This being Sophia's first Christmas, members of the family (both those visiting here in Regina, and those away) felt the need to spoil our little one. Both David and I thank you for that (seriously... you sent amazing gifts that will keep her entertained for years to come!). Somehow we managed to avoid the really annoying gifts-- you know the ones that make crazy noise without the ability to be turned off.
Grandma and Grandpa Mantel gave Sophia, among other things, her first "piano". It has three different settings... plays music, plays pieces of music that get strung together as the child pushes the buttons, and a play the keys setting. It also has three physical settings for lying down, sitting up and standing. Well, Sophia tried the lying down setting and was okay with it. She batted at things and kicked at things, but then got bored. So then we tried it with her sitting up, supported of course. Suddenly we discovered that she can sit on her own, with only a little bit of help from an adult type! We were quite thrilled with this new development. Since Christmas, Sophia has gained enough strength to sit unaided for long periods of time and can balance her self if she gets a little tipsy.
As David mentioned in the earlier sock blog, everything goes into Sophia's mouth. It is her main vehicle for exploring the world. It's hilarious to watch and a little gross sometimes (especially when she starts sucking on the edge of a restaurant table. I guess a little bit of germs never hurt anyone!). Things change very quickly in the life of a little one. One minute you're sitting perfectly poised to play and the next minute you're trying to see if you can get your tongue to press the keys. I have to admit, though, most of the time Sophia bangs away at the keys using her hands. Mouthing the keys does little more than get them wet!
The list of fun toys to play with goes on and on... Each was opened and then presented to Sophia, who promptly tested each with her mouth. Among the favorites so far: squishy fabric blocks that offer much to do, plastic blocks that have turny, twisty and pushy pieces, a little monkey that can double as a puppet, and some really cool books: Barnyard Dance, My Big book of Animals, My First Christmas, A puppet Reindeer book and a book about the animals in the manger with Jesus. She also got some things that will hang out for a little while, till she's bigger: wooden building blocks, and some wooden puzzles (which she does like to chew on but I worry a wee bit about splinters). Surprisingly enough, no lego for her -Not even from the Gerhard's. Hmmmm.
Our friend, Jacquie, sent along one of those "good-ole-toys" that every child should probably have. It's the Tupperware shape ball --you know the one where you match the shape with the coordinating hole in the ball? Yeah, well, now we know that Sophia will have a leg up on all those other kids when she gets to kindergarten! She can't use it quite yet, as the pieces fit very well, regardless of shape, into her nicely rounded mouth hole. Sigh.
Sophia's Great Auntie Pat sent along a couple of toys, one of which is a little contraption that has balls inside and a push top that makes the middle move and gets the balls popping. Sophia watches with interest as we push the big red button and get the balls amovin', but when we try to get her to do it herself, she inevitably just sticks the handle in her mouth --or else tries to eat the big red button.
David's cousin, Christopher (aka Slick), sent Sophia a gift as well. Normally, gifts aren't exchanged between the cousins but it seems that Chris had a lot of babies in his life this year, and decided that all of them should get basically the same thing. So enter "The Ugly Doll". It's great. It is kind of cute, and Sophia seems to enjoy playing with it. His name is Ice Bat, and one of his passions is freezing up computers. Something tells me that this is particularly fitting for David.
All in all, Sophia did very well, and will be enjoying her new toys for a while to come. Here's one more picture for your enjoyment:
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