Lucinda Mae Sipes: August 2009

Today little Lucinda took her first crawl. It was only a two step crawl, but it was still impressive for a week shy of 5 months. She's been dragging and pushing herself around for over a month, but this was the first time she put both her arms and legs into action in unison. It was sweet. Below is a picture of her up on all fours after the crawl (and right before the collapse). Also is a picture of her standing on one of her activity mats. She's wobbly, but it's her new favorite thing to do. One of us is always around spotting her (so no need to call child protective services). Oh, and her pearly whites. They just keep getting bigger and sharper every day.

(all the photos below are from my phone, so they're not the best quality)

I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated the blog. We've kept busy exploring new neighborhoods and parks in Atlanta. We also spent 10 days traveling to Oklahoma City and Arkansas to visit with family. Lucy met her Aunt Sara, Aunt April, Uncle Aleks and Uncle Nathanael for the first time. But, the real excitement came when she met her 11-month-old cousin, Gabriel. She had a preview of all the fun she'll have once she's fully mobile on her hands and knees.

Two weeks ago, when we first arrived in OKC, we realized she was teething. The very next morning two tiny white buds broke through her pink gums. I am ashamed that I never realized they were coming in. It's both exciting and sad for us. We love experiencing each little step in her development, but we're already missing her toothless, baby grin.

Another new development (forced on her by her evil parents) is a new sleep schedule. It's only been five days, but she's making real progress in her sleep training. It was tough the first few nights to hear her wail, and I feared she would remember being abandoned and stop trusting me. It seems, though, that no immediate damage is being done to our relationship, so now I go to bed with a clear conscience and thoroughly enjoy her 9-11 hours of uninterrupted sleep!

Oklahoma City and Searcy photos:

Attempting to get a Gabriel-and-Lucy photo.

Finally, we just sat them far enough apart that one couldn't bite or choke the other (baby signs of affection, I'm sure). Lucy kept trying to roll off the couch.