New Shoes, Standing, and the shakey duck

So, we had another busy weekend, with both a bridal shower (for my friend Megan, who I've known since we were in sixth grade) and a Sip and See for my Aunt's new baby Tucker. Who, by the way, is adorable. He was so peaceful and sleepy, and reminded me of how gigantic and wild Roxanne is these days. I had my sister take some photos of us while we were at my Aunt and Uncle's house on Lake Lanier in the hopes that we might use them for some holiday cards this year. The photo is above is from that set. I have to say, I've gotten some lovely photos from my sister and my friend Jacquelyn since our camera has been missing, and I can't thank them enough. Fortunately, Susan, or Mimi as she will be known to Roxanne, is bringing us one of her old digital cameras this coming weekend. Yay! Yay for family!

Roxanne is turning into a total ham. She really really flirts with everyone everywhere we go. She acts coy at first, but holy moly does she kick it up once they start paying attention to her. And when they don't, she just stares them down. It's a little awkward for me and Justin, who tend to be fairly socially awkward with strangers, but maybe it's good for us. On Saturday afternoon before the shower, Roxanne and I went to Hoopla, our favorite Decatur toy store, on the prowl for some new shoes. They carry a lot of cute brands there, including Robeez, Livie and Luca, Converse, and even Rocket Dog! We ended up with some Pedipeds, which are fantastic. Roxanne only had one pair of shoes that fit, so I don't feel too terrible about buying slightly pricey baby shoes. I wanted some neutral shoes that would go with her Christmas dress and come in handy when she needed to look a little more fancy. I settled (after lots of deliberation and calling my mom) on some fuzzy leopard mary janes. They are adorable, and during her time wearing them on Saturday and Sunday, she probably got about fifty compliments. She was wearing her black velvet pants from Baby Gap (like I said, we had social functions to attend, and she needed to look like a lady). She's wearing them in the photo above, but I'm not sure if you can see them.

Today Roxanne has stood without any support for a few seconds on two different occasions. Both times, she was holding a particularly interesting toy, and I think she didn't realize what she was doing. Her cruising is also getting much more sturdy, and sometimes I can get her to walk while only holding one of my hands. Sometimes I think all of her time around big boys makes her more motivated to learn to walk. She has also started to lock her knees when you set her down, so you have to be careful she doesn't topple over. She is very chatty these days, too, although "uh-oh" and "deh-deh" are still her favorite sounds. She usually says "mama" when she is fussing. She says "hi" in a shrill voice, and she is being more regular about waving and saying "bah-bah" for goodbye. Sometimes when I let her "talk on the phone" with my mom or my sister or Justin, she will say "Hey!" when the phone goes to her ear. Terrible, I know, but so cute. I just hope she doesn't end up with brain cancer from me holding the phone to her ear.

On to the shakey duck. This is just a passing note, but a couple of months back, I bought a soft yellow little ducky at Hoopla that had a pull cord that makes the duck vibrate. I knew she was a little too old for it, but she loves things with cords, and she loves chewing on rings, and she seemed to like the duck, too. It got tossed behind a chair in the living room shortly after it came home and I forgot about it. But last night I pulled it out and let Roxanne hold it while I pulled the cord a few times. She was mesmerized! Then she snagged it from me and started pulling the cord with one hand and holding the duck in the other. It was the perfect example of me underestimating her. I would not have thought that she would have figured that out, even though it's not that complicated. It's just hard to realize how much she can do until she shows me. She has started enjoying her stacking cups more these days, too. Or at least in a different way. Before, she just banged them together and licked them and put them over her face. Oh, and we liked to wear them as hats. But now she puts them inside each other like a big girl. Where has my littlest baby gone! Today when I gave her a spoon with her lunch (it helps keep her from fussing while she eats, but I don't expect much in terms of use) she was picking up little pieces of her chicken and trying to mash them into the bowl of the spoon and then putting it to her mouth. It wasn't working out all that well since the spoon was vertical, but the idea was there.

She's just a lot of fun these days. And every morning, I have a few moments where I smile as I remember again that I don't have to drop her off anywhere. I try to recapture those moments when I'm changing the fifth dirty diaper in a two hour period, or listening as all three little children demand one thing or another. Shockingly, it usually works. And I have to brag on my little ones. Most of the time, they are wonderfully behaved. It's enough to trick a girl into thinking having three kids wouldn't be all that bad. But not quite. :)