I washed my cell phone in the laundry today. It is airing out and we will see if it will resurrect itself or I will need to buy a new one. So I am incommunicado via the cell phone, try Jordi’s as we will be together most all the time over the holiday.

Josie is very helpful at times when we have to do chores. Unfortunately, like many people, she also finds them boring sometimes.

This afternoon we took Josie to a funky small-child event called Baby Loves Disco. It’s basically a party for small kids and babies in a real night club on a Sunday afternoon with DJs and real drinks for the parents. It was pretty overwhelming for small children but it seems like everyone had a good time. We went with a real big group of CMU alumni and their kids, and Craig and Alyssa who came to watch the rest of us make fools of ourselves so far as I can tell. Josie wanted to chase the lights around the dance floor but they moved much too fast for her. She also loves her new egg maraca that we picked up there. I also got my eyebrows waxed and Jordi got a massage (they have people peddling free samples of their wares at the party). It was pretty dark on the dance floor so we don’t have many good pictures. It really wore Josie out though which was great.

As you have seen from some other posts we’re working on babyproofing the house. Part of that was buying a rug and removing the coffee table, another part was installing the babygate and we’ve put some locks on cabinets as well. Josie conveniently tested the lock on the bathroom cabinet repeatedly yesterday the entire time I showered, it held. The one problem I’m finding is how to babyproof the garbage cans in say the bathroom and office without just removing them entirely. She is instantly drawn to them and for obvious reasons we’re not thrilled. If you’ve dealt with this, what have you done?

The other night Josie tried apples. I had bought baking apples because I was going to bake them. But upon tasting it, I remembered that the reason that they are baking apples is that you are expected to dump sugar on them to counteract their tartness. Josie did not appreciate the apple too much that night. Tonight on the other hand she heartily approved of the golden delicious apple I had prepared for her. She ate it double-fisted.

We also used our new clamp-on baby seat for this meal and she seems to enjoy it. We’ll be using it as needed for holiday travel and it’s pretty dang convenient. It gets her right up to the table which makes it much easier for her to eat off the table compared with the usual restaurant high chairs. I even used it in the kitchen today to clamp her to the counter while I entertained her cooked right in front of her.

Monday we went to the museum of science with our buddy Harrison and his mom. Harrison is three days older than Josie and three pounds heavier! She has a bad tendency to maul other babies by grabbing their hair and pinching various body parts. She also very sweetly tries to kiss them. When they cooperate, like our friend Jack did a few weeks ago, we get baby open mouth kisses which are very cute. Harrison was a little taken back by Josie’s friendliness. The museum was a pleasant enough way to spend the day, but it’s not a place I’d be dying to go back to until Josie is several years older. Next month we’re going to the aquarium.

The cats are starting to change their tune about the baby as she continues to hang around the house. Ezzy hits back now if Josie hits her, but thankfully she’s gentle. George cringes and backs away when Josie approaches. Mio will continue to risk life and limb to be pet. Kaya will sit on the changing table despite being repeatedly grabbed by Josie just to hold ‘her’ territory. Fred likes to start a ‘conversation’ right when I’m trying to get her to go to sleep. They were all mystified about how they’re supposed to handle this new challenge pictured. Let’s just say that it’s not a quiet noise when 17 1/2 lbs of cat lands after jumping the obstacle. It also took him and Mio a good half hour to decide how to deal with it.

Josie’s motor skills have been improving by leaps and bounds over the last week. She’s taking 8-12 steps by herself and can pull and push her way into a standing position using most anything (like say your skin that she’s pinched in her little hands). She’s just amazing to watch and she’s certainly quite pleased with herself! She can also do a downward facing dog now, a yoga master in training.

Josie has a new love for untying shoes. She even tried to untie her pediatricians shoes on Monday. She also wants to eat the laces which is not permitted for various reasons. So I made her a toy of untying laces by threading cut up shoelaces through a box, and it turns out the cats really like it too. On a related note, I’ve started to clear out the cat toys of those that are choking hazards and bought the cats some new bigger toys. I have to hand those out in the morning though, otherwise the cats dive bomb throughout the house waking Josie up at night.

After five days of trying them and each day getting a worse reaction, I think we’re pretty clear that Josie does not like bananas. It’s the texture or something but they were vehemently rejected Wednesday night. Later in life we assume she’ll decide to like bananas but for now we’ll let it go. Carrots and sweet potatos are still enjoyed. Tonight we tried rice. It was a big mess, she didn’t love it, but again she didn’t reject it. She is good at clearing her plate though!