One of my favorite things about having an almost-8-month-old baby is watching her personality develop. Shaelyn is becoming a very sweet and very active little girl. She is also very adamant in the things she likes and does not like. I always thought it was funny to hear moms of babies say "my baby LOVES that" or "my baby HATES that". I thought, "how do you know?". Well, even though babies can't talk, they tell you what they like and don't like. Shaelyn will flap her arms and get very excited over things she likes, and will throw temper tantrums over things she does not like (arch her back, turn red in the face, kick her legs as hard as she can, and grunt over and over). Here are a few of the things Shaelyn likes (and does not like):
Shaelyn LOVES:
*Anything to do with Maggie. She will chase her around the house, pull her fur, and look for her anytime she hears Maggie's little chirruping noises indicating that she is entering a room.
*Getting her picture taken. Really, she's fascinated by the camera, which holds her attention. (It also makes her stop whatever cute activity she's engaged in that makes us want to get out the camera to begin with.)
*The phone: cell or home. She loves how they light up and make noise and have buttons!
*Crawling. That girl can get anywhere fast.
*Standing and pulling up. She will pull up anytime, anywhere. She is getting a lot more steady on her feet as a result. She loves to pull up on my clothes (like the hem of my skirt or my pants legs) which really scares me, because it's not very sturdy.
*Banging things on the ground. She has learned the fine art of "hammering".
*When Daddy comes home. She gets this very goofy grin on her face reserved only for Daddy.
*Being tickled. She laughs in anticipation of it.
*Eating board books.
*Putting everything in her mouth.
*Outlets. This proves to be very frustrating, even with outlet covers. She will find any outlet in any room.
*Playing with other babies (Clara especially). Yesterday we went over to Clara's house to play, and the moment we got to the front step, Shaelyn got this really excited look on her face and began flapping her arms.
*Taking a bath. She sits up in the tub all by herself now and splashes the water EVERYWHERE! It's so fun to watch. We made her a "raincan" toy, and she likes to let it rain on her rubber ducky. She also loves the shiny silver drain in the bottom of the tub.
*Paper - the thicker and shine-ier, the better. She really likes those advertisements that come in the mail; those things that are thicker than catalog pages. Oh, yes!
*Ripping paper, especially out of important books that we didn't know were in her reach.
*Putting her face really close to Mommy or Daddy's face and making "one big eye".
*Singing, or being sung to.
*Swinging.
*Patting things, especially things she can pull up on (like the top of the ottoman).
*Eating solid foods! She loves applesauce, pears, peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, and the combo apples-bananas-strawberries.
*Squishing the "solid" baby food in her fingers, especially the applesauce.
*Drinking water from her sippy cup. The way her face lights up and she attacks that thing, I sometimes think it's the highlight of her day.
*Nursing, especially in the middle of the night, which makes waking up worth it.
*Waking up from a good night's sleep. She crawls around on the bed with us and smooshes our faces and laughs.
*Plucking on door stoppers to make them make noise.
*Fireplaces - whoops again!
*Mirrors - she loves that reflection!
*Being "nakies". You take those clothes off that child and she goes nuts!
*Her Jump-a-roo. Loves, loves, LOVES bouncing.
*Being held, especially when she falls down, is tired, or scared.
*Her pacifier. Again, when she wants it, face lights up, mouth opens.
*Her hands, and the cool way they swivel on her wrists.
*Pulling her hair.
*Pulling Mommy's hair.
*Pulling anyone's hair.
*Climbing things - she is desperately trying to climb the stairs. Everyday she gets a little bit closer. I'll put the gate up at the bottom when she figures it out. I'm just fascinated watching her try.
*Going for walks in her stroller.
*Playing in the baby pools at Wet 'N Wild.
*Tupperware containers, especially when Mommy turns them over and "hides" toys under them.
*Playing peek-a-boo. The way we play is by putting a burp cloth or little blanket over Shaelyn's head, and when she pulls it off, we say "Boo" or "Yay" and clap. She always laughs.
*Wires of any kind (especially if they are plugged into one of those really fun outlets). She has already shocked herself.
*Maggie's toys.
*Brandon Sweat. He always makes her laugh.
*Watching Elmo's World on Sesame Street. I always heard moms going on and on about how their babies loved Elmo, but watching Shaelyn watch him, I finally understand. He is red and furry and has a high pitched voice and laugh. What baby wouldn't love him?
I turned it on today and snuck up the stairs to tape her watching him so you could see the expression on her face. Since I don't know how to edit videos, I broke it up into two short clips.
This first one is the very beginning of Elmo's World, with the theme song and finding out what the "theme" of the day is:
This next one is when Elmo "asks a baby". This is when Shaelyn gets really excited and storms the t.v.:
Shaelyn does NOT love:
*Going to sleep.
*Sleeping in her crib.
*When Mommy leaves the room (this usually results in a crying baby crawling after me).
*Getting splashed by the big kids running through the baby pools at Wet 'N Wild.
*Loud noises (unless she's making them). These include, but are not limited to, the vacuum cleaner, the blender, the toilet flushing, the hair dryer, plastic bags being rustled, and as I discovered today, packing tape being unrolled from the roll. Some unknowing lady turned on the hand dryer in the public restroom once when I was changing Shaelyn - it took 10 minutes to calm her down.
*Her carseat (unless she's sleeping in it).
*Having something she's playing with be taken away from her (ie: being moved away from outlets, the cat's toys, wires, etc).
*Drinking from a bottle, now that she drinks from a sippy cup. She would rather be hungry than drink milk from a bottle. It's nurse or nothing for her now.
*Getting her diaper changed. She used to love this, but that was before she could sit up and move around. Now laying on her back is torturous.
*Getting dressed, because it ends her "nakies" status.
*Having to sit still for anything - putting lotion on, trimming finger and toe nails, brushing her hair, etc.
*Getting her face washed.
*The one time we tried it - putting her feet in the sand.
*Getting ready for bed.
*Falling. Even if it doesn't hurt her, it scares her, and she cries every time.
*The sun being in her eyes. (But who does love this?!)
As you can see, the things she loves far outweigh the things she does not. I'm excited to learn all the things she loves and does not love as she discovers more about the world around her.
