Month: March 2006

Talking and Playing

After the first video of Leilani talking, she quickly stopped sticking out her tongue when vocalizing. She still makes mostly the same ahhs and ohhs, sometimes with a few other multisyllables. But she does it several times a day, sometimes when interacting with us, sometimes on her own.

In this video, she is playing in her new “gym” that we had to buy for her after she liked Ian’s so much. I’m a bit ambivalent about surrounding her with bright, colorful and noisy playthings, sometimes she seems over-stimulated. But maybe that’s what she needs to develop motor skills, because she definitely interacts with it more than anything else before. She’s absorbing new sensations and learning new motions all the time, so she probably gets frustrated at not being able to do everything she wants. Imagine if every motion was new and you had to practice and learn it.

Flipping Over

Leilani has been squirming and trying to move about more and more. First, she started arching her back and tilting her head back. Then she figured out how to push with the top leg which usually rolls her over on her side. After that, she found out that bringing her head and leg back forward will roll her body and flip her onto her stomach. Finally she realized she needed to get the bottom arm out of the way and she would then be in a position to start crawling. Sometimes we’d help her out with one of these steps, but most of the actions seemed innate.

Earlier this week, she got all the motions in smooth sequence and flipped over in a few seconds by herself. A few days later she did it again so I grabbed the video camera and asked her to do it again, which she did! This is the original live audio for this video.

Friends…

Yesterday Leilani got to visit Ian, who is 4 days older than she is. Mom had a nice time walking and chatting with Karla and Klaus, Ian’s parents, and Leilani met someone her own age for the first time.

Gestern hat Leilani Ian besucht, er ist 4 Tage aelter als sie. Mama hatte Spass mit Karla und Klaus, Ian’s Eltern spazierenzugehen und zu tratschen.

(Links are working now)
(Links funktionieren jetzt)

Karla with Ian
with Karla and Ian

Ian and Leilani playing in Ian’s gym
Ian and Leilani playing in Ian's gym

Ian and Leilani playing in Ian's gym

Ian and Leilani sticking out their tongues, notice Leilani grabing Ian’s head, good thing he has not much hair :-)
Ian und Leilani beim Zungezeigen, Leilani grabscht Ian’s Kopf, aber er hat gottseidank nicht genug Haare zum ziehen
Ian and Leilani sticking out their tongues

I’ve got mail!

My very own Social Security Number Meine Sozialversicherungsnummer
SS Letter

Gifts from Grandma Geschenke von der Oma
Gifts

(We removed our address on the blog, mail us if you’d like the photo intact)
(Wir haben hier die Adresse entfernt, email uns wenn Du das Foto intakt moechtest)

Mahaulepu – March 5th

On one on the few sunny days in March we went to Mahaulepu. It was not a very happy day, Andy got a speeding ticket, Leilani cried a lot, and some guy “stole” our nice hidden, shady feeding and diapering spot (put his stuff right next to ours…).

An einem der wenigen sonnigen Tage im Maerz fuhren wir wieder zur Mahaulepu Kueste. Es war kein sehr froehlicher Tag, Andy bekam ein Strafmandat fuer zu schnell fahren, Leilani weinte viel, und ein Typ “stahl” unseren versteckten und schattigen Fuetter und Wickelplatz (breitete sich unmittelbar neben unserem Zeug aus…).

Some of the happier memories of this day:
Einige der gluecklicheren Erinnerungen dieses Tages:

First ocean dip Erstes Ozean Bad
first ocean dip

first ocean dip (towards ocean)

Rewarming (almost) frozen toesies afterwards (Fast) erfrorene Zehen wieder waermen
warm frozen toesies

sandy toesies