Munchkin updates

We have a couple of things to talk about from this weekend. Kathleen continues to amaze us with the simplest things. She’s growing more interactive with her surroundings. She persists in her fascination with her pretty feet, grabbing or grabbing at them every time they enter her field of vision. I don’t blame her: I love attacking them, too.

She’s following everyone’s progress throughout the room. She knows when Mike or I are there, even smiling when she sees us. She knows that’s enough to get us to stop in our tracks and talk to her. That’s intentional, I think. She seems to want and audience to perform to these days. She’s content then.

I’ve also caught her watching Sadie and Muggles. If they’re anywhere within a foot of her, she watches them intently and attempts to reach them. I’d swear she nearly ended up on her hands and knees in an effort to get to Mugs at one point. I may have to station her just out of reach of them if that encourages her to her hands and knees. Good practice in preparation for crawling.

Let’s see, what else. Ah, sitting! She sits well supported, but this weekend, she was able to sit for a minute or so at a time propped up by her own hands several times. That’s the next milestone in sitting. It won’t be long before she’s sitting up completely unassisted. I look forward to that. Maybe we’ll be able to sit her on the floor with a few toys to keep her occupied while we’re doing things like laundry or making dinner or cleaning. It’s tough now since she wants to do these things but needs our help to do them. We’re getting less than ever done.

She’s loves that jumperoo. It’s like an exersaucer, but it has no bottom for the feet and it’s on springs. She discovered that she can jump in it on Saturday. Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, bouncy . . . it’s a blast. It has a toy attached to it – a lizard encased in a clear, acrylic egg with little balls the size of bee bees. It spins and makes a rattling noise. The moment she sees it, she reaches for her and plays for it for at least ten minutes. Even before we finish putting her feet through the leg holes, she’s trying to spin it.

That’s something: she’s actually grabbing at things with the intention of playing with them. It may not seem like a big deal, but it’s the fact that she’s doing these things with intent. She knows what she’s doing. She wants to explore. She sees something, takes note of it, decides she wants it, and grabs it. It’s truly, truly amazing that she is able to do this in just five short months. Comparing her to her newborn self where she only laid there, ate, slept, messed, and cried . . . the difference is night and day. She is developing by leaps and bounds.

We were happy to notice that she’s gabbing more again. She hadn’t been making as much noise since her cold became noticeable. She’d make a squeak here and there but no conversation. She started talking to herself and to us again yesterday. I love to hear that. I hope it means she’s feeling better. I missed her chatter. It will take her a few more weeks for her to finally kick the bronchiolitis, but I'll take this as a positive sign that we're on the way.

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On another topic, a Mennonite farming family in the next county over lost seven of their eight children to fire last week in a terrible accident. The Wes.tboro Baptist Church is threatening to picket their funeral tomorrow. Why? Because they are disgusting, intolerant . . . . I can't go on. There are truly no words base enough to describe these people. But this is their reasoning according to a local paper:

Westb.oro's press release says the children's death is linked to the Supreme Court case, in which a [local father] sued after it protested and made homophobic statements about his son, a Marine killed in Iraq. Wes.tboro blames society and the Perry County children's parents for their deaths . . . .

Really. God is that vindictive that he'd kill innocent children because of a Supreme Court. Let the little children come unto me so I can smite them because their parents are really, really bad and the Supreme Court says I can. Right. The God I know does do vindictive. He guides us but we make our own choices. Any time of reckoning doesn't come until after we've done with this life.

Anyway, keep that family in your thoughts. Groups around here are planning to attend the funeral and provide a barrier between the family and the WB.C. Keep them all in your thoughts.