Aria Discovers O's

After two more bouts of illness that included a 104 degree fever and a second trip to the ER for our little one, the winter fog is finally lifting. The weather is warming up and the Nelson fam is all about town soaking up the sun. Bring on spring!

This week our girl turned 10 months old. I can't believe it; she's almost one. Wasn't it just yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital? She's grown and changed so much, so fast. It seems that this is a magic age for Aria, as she's pulled one new trick after another out of her hat this week.

For example: Sing a note. Any note. It doesn't have to sound good, just make a noise. Ahhhh... Now tap your hand to your lips repeatedly. Note the vibration-type sound. This is Aria's new favorite sound. Last week it was NaNaNa - "Na Na Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye." We've sung that line a lot recently (yes, just the one line; surprisingly - or not so surprisingly to those that know me - I don't know the rest of the song). This week, though, it's AhAhAhing that thrills our girl. It's her goto sound when playing, when upset, when seeking attention. She does it to me, to strangers, whoever. So cute. Others think she's blowing kisses, but I know better. Still, after a couple of days of seeing others blow kisses back, Aria's learned that too. I think we have a genius on our hands.

What else? Well, Miss Aria was no where near interested in finger foods a week ago, but what a difference a week (and a healthy dose of competitiveness) makes! Last Friday we had lunch with another set of Nelson girls, Sandy (mom) and Emily (baby). No relation, but Emily is just a couple weeks older than Aria and the two girls are by now pretty familiar with each other. The two also tend to hit their developmental milestones right around the same time. This time, however, Emily was way ahead, having gotten the whole finger foods thing down some time ago. At lunch we sat the babies across from each other, giving Aria a perfect view of Emily's eating prowess - Cherrios, banana puffs, lentil stew...whatever it was Emily ate like a pro. And once Aria saw her friend do it, she just couldn't resist. She gobbled up her only-moments-before rejected lunch of avocado and banana, keeping one eye on Emily all the while. Then she played with some banana puffs, going so far as to lick one of them. By the next day, she was ready for more, picking up and eating one, then two, then three Os. Now, she just can't get enough of the Os and eagerly reaches for more before the first one is gummed up and swallowed. Which leads us to our next new skill...Pointing!

Aria pointed for the first time this week. At the Os! Not mom or dad or the kitty...at the Os. Well, there you go. The way to our girl's heart is through her stomach; she is a Nelson, after all.

In other news, Aria got to experience a playground for the first time this week. She loved the swing; the higher and faster it got, the more she laughed.





The slide was also a hit. Aria easily maneuvered up the 3 small platforms to the slide and then was able to slide down by herself after only a few times going down with help. True, she didn't always intend to slide down (not really understanding that here it's flat but over there, not so much), but she came down with a big smile every time. Dad is convinced (and thrilled) that we have a future lover of roller coasters on our hands.