In the desert (and elsewhere)

We haven't written in a while - sorry! We've been a bit busy this week, believe it or not.

Intrepid explorer
Today, for chol hamoed, we took HG on a tiyul, her first nature walk, to Ein Avdat in the Negev desert. She had a great time, intently examining everything around her: trees, mountains, ponds and rocks.


The only problem with travelling with her is that she now increasingly refuses to be strapped into her car seat, crying persistently until she either is released or falls asleep. To be fair, we can't blame her - when she's awake and alert, why would she want to be strapped into a seat and stare at the inside of a car? But alas, it remains the only way to get her from place to place. We devoutly hope she grows out of this soon.


Playing with food
On the way home. we stopped in Beersheva for dinner in the food court of the shopping mall. After dinner, she noticed an empty can on the table and took an interest in it. First she looked at it, "reading" the print. Then she felt it and pushed it around a bit. Next, she tried to manipulate it with both hands. Eventually she worked out how to pick it up - whereupon she seemed to want to try to drink from it like grownups do!


It reminded us of something she did Monday night, at dinner in Ima's cousins' sukkah. There was a big 1.5 liter bottle of water on the table, cold from the fridge. She reached for it to read the label. She must get this from her father, who can't sit at the table without reading something. Then she reached further, feeling how cold it was. And then, without warning, she gave the bottle a big hug!

In general, she has begun showing a distinct interest in watching us eat, following our food from the plate to the mouth. We understand this is a typical stage babies go through when they're getting ready for solid foods. We don't think she's ready yet, but at least she's interested.

She's certainly getting ready on a different front. Teething continues, with her chewing on anything and everything, from fingers (hers and ours) to toys to fabric. We can clearly see four upper teeth preparing to come in, and two lower teeth. We don't know how long it's supposed to take for them to break through, though.


A time to laugh, a time to cry
While we were in Ima's cousins' sukkah, their five-year-old daughter started crying, intensely and persistently. Usually, HG has ignored it when other children cry. This time, though, she seemed disturbed by it. Her face broke into a frown, her lips puckered outwards, her eyes grew large and she seemed increasingly distressed until she started crying herself! It was as if she couldn't bear the thought that her cousin was upset and was begging her to stop bawling.

To close on a happier note: HG is ticklish! When she's in the right mood, tickling her tummy can launch her into intense rolling laughter. She is just so cute!



HG is also excited to have her Uncle Ivor with her again. He is particularly good at soothing her to sleep with a tour of the flat or any other surroundings and she is very partial to napping on his shoulder, just as she did on his previous visit in August.