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.