Beatrice, Month Five

The big news this month (besides Halloween) is SOLID FOOD. That's right, we're into the big time with rice cereal and even the occasional dabble into oatmeal. Beatrice is surprisingly enthusiastic about what is, in essence, a flavorless gruel - she even insists on holding the spoon and trying to feed herself. A mess ensues.

Also - she's sitting! Sort of. She can sit on her own for a limited time when placed in that position, but her big break came the other day when for the first time she lifted herself from a reclining position to a sitting one on her own, held herself steady for about 20 seconds, and then tipped slowly forward until she wound up on her stomach.

She's also been enjoying some forays into object permanence - she likes to sit in her highchair and throw her plastic cups over the side, then peer after them and try to find where they've landed.

Beatrice is engaging more with the dogs this month, reaching out to pet them and following them with her eyes as they lope around the house causing trouble. The other day she was crying pretty hard until Shack came up and licked her face - she stopped crying in an instant. Good dog.

Most of her time, though, is spent grabbing her feet and stuffing them into her mouth. Accomplishments abound!

Beatrice with her cousins Rosemary and Louis:

And last but not least, Beatrice celebrating with Lucas and Veronika at a Russian Orthodox church festival featuring our favorite Russian folk band Limpopo:

(Beatrice is wearing a pumpkin hat from a previous engagement.)

As always, you can find many more photos on Flickr and Facebook.