Dear God

Dear God,

Thank you for:

• My opposable thumbs.  Without them, I couldn't push all the buttons in the elevator.
• My strong hands, that I use to tear up all the magazines in the house.
• My climbing ability, that allowed me yesterday to climb onto a box of diapers and finally reach the light switch! (And thank you for Mama's strong heart, so she didn't keel over when she caught me!)
• My fantastic lungs.  If they were smaller, Mama and Daddy might not hear me call at night!
• My stroller.  Auntie MO told me it's important to meet my adoring subjects in person at least once a day.
• The Milk Machines.  I know I've thanked you for them before, but lately Mama's been saying the word "weaned" and looking at me.  I have a bad feeling about this...
• Gravity.  It makes throwing my food over the side of the high chair so much more fun :)
• My lack of teeth.  It gives me a good excuse not to eat the meat Mama keeps trying to feed me.
• My cute, cute smile.  It gets me out of so much trouble!

Love,
Babykins

The Babykins Gruff

Now that Babykins has conquered crawling and assisted walking, she's decided it's time to tackle new challenges.  After considering ballet (the "Black Swan" commercials scare her), weightlifting (too easy), and opera (she only knows 2 words), she settled on climbing.

I had noticed Babykins trying to climb things over the last week.  The sheets slid off the bed as she tried to pull herself up, and drawer handles have become dangerous as she tries to use them for footholds.  I was not prepared, however, for her ascent up the sofa.

The entire wall behind our sofa is a mirror, and when Babykins stands on the sofa she can just see herself in it over the back.  As I watched in amazement (and with my hands about half an inch away in case she slipped), Babykins grabbed onto the top of the sofa, dug her toes and knees into the back, and started to climb.

With fierce concentration and her little tongue sticking out, she had soon propelled herself to the top of the sofa, where she promptly licked the mirror.  It was a moment of triumph for Babykins, and of total fear for me.  With Babykins now on the move vertically as well as horizontally, absolutely nothing is safe.  Let the games begin!

Babykins' Version of Mount Everest

Einstein + Edison = Babykins Mischief

In an effort to keep Babykins from wreaking havoc and destruction on our electronics equipment, Hubbykins recently erected a baby gate in front of the TV stand.  He then placed a large box of diapers in front of the gate to keep it from being easily pulled over by Babykins.

It was safe for approximately 5 seconds.  First, Babykins realized that if she pushed on the baby gate from the side, it would slide over and give her access to her second favorite electronic, the DVD player.  This was easily remedied by moving the baby gate over far enough that she couldn't shift it.  This didn't stop our intrepid Babykins, though.

The next time I looked over, our 8-month-old genius had grabbed my yoga block, placed it in front of the diaper box, and had climbed onto it like a step.  She was in the process of pulling herself up onto the diapers so that she could reach over the baby gate when I ran across the living room and swooped her up.

She didn't get ahold of any TV equipment, but I was once again reminded that Babykins is not to be underestimated.



Babykins' ingenious step stool