Getting More Active

We seem to have hit a bit of an awkward time with Elsa: I can tell she wants to move around and do more things, but she just doesn't really have the ability yet, and it's starting to be frustrating for both of us. She can sit up on her own for sometimes 10 or 20 seconds now, but of course she's still not stable enough to play that way. The exersaucer is great, but she's not quite tall enough at this point for her feet to touch the bottom, so she can't move around in it independently, and I have to position her in front of the different toys. Her beloved swing is still a reliable way to get her to nap when she's tired, but when she's not sleepy, she gets bored in it quickly and clearly wants out. In fact, recently she's been straining to sit up from the swing's reclining position and reaches out for me when I come to get her! Here's a picture of her in her normal position in the swing:


And here she is trying to escape from it:


And to top it off, this morning when I went to get her out of her crib, I discovered her lying in completely the opposite direction from how I put her in it last night! She had turned around a full 180 degrees during the night. I have no idea how she managed that, and when I expressed amazement, she just smiled and laughed at me.

But in spite of all this new activity, she still doesn't seem even remotely close to rolling over. She definitely wants to roll over, but when I put her on her stomach, she just reminds me of a turtle on its back—lots of arm and leg movements that get her absolutely nowhere. I'm guessing she's just too darn fat. : )

I try to help her by rolling her onto her side, and she's figured out that by extending her arm, she can get enough momentum to go from her side to her back. But I don't see her managing to get from her stomach to her side by herself any time soon. Here's a video of her in turtle mode:

Another fun new development: Elsa LOOOOOOVES Belle these days. Whatever makes a person an animal lover seems to have clicked on in her brain in the last few weeks, because now, every time she sees Belle, she gets that huge gummy smile and giggles like crazy. She's a dog person already. : )

But still no tooth! I guess I was wrong to attribute all that crankiness a few weeks ago to teething. Fortunately, Elsa's now doing MUCH better going to bed at night—we're down to only about 5 or 10 minutes of crying per night, which is such a gigantic relief. Each day, she continues to be more fun and show more of her budding personality. She really is a joy to be around!