Baby Sitting

Guess who is sitting like a champ? (And holding a cup with both hands? Next - chewing gum!) Her sitting has been developing by leaps and bounds over the past three weeks. She's also tracking sounds well - she knows where a sound is coming from, even if she can't see what's making it. Clap behind her and she will smile while looking to the side. How fun!

(Notice the breastfeeding pillow surrounding her rump - that's for when she occassionally flops over in pursuit of a runaway toy or just forgets that she's sitting up.)

Relaxing With the Aunties

We relaxed the day after Thanksgiving at the Weinberg-Levine house again. In these two pictures, Liora enjoys the attention of Auntie Jayme and Auntie Arie.

Thanksgiving & 1/2 Year Birthday

This November, the 23rd marked the Thanksgiving holiday and Liora's sixth month out of the uterus. We had a lovely time with the Weinberg-Levine clan. Here we are gathered on Grandpa David's and Nana's back porch, before the Thanksgiving feast.

All the adults quite enjoyed the day playing with the baby, but I have to admit that Liora was a bit of a cranky pants. It seems that she is developing some anxiety in large groups with being held by a non-parental unit. We were blessed with many giggles and laughs, but saw THE POUT quite a bit.

The Real Thing

It is a Weinberg-Levine tradition to take a picture of the uncooked Thanksgiving turkey with the child of the house. Here, both Arie and Liora take part in the ritual, with David showing off the bird.

This picture may reveal that, alas, Liora probably is not a vegetarian like her father. However, I argue that Liora is fascinated with the pot rather than the fowl. We also took a picture of Liora with the Tofurkey that I feasted on. I must admit, though, she seemed rather bored and uninterested in the smartly packaged fake meat product. More evidence of omnivorousness? Maybe.

Table Manners

Liora sits in her "Bumpo" seat at the Thanksgiving dinner table. She just finished eating Thanksgiving breast milk. We just finished eating Arie's fabulous squash soup. Mmmmm.

Look Ma, 2 Hands!

It's been facinating to watch Liora's coordination with her hands grow. At first, she could grab objects with either hand, but not with both at the same time. Then, she could grab with two hands but did not seem to understand both hands were grabbing the same object. It's clear now to her that she is grabbing and manipulating the same object, in this case her Whoozit toy. As with all objects in her hands, it quickly went to her mouth. When I feed her a bottle of breastmilk, she knows exactly how to reach for it and pull it to her. She also can hug, which is wonderful for us.

(If you think that she's sporting some red hair in this picture, its just the coloring of the image. Sorry.)

Here's looking at you!

It's really funny the way babies get excited at something and then have to either look away or turn to the side, while still looking. This shot of Liora captures it pretty well. We see it a lot.

Things that get her steady attention have to be fairly low-level stimulus, or stimulus she controls. Her floor toy is an example of that - she can lie beneath it and play with dangling toys for an hour before getting bored.

But, then there are giggle fits. When she gets on a roll with giggling, it seems that high stimulation activities like big kisses everywhere or tickling become very enjoyable. Her laughter moves through her whole body while she giggles through her entire vocal range. It may be the most joyous sound I've ever heard, as it completely lacks the bittersweet undertones that any being with more than a few years under their belt has.

She definitely has to be in the mood for the giggle fits, though, usually at the end of the day. For the rest of the day, for example, tickling get barely a smile. Ho hum, daddy. Next!

Liora and friends greet trick-or-treat'ers

Liora (the pumpkin) and her harem of super boys from Tama's "mom's group" got together to play and to greet the parade of trick-or-treat'ers in the neighborhood. In this picture, she is happily explaining Halloween to Alex (the host tiger). They all had a great time! Wow, how they have all grown. - Tama

Three little pumpkins

We've been calling Liora our little pumpkin for quite some time, and it was time to put our money where our mouth is. Let's make her a pumpkin for Halloween! At her first party, she found herself amidst a veritable baby pumpkin patch with two of her buddies (Elizabeth and Natasha). They are so sweet, we could just eat 'em!

Liora's First Halloween!!!!

Liora got all dressed up with many little friends this year to celebrate her first Halloween. (She's anchoring this costume review on the far right in the picture). She had a blast! On Sunday afternoon, she went to a GAO baby/toddler party at Natasha's house where she joined two other pumpkins, a firefighter, a bunny, Elmo, a quarterback, and a frog in some Halloween mischeif.