemones, starfish, and a mollusk. We ate lunch before we drove back home. It was a great short trip.