Penelope's six-pack abs

Ok, maybe Penelope doesn't have a six-pack, yet. But for the first time, we can now feel her abdominal muscles flexing. Granted, they are covered with a nice layer of fat, but they are definitely there. They are easiest to feel when she is being held in a seated position or when she is lying on her back and lifting her legs. When she flexes her abs, they feel rock hard. It's pretty awesome. I think we're going to start her on crunches soon. And I'm totally getting her a thigh-master for Christmas. Feel the burn, baby.

In other motor control news, Penelope has made a nice advance toward grabbing things. So far, she has mostly had only a reflex grasp (if you put something in her palm, her fingers close around it), but she has not had a "purposeful" grasp. Well, tonight, she was lying on my chest and I was patting her belly (which is still nice and soft, despite the new abs). Multiple times, she put her fist on my hand, opened her hand, moved it around, and grabbed my fingers. It seemed like she was trying to get me to stop patting her belly (although I kept doing it anyway, cause I'm like that). After she grabbed my finger, I would pull it out of her hand, and then she would grab for it again. Now, granted, she was not looking at what she was doing, so I can't say that this was a truly purposeful grasp, but it did seem like she was doing it intentionally. Most importantly, this is the first time that I had seen her move her open palm along something (my hand) before closing to grab it. On her play mat, Katie has also noticed that she seems to swat at things intentionally, although not grab them. I think we are pretty close to her putting the two together and actually grabbing something. It's been pretty cool to watch her motor skills develop, even if they are still pretty jerky.

Lastly, from the "don't jinx it" department, comes this tale of Jason stupidity. I recently mentioned that which cannot be said out loud, and then I paid for it, big time! So, what did I do? Well, Penelope had not had a spit up/vomit incident in two weeks. Two nights ago, I mentioned this observation to Katie. I spoke in code, but that didn't save me from the jinx attack. Anyway, about 2 hours after making my "observation," I was walking around with Penelope, who was asleep horizontally in my arms. Suddenly, she coughed and woke up. Before I could get her upright, she threw up all over me! It wasn't as big as her previous attacks, but it was a double shot. I was holding her pretty close, so the first shot got my shirt and pants. By the second shot, I was holding her away a bit, so most of it went on my feet and the floor (which annoyed Katie, she says my clothes are easier to clean, but I hate the feel and smell of warm nasty vomit on me). I thought that was the end of my jinxing, but no. The next day (yesterday), I was feeding Penelope on the couch, and she spit up on me again! The couch took most of the hit, but my pants got it too, and it soaked through to my skin. Nasty. I really hate vomit. So, hopefully, now I am even with the spit up/vomit gods. I have certainly learned my lesson, and will never again mention that which cannot be said out loud. Or even think about it. Oh yeah, I I didn't just write any of that.