A Week of Firsts

This forced vacation from work due to the horrific fires in our county gave us a great opportunity to spend a lot of quality time as a family and our immediate family. Through the haze came many wonderful moments and lots of firsts in our house.

Hadarya really took off on eating this week. She LOVES red and orange bell peppers. She tested tomato (probably because it looks like peppers!). She ate tater tots and a grilled cheese sandwich (thanks Jen and Scott). She chomped on broccoli stalks, both the tree part (which got stuck between her two bottom teeth and the stalk. She gobbled up meatball. She also tried her first french fries at Islands. She loved
mango and mint gelato but the dark chocolate her favorite. Today she ate Boca Chicken Nuggets and would have eaten much more if given the chance!

Hadarya has been sure footed for a while but has not really stood on her own for an extended amount of time nor taken steps without holding on. She will walk, very quickly I might add, holding on to your hand or both hands, but not on her own. In the last few days we've created an environment that supports her walking and gives her the freedom to try on her own without being too scary. She is just moments away from taking off!! She will walk between us a few steps knowing our arms are up to grab on to if she needs. She stood at the couch today and let go and then toddled a few steps into the unknown. She is gaining confidence right before our eyes and it's so amazing to see.

Today she began to show a mischievous side that is going to keep us on our toes. She was playing in the kitchen while Yiftach did the dishes. She has a tupperware cabinet to play in and he gave her a couple of granola bars to play with in the wrapper. She loved the crinkle sounds they made. I went to take a shower in the guest bathroom (ants invaded ours) and heard her coming down the hall while I was cleaning up her bath toys to make room for my feet. She stopped short of the door and began talking to herself and making some noise. This was unusual, as she LOVES the bathroom and could see the light underneath, yet she did not pound on the door.

She was happy hanging out, so I didn't think anything of it. I heard Yiftach yell for her and I yelled back that she was by the bathroom. Then I heard him say something about Oh no and this is not for you, some of which was in Hebrew.

So, I opened the door and there sits my angel with half of a chocolate chip granola bar in her hand and a bite in her mouth. Boy was she having fun! It was clearly time for breakfast and since we did not give it to her in a timely manner, she took matters into her own hands.

We let her have 1/2 of the piece in her hand, put the rest away for another day, and sat her in seat for a real breakfast of cheerios, apples, cheese, and chocolate chip pancakes (it was Sunday breakfast after all!)