Happy Three Months, Anjali!

Wow ~ what to include and what to leave out! It has been another groundbreaking week or so of growth and new discoveries for Anjali. I feel as if I would need a tape recorder with me at all times to record every new detail as it presented itself throughout a day. But I do the best I can.
Anjali is exploring her world more and more directly. She reaches out and grabs things, always first to put them in her mouth. She is keenly interested in mealtime. I showed her my spoon one time and now she wants to see the spoon every time. And lick it. The first other-than-boobie-milk that she tasted was the rich juice still left on the spoon from a pot roast dinner. She licked. And licked and licked and licked and licked! I was surprised how enthusiastic she was about it. Yesterday she grabbed my breakfast bowl, and would have splattered the contents on both of us if I hadn't quickly intercepted (and I'm sure every parent can tell a story or two about when that did happen with their little one).
She has two games that she likes to play ~ one is to have her Papi blow on her, from her toes to her hair. She holds her breath when he starts, and smiles when his breath hits her face. She also likes the breeze that blows on her when I lift a blanket or sheet over her and fan it; same reaction as the blowing. Auntie Woo (our good friend Julie from San Diego) came for a visit and showed Anjali another trick/game that she now loves ~ with Anjali starting out on her back, hold her hands, and pull her up to sitting, and then up to standing with her help. She seems to feel so proud when she pushes up to standing! She smiles brightly, and of course that makes us smile and laugh.
Rolling over from her back to her tummy is now old news to her. She has even rolled back over a few times. But the activity that is filling her focus right now is to try to scoot forward while she's on her tummy. Sometimes her behind is perched up in the air (adorable!!) and she's on her knees, and other times her behind is lower. She really wears herself out with this one ~ breathing hard and yelling out. But she has a lot of determination to keep at it, and even got mad at me once when I thought she needed a break.
Squealing and squeaking are a favorite activity. She can lie on her back and talk and coo and squeal ~ kick-kick-kicking in time ~ and keep herself entertained for a while.
The biggest change we are feeling in our lives overall is that Anjali has developed a bedtime ~ no doubt about it! She starts letting us know around 6 pm that she is getting sleepy. If she's not in bed asleep by 8, we're all gonna be unhappy! So we're learning how to navigate evening time as a family ~ attempting to have a sit-down dinner, which is a valued ritual to us, and get our daughter to bed at a time that is comfortable for her (and therefore comfortable to our ears).
Meanwhile, Anjali has passed the milestone three-month mark! In any parenting book I read, or any recent parent of a baby I talk to, once you pass three months, your baby acts more like a baby, and less like a newborn. The little one has adjusted to the shock of living outside the womb for the most part, and can now move on to more fun stuff. People say if you had a hard time in this initial stretch, it gets easier ~ and more fun! Happy three-months, Anjali!

sunset on the pier, with the San Francisco skyline on the horizon

because we love that squishy-tushy!!

still loving the tissue paper.

Auntie Woo!

Oh ~ a little housekeeping note: I have now included a link to our photo gallery up at the top right hand corner of the sidebar, right above where all your lovely grandparently faces are shining so beautifully in the "followers" section. We're trying to update that gallery month-by-month, so January's photos are up, and will be featured until March rolls around. I'm so glad that you all are enjoying the blog so much. 

It's fun for us all. :-D  

Also ~ if you click on a photo, you can see it bigger.