Proto-Crawling

Hallie still hasn't replicated her rollover routine of a few weeks ago. I think (hope?) that's a result of the fact that she is focused entirely (almost) on sitting up. When we were in the ICN's transitional nursery, we began to play the 'pull-to-sit' game with Hallie because one of the physical therapists told us that this was a good thing for her to learn. Hallie continues to see it as a game, but, additionally, recognizes that this provides her with a new window on the universe that is simply unattainable by lying down. And, since she's a huge busy-body, a window on the universe is a very good thing. This is great for her stomach muscles but a major pain in the butt when the kid is eating.

Anyway, our nosy little girl has also determined that holding her head up high while on her stomach provides her with the same vantage point. So she's begun doing this more and more, and at the same time, tucking her knees in and pushing up a bit more on her arms and holding her upper body up with her hands. Yesterday, I got this great shot of her doing what I'm terming proto-crawling:



As soon as the crawling becomes real, watch out, because we're really in trouble. As any of you who have ever been to our home know, our stairs are a menace and our nosy little Hallie Rose will be sure to find them long before her moms (in an emergency kind of way) run out to Babys-R-Us to invest in a few baby gates.

Later on, I'll try to get a nice messy shot of Hallie eating her rice cereal. This is a new addition to her daily meal and, needless to say, the splatter mat is already on the way!