fingers and toes

AngelBaby is almost six months old (!!!) and her new favorite discovery is her fingers and toes. About a month ago she began experimenting with her hands, staring at them as they opened and closed. She would glance up at me and a huge, excited grin would escape as if she was saying "wow! look what I found!" She progressed to grasping her binky, attached to her clothes with a leash. She would slowly manipulate her hands around the strap, as if she knew exactly what she wanted but it took so much concentration to slowly command her fingers to obey. But success would come and she would happily gnaw on the fabric, leaving an extraordinary soggy leash in her wake.

In the past week, she progressed even further. Her fingers wander and explore to the end of the leash until they find the binky and she manages to maneuver it into her mouth. Despite being upside down most of the time, she looks up at me and grins triumphantly. she chews and teeths and sucks, happily content with her beloved binky.

And finally, the newest discover is her toes. She loves to lay on her back (for her special "wiggle time"--mostly we call it that to teach the bigger girls to leave her alone and let her stretch without being picked up, sat on, squished, pulled and other forms of their less-than-gentle loving). On her back, she lifts her feet in the air and awkwardly reaches for them, sometimes getting just a brief grasp before they slip from her delicate hands. But she's getting better at it and now when I try to change her diaper, I unsnap her sleep and her feet eagerly escape into the air where her hands immediately grab onto those tiny toes and her face breaks into a huge, happy, proud of herself smile. Between her cute feet and her adorably chunky thighs, I have to fight the reluctance to just let her lay around naked with her bare legs and toes for me to tickle (she's become so ticklish!). Looking forward to summer and warm weather!