Rock and roll

She did it! And we did it! Zafra's now rolling to her heart's content, and we even captured it on video! At first, she would get herself most of the way over, but she couldn't quite figure out what to do with her arm, so she'd give up and rock back. Her first full roll from back to front was on Friday 17 December and we managed to catch her on video on Tuesday. Not bad going! She was having a real roll-a-thon, not content to stay on her back for more than a few minutes before rolling onto her front again, finishing each time by looking up at us with a terrifically satisfied look on her face. Then she'd get fussy, we'd help her onto her back, and the cycle would begin anew. We're entering a new phase of parenthood, the phase of the (almost) mobile baby!

As you may by now know, Zafra's got an amazingly cute laugh. It lights up her face and can capture hearts. There are many variations of her laugh, low giggles, high-pitched squeaks, coy titter coupled with face turn, to name a few. She is free and easy with them all. A favourite pasttime of ours is to find new ways to get her laughing (and then, of course, capturing them on video). Here's my latest one, the nose-on-tummy-tickle ...

One of our favourite things to do during the day is to wander around the Bournemouth Oceanarium. It's the perfect place for us. It's nice and warm on these cold, wet winter days. And it is just right for her sensory development. Watching fish captures her eye better than anything else I've seen - the light, the sparkly scales, the movement, the shapes, it all works for her developing vision. And many of the different areas have themed music, so she can listen as well. Her favourite fish so far seems to be the red-bellied piranha, a visual delight of colours and particularly sparkly scales. And there are loads of them in the tank so it's constant visual stimulation.

When we're out and about, Zafra spends her time being worn in a carrier or a wrap, which works really well at the Oceanarium because she's fantastically placed for fish watching, and my arms don't get tired from carrying her! And, since this is England and things are a bit smaller here, we never have to worry about maneuvering a bulky pram around tight spaces, an added bonus. When we go on family outings, there's more passing her around, especially when there's a chance for a good photo! It also gives her a chance to get different views.

Zafra gets a taste of what it's like to be underwater

Coming face to face with a porcupine pufferfish

Speaking of babywearing, Zafra's grown so big (14.5 lbs on Tuesday! She was only 4 months on Wednesday!) that it has become tricky trying to do things with her strapped in front. It used to be easy, I would strap her on my front and away we'd go. Especially baking, Zafra loved to nap while I baked.

But that photo is almost 2 months old - I was baking Halloween goodies! Now, Zafra is much bigger and even more alert. Cooking, baking, cleaning, anything that I'm doing is fascinating for her, and it gets really hard to see what I'm doing through her excited, observant head. Which led us to the momentous decision to start her on the back. Not all the time, but once in a while to get her used to it and to give me a chance to get things done even when she's fussing. This is the first time she was back there, in the Ergo Organic carrier.

Now, as usual, I leave you with some more photos. To all of you celebrating this weekend, I wish you a Merry Christmas. Or a Shabbat Shalom. Or just a lovely, wonderful weekend!

Neil reading Zafra one of his favourite books about a croc called Achilles who doesn't want to eat bananas, he REALLY wants to eat a child. Zafra likes it too!

Spaced out with some toys

Squeaky clean after a bath. Or practicing her jedi skills. You decide.

There's no news like snow news

Yes, it is snowing. Again, or still, depending on your perspective. Things keep closing. Small things, like Gatwick and Heathrow airports. But it keeps turning to mush before we can get Zafra back out in it - today it went from snow to rain before we'd even noticed!

It's been a bit longer than intended since I've last been here. As with many folks round these parts, I've just got over some sort of bug. In fact, it seems to have done the family rounds - Zafra had fever and congestion, then I got ill, then Neil (although he seemed to get illness light - a much more tolerable version). Hence the time delay. But enough about that, I know that you really want to hear about Zafra!

Big news of the week - she's rolled back to front for the first time! She's a tricky one, though. A watched pot never boils, and a watched baby seemingly never rolls. For ages I sat poised with the camera, ready to video the miraculous roll and nothing. As soon as I put the camera down ... I turned my back for one second and she was up on her hands! Cheeky monkey! So no exciting rolling video this week ... soon ...

Another new thing this week - she's figured out that grabbing something and pulling it towards her will result in that object going in her mouth! She's not yet mastered this with hard objects, but she chews away on soft things, in particular her muslins (I think in the states these are sometimes called burp cloths?). Here she is, having stockpiled three of them and refusing to let any go:

This week, mid-illness, was Neil's birthday. We managed to have a lovely day anyway, and I surprised him with a fab digital camera (a dslr, one of the ones with proper lenses and everything), so you can expect some fun arty photos from him soon!

In the meantime, since there's not too much to mention, here's some photos and videos:

She loves being naked after a bath! Check out the edible limbs ..

Tuckered out after a big play session, snuggled under Daddy's sweater. She sometimes sucks her thumb while she's asleep.

Daddy sings her a personalised version of a Bobby McFerrin classic

The giggle-puss on her play mat

Parker decides that he wants to be part of the fun

Turns out I was right. Keeping up with this is rough! Every time I open my computer to write something, Zafra needs something, and by the time I get back to the blog, I've forgotten my once brilliant idea. Hey ho, as they say, I did tell you not to have high expectations!

Zafra's first Chanukah was fantastic. She's at the stage where she's loving light and movement, so lighting the chanukiyah with her every night was a treat.

First Night of Zafra's First Chanukah

Tres chic, and I can drool on it, too!

Do I eat the candles?

Without wanting to compare our daughter to our dog too much, we're trying to learn from the mistake we made with Parker - in his first few months of life, we bought him more toys than 5 dogs could play with in 7 lifetimes! Not wanting to replicate that kind of excess with Zafra, and wanting to bring her up with a love of simplicity, we kept her presents small. Which isn't to say that we didn't hit the pressie jackpot! Zafra spends 45 minutes every Monday at Baby Sensory, which is pretty much what it says on the tin. All of the babies senses are piqued and tickled in fun ways, and the Monday during Chanukah focused on light. It was during this session that we were introduced to the wonders of the Emergency Foil Blanket. No, this isn't some newfangled expensive piece of baby kit, it is the shiny silver blanket you are supposed to keep in your car for emergencies that require body heat preservation. It is a large, silver sheet made of ... well, to be honest I'm not completely sure what it's made of. But it reflects and shimmers and crinkles and when Zafra was put on top of it, she went nuts!! We stopped in Sainsbury's on the way home and found one in the 'winter motoring' section for the bargain price of £1.99. £1.99?!?!?!?! Change the packaging, add a logo and stick it on the shelves of ELC or Mothercare and you could charge £20 for it! But there we are, the best Chanukah gift for Zafra this year.

Loving Tummy Time

 

Just to make Chanukah perfect, Zafra saw her first real snow! Not the normal 'oh my goodness, I think it's a flake' kind of British snow. A few inches, a lovely white blanket over everything! Worried about her getting too cold, we didn't take her out for long, but we couldn't resist some snaps in the garden. Here's a few to keep you until the next installment ...

Our Snow Angel

Starting up

Apparently, people aren't getting enough Zafra. On the occasions that I send out some photos (usually, Neil uploads the photos), I receive not a few replies chastising me for not sending photos more often! Therefore, it is with great hesitancy that I enter the strange world of the blogger. Be forewarned - I don't fancy myself much of a writer and I'm a new mum with limited time to just sit and type. But I will do my best and hopefully it will help you all keep more up to date with Zafra and the rest of us! Neil and I will probably share posting duties, and we'll try to include photos and videos. Like this one, the first video we got of Zafra's amazing laugh (those of you on facebook may have already seen this one):

So, folks, subscribe to the blog. Or just come back on occasion. Read a bit, check out the photos, comment and converse. Hopefully, you'll feel a bit more in tune with our lives, and we won't feel so far away! Lots of love, Jenny