Miss. Babbling Independence

It's official. Bailey is going through her first "independence" stage. She pushes you away when you hold her too close for too long. She wants to be carried face out so that she can see her world. She hates it when things are done for her. She doesn't want to be fed, she want to pick up her food on her own and eat it. She's not mastered the forward crawl yet, but she can get anywhere she wants to go using other methods. She can take herself from a laying position to a sitting position to on her hands and knees and then back again all by herself.

She is Miss. Independence. She's got this covered, thank you very much.

The funniest thing is that she asserts her rights to be her own person in the funniest ways. If she doesn't like something that is happening to her, she doesn't outright try to stop you. She is subversive. For instance - she hates it when I put lotion on her face after her bath. Well, rather than just try to bat my hands away (which would be the obvious thing to do), she pulls her feet to her mouth and chews on her toes, creating a nearly impossible obstacle to get around. And amazingly, as soon as I'm done trying to lotion her face, her feet hold no more interest for her. Subversive. And smart. She's definitely smart.

She's also become an excessive babbler. She makes all kinds of sounds and they are flowing out of her mouth in a near constant stream. She makes sounds that sound sound like "okay", "mama", "no", and "all done". And of course, there are lots of sounds that just sound like sounds. It's funny because she's learning about how to use tone and emphasis in her use of language. When she's looking at something new, the sounds that come out of her mouth sound questioning and full of confusion. When she doesn't want something anymore, she sounds determined (or frustrated...LOL). When she's happy, she blends her sounds with squeals and hand clapping. A couple of times now, Kelly and I have just stared in wonder as she has an entire conversation with herself or her toys. We don't understand her, but it's clear that she is "talking" rather than just making noise.

It's incredible to watch her grow like this. Absolutely incredible.