Dirty Jobs

Feeding a baby is so disgusting.  I really dread this part of the day, and now that Bitty is getting older, I'm supposed to be offering her solids for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  The drill is:  I give Bitty a spoonful, she follows up by shoving her hand in her mouth to swish the mush around, then takes her dirty hand and smears it all over her face, in her hair, on her legs.  Those little hands are fast and I can't stop them.  Not that I should, I guess . . . I know that she needs the opportunity to explore her food and the eating process, that's how babies learn, but dear lord, I can't wait for THIS stage to be over.

Ok, Bitty, you've shoved broccoli puree up your nose for the zillionth time.  Still mushy and slimy.  Are you over this yet?

It's For the Greater Good

Bitty participated in a study called the Georgetown Early Learning Project this week.  A graduate research assistant came to our house armed with a video camera, two puppets, a barnyard play set, and various paperwork.  First, the researcher showed a pink bunny puppet to Bitty, which she of course loved because Bitty is obsessed with puppets.  The bunny had a pink mitten on one hand which the researcher took on and off a few times to show Bitty that it could be removed.  Then, we were both videotaped playing together with a barnyard play set for a few minutes.  In the final part of the visit, the research assistant took out a grey bunny wearing a mitten.  The purpose was to see if Bitty would generalize what she had seen from the pink bunny to this new grey bunny, and try and remove the mitten.  Initially, she went for the mitten, until she caught a glimpse of the person behind the puppet, and then spent the remainder of the time trying to get that grey bunny out of the way so she could see the researcher.  It was interesting to see her interactions with the puppets and the new person, and I wasn't surprised by her reaction since she always prefers studying people and eliciting their attention to toys.  Although, I'm not sure if her reaction was helpful to the study!

This project is in its 10th year, and children aged six months to two and a half years can participate!  Here is the link.

Playing With Balls

Daaammmmn, Girrrrrrrrrrrl

I just got Bitty this new toy that she loves and it's called the Croc Block Wagon.This, of course, amuses me immensely because croc block sounds a lot like another choice phrase.  Mark and I just laugh and laugh when we say "Bitty likes to croc block.  She is such a crocblocker."  Sometimes it's the little things.

Surprise

This afternoon Bitty had a mini photo session at a little garden park, and since it's a nice day we strolled the grounds a bit afterwards.  Getting ready to leave, I hoisted the stroller into the trunk and noticed some mud stuck to the tires.  I just had the car cleaned, so I attempted to brush it off with my hand.  Turns out it wasn't mud.