Rosh Hashana tidbits

Socializing in shul
She had a busy morning in shul yesterday, the first day of Rosh Hashana. After sleeping for the first hour, and quiet wakefulness for a while longer, she was awake and somewhat restless during Mussaf. She wanted to play, so Abba put her down on her blanket with some toys on the floor in front of him. She played with the toys for a bit; since she was on her tummy supported by her arms, all she could do was nudge them with her nose or gnaw on them. She also practiced standing while holding on to Abba's fingers.

Bored with that, she had Abba take her for a walk around the shul. She noticed a group of older kids (three to six years) playing in the corner, and wanted a closer look. (In case we haven't mentioned, HG is pretty good at indicating when she wants to be taken somewhere, by leaning her body and pointing with her arm.)

She singled out one five-year-old boy and smiled at him, trying to catch his attention. He responded by making funny faces at her, which she enjoyed tremendously. He got fed up after a bit: "What does she want from me?" So HG tried to engage his younger sister. But she was shy and hid behind her father. It was absurd, watching a three-year-old hide shyly from a three-month-old baby!

We've never seen her this outgoing before, but then again she hasn't spent much time with other babies or children. She took interest in other babies in shul, but there wasn't really anywhere for them to play together.

She heard her first shofar blows yesterday, but didn't seem to take much notice. Today, Ima decided yesterday had been enough excitement, so they stayed home together and took it easy. The shofar blower stopped by after lunch to blow for them. HG had a private shofar concert, and seemed to enjoy it greatly.

Stronger and more agile
We've said before that HG seems to change from day to day. It's sometimes hard to believe how true that is.


Her crawling ability is improving rapidly, as her legs are growing stronger. Today, she started straightening her legs while she crawls, lifting her tush in the air to help her forward. Her legs seem to be a lot stronger than her arms, and she still can't lift her tummy off the ground with her arms. But pushing by flexing and straightening her legs makes a big difference.

She isn't quite as upset or frustrated to be on her tummy now, since she can move so much more easily. She seems to steer with her arms while pushing with her legs, letting her navigate around (or beyond) her playmat. She still gets upset when she passed the edge, though, which is a good thing - she's less likely to get into trouble if she stays on it.


Tonight she has managed to balance herself on her hands while sitting, leaning forward. She still can't sit up on her own, but when placed in the sitting position she can maintain it for several minutes without toppling. This is good, since she prefers higher positions which let her see better. Similarly, she can now sit on her knees in the corner of the sofa with her hands holding onto its arm, looking over it at the bookshelves. Someone has to stay close by to make sure she doesn't slip, but she seems pretty stable.

Finally, of course, she keeps growing! She's starting to outgrow her 0-3 months outfits, and she's starting to fit into some of the 3-6's. She wore a size 3-6 Laura Ashley dress to shul yesterday. Considering how long it took before she was big enough to fit into the 0-3's in the first place, this is great news.