These are a few of her favorite things...

As Melanie continues to grow she is becoming more and more inquisitive and playful, which is fun for us to watch her experience things for the first time, and to see what tickles her fancy. Here are some shots of her at some of her favorite activities.

We baby-proofed everything in the kitchen except the plastic storage container cabinet, so it is now a frequently visited location when mom is working on dinner.
Helping mom do laundry/climbing into things. If I'm folding laundry I have to be sure I put it out of her reach, because if it's close enough Melanie will take it upon herself to clear the couch of any eye sores, such as folded towels and the like.

Now that I see the two pictures next to each other it has occurred to me that Melanie probably started climbing into the laundry baskets as a hint that she wanted to go for a spin around the living room, like her dad does with her on occasion.

Bath time is definitely a favorite around here. When Melanie gets crabby, a bath always brings out a smile!

Playing peek-a-boo is one of Melanie's favorite "tricks". For a while she just thought she had to have something in front of her face. The concept of not being able to be seen wasn't quite within her grasp, so she happily played peek with us, lifting this book cover from her face and grinning proudly every time she would "peek" out from behind it. Now she pretty well sticks to playing peek from behind the coffee table, but she likes to watch us from under the table as we "search" for where she may have gone.

These blocks are by far the coolest Christmas gift Melanie received. In the set there are two wedges, a cube and a cylinder. Melanie especially likes the wedges, but is getting into climbing on top of the cube now too. At first we had to slide her down the wedges ourselves since she hadn't figured them out yet, but now she can crawl up the wedge and slide down backwards, or, as shown in the pictures, lean over the top edge and slide down on her stomach. It's so funny to watch her land at the bottom, roll over with a grin and go back for more!

Books are becoming quite the entertainer as of late. I keep several on the coffee table for her, and several times a day she puts them all on the floor (much like she does with any folded laundry that may be within reach) and picks which one she'd like to examine. The one in the picture is a frequent favorite. She's spent upwards of 20 minutes just turning the pages and looking at this book- by herself! And apparently its a very funny book as well, because she frequently bursts into laughter when she's looking at it. Who knew a book of baby's first 100 words could be so hilarious?
Walking! And juice! Melanie took her first steps right around nine months, and she hasn't slowed down since. At first she only walked when she was really focused on something, but after a couple steps she would realize what she was doing, come to her senses and start crawling like most other nine month old babies do. Then came the bottle. We've started giving her one 1/2 juice, 1/2 water bottle a day since her nursing has decreased as her mobility has increased. That sealed the deal on this walking stuff. After giving her this bottle she happily toddled around the kitchen island a couple times without stopping. It's official, we have a toddler!

While she has enjoyed looking at the dog through the back window for quite some time,with the addition of walking it has taken on a new element. Before, she would primarily look at Tobey when the curtains were pulled back, but now she walks around between the curtains and the door, banging away, trying to get Tobey to pay attention to her. And she still thinks that all glass doors lead to Tobey, because when we're at my parents' house she bangs on the door and looks around with anticipation, waiting for Tobey's arrival.

Emptying mom's wallet and the diaper bag - an oldie but still a favorite. I have to be sure my driver's license is actually where it's supposed to be every time we leave the house! True, I could put these things where she can't get to them, but it provides her with so much entertainment. Beside, we all know how hard it can be to get a debit card out of those skinny little slots. She's working on her pincher grasp and forming life skills, right?

The dishwasher. This is one obsession that I will not indulge. Before this pictured incident happened, I had taken Melanie to the opposite side of the living room, hoping to get the bottom rack unloaded before she got there. I got two plates put away before she was there, pushing the rack out of her way so she could climb onto the door. 30 feet in the amount of time it took me to put away two plates - this can't be happening! I guess I can only do the dishes while the baby is sleeping, because all other diversionary tactics have failed.This isn't really an activity that Melanie does for fun, I just thought it was a cute picture. On Wednesday nights when I go to PSR Matt and Melanie have their special play time together, and apparently on this particular night they played pretty hard, seeing as Melanie crashed out on the floor. I think the missing sock adds the the charm of the photo!

And finally, cuddling with mom. More accurately, cuddling with anybody. Dad, Gramps, a stuffed animal. If you're slightly squishy and willing to sit still, you're the person for Melanie, I just get the most of it since we spend all day together. This has been more prevalent recently since both of her top teeth decided to pop through at the same time. As her mobility continues to increase by leaps and bounds I know this will become less frequent, so Matt and I will just have to enjoy it while it lasts!