this week with Maren

We had a pretty good week. (Apart from the Battle of the Bottle, which was temporarily won but seems to have entered a second phase; Maren did not retreat, as we had hoped.) She has lost interest in rolling over, but this seems to be because, once on her tummy, she notices her fist and wants to cram it in her mouth - and then, who has time for rolling over?

Maren had a nice Valentine's Day. (Even though she looks slightly worried in these photos.)

She is starting to enjoy putting things in her mouth. Mostly her fingers. But occasionally other things. (Like Mom and Dad's fingers.) (And sometimes toys.)

She smiles a lot.

And she stands up! Occasionally. With a lot of help. For a very short period of time.

this is how we roll

Today's big news: Maren rolls over!

We put her on her stomach for tummy time, and just as we were remarking that she hadn't rolled over yet, ROLL! She landed on her back and we cheered so loudly that we scared her and she burst into tears. She promptly repeated this three more times, each time crying afterward: I think it surprises her to be on her back (how did I get here when I was on my tummy?).

she laughs!

By sheer good luck (because usually she stops doing whatever cute thing I wanted to film as soon as I pull out the camera), we caught Maren laughing yesterday. For some reason, she found it hilarious if you said, "Poof!" right into her face with a little puff of air, and this sent her into riotous giggles.

Check it out.

heads up

Maren is learning to hold her head up while she's lying on her stomach - a great accomplishment! (She is also learning to make the kinds of high-pitched squeals that only dogs can hear, but that's a post for another day.) Sadly, she had her first cold this week, which culminated in her first ear infection, but she's been remarkably cheerful through all of it.

She got to watch (about five seconds of) the Super Bowl last Sunday with Dad (here you can see that she is alarmed at the prospect of a Steelers victory, but fortunately the Packers pulled it off).

She's wearing bibs regularly these days, as she has also developed quite an ability to drool. On everything. All the time.

And she loves to try to sit up. No more lying on her back all the time. It's a whole new view of the world from here.