The Big Ten

Guess who made it into double digits?! Yep, Penelope hit the big 1-0 mark today. That's ten whole months of Penelope to celebrate!

Here's a peek into the new developments in Penelope's world...

--Books rock!--

Penelope can't get enough of these things. She finally realized that books aren't just for gnawing on, and lately her favorite thing to do is to spend some quality one-on-one time with her friends on the pages of her books.

And Penelope loves sitting on your lap and listening to you read, especially if she gets to turn the pages.

Reading books is just about the only way to get Penelope to sit still these days. She's busy, busy, busy exploring everything around her. So when we can snag a moment like this, we are delighted!

Awwwwww...

--Going backwards has its advantages!--

Penelope recently taught herself to crawl backwards in order to get off the bed and couch. (That's what one too many head-first crashes onto the floor will do to you.) Here's a play-by-play of Penelope's technique:

1. Turn around, put your head down, and crawl backwards until you reach the edge of the bed.

2.When your leg starts dangling, you know you've hit your target. Give a little push and start bracing yourself for the drop.

3. Breathe a sigh of relief when your feet finally hit solid ground.

And that's how it's done, folks!

--Make sure you're always keeping your parents on their toes!--

Penelope has been climbing over, under, through, and around everything she can in order to reach and snatch new things. And just to ensure that we're paying attention, she has become rather creative in her climbing pursuits. For example, she recently discovered that turning her toy bowl over and climbing on top of it allows her to reach several no-no's located on the high shelf.

--Look Ma! No hands!--

Penelope has been standing more and more on her own lately. Most of the time she seems to be unaware of what she is doing.

We're convinced that she can stand on her own much more frequently and for much longer than she does, but she just lacks motivation. I mean, why attempt something that might lead to falling when you can just crawl wherever you want to go?

I've been bringing her to the Kid's Club (a really nice playroom below where we live) hoping that seeing how the big kids walk will convince Penelope that it is way more cool to walk than crawl.

Apparently I've still got some more convincing to do.