Buckets o' Smiles

Well, there is no doubt about it now. Penelope is definitely smiling. This has actually been going on for a few weeks now (Katie marked the "official" first smile on Aug. 14th), but now it has gotten to the point where there are frequent smiles every day. Penelope appears to be happiest on the changing table, but we now get smiles throughout the day. That's not to say that there are no more fussy fits, but now they are broken up with a few smile sessions. She has also gotten much better at tracking objects, and I was having fun holding her and moving her body and watching her head rotate to keep her gaze on something. The best of course is when she looks at our faces and smiles. Makes me feel like I'm actually doing something right for a change.

Along with the smiling, Penelope's babbling has also increased recently. It really seems like she's trying to communicate sometimes. We're glad that she has moved beyond just grunting, but the grunting continues as well. Every now and then she'll make a sound that seems like a syllable, but usually it is just random high-pitched sounds.

Lastly, Penelope's head holding skills continue to improve. Tummy time usually results in at least one complete turn of the head, and she can almost look straight ahead while on her tummy. Sometimes, she will also do baby mini-pushups and get her chest off the floor. When she is held upright, she can also look from side to side, sometimes smoothly, other times very jerky. While there is definitely improved control, the head continues to be used as an unintentional weapon for attacking Katie and me. She has perfected the headbutt.