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.

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.

Lately Josie has had a penchant for turning her toys over and examining the underside and all wheels on vehicles. Perhaps we’re raising an engineer!

I have now checked out just about every single one of the baby carriers from the Boston Babywearers lending library. We found a bunch that we liked, often in different situations. I finally bit the bullet and bought one carrier that will work from newborn to toddler and can be worn on the front or back and easily fits me and Jordi. It is a Mei Tai (may-tie) by BabyHawk. The inside is supersoft cuddly fabric and Josie is really enjoying it as it supports her head enough but can also fold down to give her a good view of everything around her. I can get her on my back with help now, and with practice I’ll be able to put her on my back myself which will make carrying her much easier as she gets bigger.

Josie has been working like crazy on her physical strength and agility. She can stand for upwards of 10 seconds as well as take a couple of steps on her own. She has now also begun to pull herself up from a complete sit all the way to her feet using the assistance of such objects as the bathtub or the 20 lb bin of cat food. When she’s in bed now she’ll often roll over to her stomach and alternate from pushing up on her arms, to sticking her bum in the air on her knees. Clearly this is a precursor to pushing up on both her hands and knees. Maybe she will learn to crawl one day after all! She finds it hillarious when I demonstrate crawling for her, so perhaps she assumes it will be fun. It will certainly be fun for me to not have to move her closer to whatever she wants all the time. We had better get working on installing the baby gates on the kitchen to keep her from eating the cat food.