Some Things That Make Roxi Laugh

• Tickle kisses, belly busters and raspberries
• Gentle somersaults with Daddy
• Licking condensation off the sliding glass door
• Unexpectedly running into a cat
• Full body peek-a-boo
• Getting away with chewing on something she shouldn't be (like sticks)
• Loud quacking from her stuffed duck
• Dribbling water out of her mouth
• Other people laughing

Strawberry Shortcake

Roxi has learned how to keep from eating food she doesn't like . . . It's so simple! Just spit it out! And if that doesn't get their attention, spit it out and then throw it as far as you can.

Mealtimes have become a bit of an adventure.

Rob and I have many ways of getting her to eat, and sometimes these methods are even successful. Begging doesn't usually work, nor does trying to convince her that X food is actually the most delicious morsel on the planet. Distraction has much better odds, and can include singing, dancing, flailing, whirling washcloths, cat herding, toy hijinks and trading bites of X food for puff treats.

This week, however, all our extraordinary efforts have been for naught. The girl will only eat grapes and strawberries. We fear she will start ballooning into a giant grape, a la Willy Wonka's blueberry girl. Or perhaps start asking for a big berry house like Strawberry Shortcake.

We're sure it's just a phase. Roxi will surely transition into a cheese-only phase soon just to keep us on our toes. And for now, we're enjoying her permanent strawberry scent.

A Nose by Any Other Name

We've been working on plenty of words with Roxi, through constant commentary as well as reading. She's not saying anything recognizable yet, but the glimmerings of understanding are becoming apparent. When we ask "Are you hungry?" she knows that food is coming and starts looking for a bottle on the coffee table (even though she ends up in her high chair half the time). And she knows the nose. Roxi will point to the noses of her stuffed animals when asked.

She also knows what "No" means - or at least the negative tone that accompanies it. Whether or not she chooses to follow the instruction is a separate matter.

Roxi's other new skill is unfastening her diaper. Impressive on its own, but even more so when she does it through her clothes.

And did I mention she's walking!? We still can't believe it, and she gets more confident every day. Our baby is ON THE MOVE. It's definitely time to babyproof the cabinets!

Making her way around the coffee table. This was just a few minutes before her first solo steps.

Playing in the courtyard at Rob's work ... after meeting him for lunch. Roxi is showing off her lovely tongue.

Roxi's tripod scootch in action.

Put One Foot in Front of the Other ...

She's walking! She's walking! Roxi took her first steps this very afternoon at about 4:30 p.m. She's been getting more and more adventurous with her furniture cruising, and today she took it to the next level.

Roxi's first wee walk spanned the distance between the exersaucer (which she had pulled up on) and me in our family room - about five steps. She repeated her outstanding new skill 45 minutes later ... and then repeatedly once Rob got home from work. We're beside ourselves. Roxi is, undoubtedly, wondering what the big honking deal is.

So far, walking has been limited to when Roxi is holding two toys. When she has a hand free, she reaches for something - us, the coffee table, a kitchen chair, Teton, etc. - to stabilize herself. But when the hands are occupied ... well, I guess she finally got tired of waiting for people, pets and inanimate objects to present themselves. Go girl, go.

Interactive Monkeypants

A few of Roxi's newer skills:

• Pointing at things she likes, particularly the cats and her Dad, and shouting "Deeeesh!"
• Playing peek-a-boo (but never on command).
• Scooting across the floor. We call this move the tripod scootch. It's almost standard crawling, but Roxi only uses one knee and drags her other leg behind. The best way I can think to describe it visually is a moving runner's stretch.
• Intentionally trying to make us laugh. Roxi's favorite way to do this is to take a drink from her sippy cup and then dribble the water down her shirt. She's right, too. We're suckers for that trick every time.
• Cruising the furniture - standing up, holding onto the sofa, walking down to the end of it, moving to the coffee table, walking around it, etc.

Rob and Roxi take in the scenery, 360-style.

Tearing across the playground bridge (with some help from Daddy).

Diggin' the swings.

Wheeee!

C'mon, just one bite ...

Wow, is the park ever fun.

Teton and Roxi both love to play with sticks in the yard.

Roxi helps with the recycling.

They look like modern dancers, huh? That's Josie and Hailey against the wall, with Roxi providing crouching counterpoint on the floor. It was a very artistic playgroup.

Happy times on a lovely day.

Just try to make me eat more breakfast!

Creepy Crawlies

This winter has been a full-on germfest around here. Poor Roxi got nailed with another cold last weekend. Rob promptly caught it. I escaped with just a stuffy nose.

The good news is that every virus she conquers now is, theoretically, one less that she'll have to deal with in preschool. Or that's what we keep telling ourselves anyway. If you know this to be false, please keep that information to yourself, as we really NEED it to be true right now :)

Anyway, the cold was not as bad as the RSV experience. Just lots and lots of snot for the sweet girl - leading us to wonder how a body so small can produce so much by-product - and coughing. She's still a little drippy and sounds like a chain-smoker, but we're over the hump and looking forward to the healthy weeks (dare we hope for months?) ahead.

Roxi must have a bajillion toys. And yet there is nothing more fun to her than shredding a paper napkin. Other favorites: empty plastic containers, sticks, magazines, boxes and just about anything found in the bathroom.