And so it begins...

What begins, you might ask?  Several things, actually.  I think teeth are finally on their way into the part of the world known as Cora's mouth.  I've been saying this for a couple of weeks now--other people have been saying it for MONTHS--but with the day we've had, I think they REALLY are starting to come through.  Cora has been so fussy today and I've chalked it up to teething.  If its not that, then its a sore throat from the cough she's had the last couple of nights.  But I'm hoping its the other.  If a tooth does come through, you'll definitely know right away.  I'm sure we'll post a pic!

 

I mentioned the cough which leads to one of Cora's "beginnings".  We took her to the doctor for the cough yesterday, and while we were there, she showed her first sign of waving bye-bye.  The nurse waved "byebye" as she was walking out, and Cora raised her arm just a little and moved her fingers just a tiny bit--a wave.  We had just told the nurse that she probably wouldn't wave because she hadn't been doing it yet.  But she did and the nurse said it gave her warm fuzzies.  Geron also tried to get her to say "Byebye" and she said it very clearly.  No one was around for that one but us. 

 

Other things beginning to finally take root in Cora's life--crawling, REAL crawling.  For a few months she's been scooting backwards, and getting faster and faster at it.  And lately, she's been doing what I believe is called the Monkey crawl.  It involves pulling yourself around with your arms and one leg, while the other stays in a sitting position.  But she's finally beginning to get the knack of this going forward business.  And she's so ready for it!  Today, I sat her down on the kitchen floor and turned my back to fix her cup.  When I turned around, she was up on all fours, hands and FEET, that is, ready to go.  She stayed in that position for almost a minute, seemed like 10, and then sat down.  I think she realized she'd accomplished a great feat and threw her arms up in victory and grinned.  She may just skip this crawling buisness and just take off walking.  I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. 

 

Speaking of walking, Cora is showing some signs she's ready to go.  She'll stand with support for a minute or so and then let go and balance herself for several seconds, nothing touching her to keep her up.  Usually, when she does this and she starts to lose her balance, she'll lean down and put her hands on the ground and then sit.  She so desperately wants to be on the move.  Her favorite thing that she's dying to get into right now is the cabinet at the bottom of the entertainment center.  I wonder if when she opens that door, she thinks to herself "Is this how I get to Narnia...If I could just crawl in and shut the door, I'm sure I could find Aslan and Lucy and all those other interesting people.  Darn it! Why can't I crawl?" or maybe she's thinking "door. crawl. sit. dark. hide. no mommy. Whew, I needed a break from that crazy lady!" 

Finally, the girl is doing a lot of talking.  Most of it I haven't deciphered yet.  BUT the words "Dada" and "Mama" have finally come out of her mouth and they are music to my ears!!  She often says what seem to be sentences and mentions things in those sentences about Dada.  I hope she's saying nice things.  Mama is usually used when she's frustrated about something.  Its probably not "mama" in the sense of "mommy" yet, or maybe it is and she's just trying to tell me what's bothering her at the moment.  Whatever the case, sure sounds good. 

 

And so it begins...our baby is turning into an individual whose ready to tackle the world and all its challenges.  Tonight, I was thinking, Lord, please let her teeth come in quickly.  And then I thought, after reading this post, No, Lord, its okay if they come in slowly.  I can handle the whining without words.  I'll pray a prayer for time to fly when we hit the pubescent years.