2/17/97
Kathryn started her big trip this month, starting out in Taiwan and Australia. She has done a lot of flying, driving, and even a little sailing, has stayed in many different places, from a hostel in Cairns to a bassinet on a 747, and from a train in far north Queensland to a tent on the Great Ocean Road. As long as she wakes up and sees mommy or daddy right away, everything feels fine to Kathryn. She rather enjoyed the Singapore Airlines bassinet, in fact, because she was at eye-level with us.
She has also enjoyed eating many different foods. She particularly likes little bits of peaches, bananas, mushrooms, cheese, tomato, and rice, but has also happily tried cucumbers, plums, mussels, Top Ramen, mild chili, soups, and almost everything else that we eat. When we feed her by hand, she opens her mouth and pushes her chin forward like a little bird. When she is done eating, she squeezes her eyes shut and shakes her head vigorously. Kathryn is still eating mostly breast milk and baby foods, but we will soon begin preparing some more varied dinners for her. A few teeth have made the eating easier. She has two lower teeth and one upper tooth, with another upper one very close. Teething pains sometimes make her fussy, and we are anxious for her teeth to hurry up and get it over with.
She has started to grow and develop at an increasing pace. She loves to crawl, which she does on her toes rather than her knees, and to roll herself over obstacles. Kathryn recognizes the edges of beds and couches and won't deliberately crawl over them, although she is apt to turn her back on the edge and forget about it, with predictable results. Her favorite activity is exploring a patch of grass or sand, or the hotel room carpet, or the restaurant floor. As soon as we let her go, she crawls directly away from us as fast as she can; after about twenty feet, she stops and looks back to make sure we are still there. She is also very good at finding cigarette butts and bits of fluff and trash, so we have to be vigilant. Other times she likes to crawl over us, pinching and squeezing and pulling away any stray shiny pieces, like eyeglasses, pens, and watches. Another favorite game is crawling over to a bag, diligently pulling out all the contents, and chewing the corners of all the books. Normally she keeps up a steady stream of babble while doing this, so the sounds of "dong dong doo doo" and "mi mi euh euh" accompany us everywhere.
Kathryn is also developing a strong will. When she wants something, she really wants it, and when she wants our attention, she knows how to get it, whether by shouting or by crawling over and pulling on her sandal.
Standing is the next thing on little Kathryn's agenda. She has been working hard at pulling herself up and then balancing on her feet. To date, her record for unassisted standing is about three seconds. Perhaps by next month we will be able to report a new record. Kathryn has also begun to imitate us. If you pat a table, she pats it too. If you tap two film cans together, she tries to do so as well.
For being such a good girl, Kathryn received a Valentine's Day. It is a little silver ankle bracelet engraved with her name, passport number, a phone number, and an email address. She wears it everywhere.
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