Dancing queen!

Molly's a big fan of music and has always loved when people sing to her. You can almost always count on singing as a way to calm Molly down or make her smile. We also typically always have music on in the background at home. Some of Molly's favorites are some of the Putamayo Kids CDs, Wiggleworms, They Might Be Giants and Elizabeth Mitchell. Lately, not only does Molly enjoy music & singing, but is also starting to shake her booty to the music! Here's a little clip of Molly dancing to the music on one of her toys. Actually this toy is kind of crazy with the multitude of non-stop noises it makes. While her dancing is pretty darn cute, I couldn't stop laughing at Jeremy mocking one of the many voices coming from it!

Gimp-legged crawl...

We knew that it was only a matter of days until we lost the luxury of being able to put Molly down and now that she wasn't going to go anywhere. Well seems like that day is here, although Molly's not getting anywhere too fast! But still, we can't help but be so proud of Molly and her new gimp-legged crawl! Time to put the gates up...

Good morning, gorilla!

Molly really loves these animal hand puppets we got her for Christmas. There's a picture of her in a previous post with "foxy Cleopatra", who she gets very excited to see! She loves to grab them from you and give them lots of cuddles & kisses. Here's just a really short clip of Molly giving kisses to her gorilla...

A mean pinch!

Fortunately Molly hasn't figured out how to pinch people yet, but she's been working diligently on her pincher grasp & picking up her "puffs" (little dissolving snacks). First, Molly just enjoyed playing with them and picking them up. Initially, when she either let us put one in her mouth or put one in herself, she definitely did not like it! She'd either gag or sit there with her tongue sticking out waiting for it to fall out or stream out with all the drool that would accumulate in her mouth while she sat with it wide open. But we just kept offering them to her to pick up and explore & then finally last weekend she just seemed to "get" what she was supposed to do with it once in her mouth... chew it! Since then, she's been progressively getting better and better with picking them up, putting them in her mouth & manipulating them to chew. It's pretty funny to watch actually! Actually this new skill helps a lot at meal times because Molly is quickly becoming that little girl that wants to do everything herself! Seems like as long as she has control of her puffs or sippy cup, then she's more likely to let us have control over feeding her solid foods. This girl definitely has a personality & a will to be independent! Here's a little video clip of Molly working on her puffs!

MomMom & PopPop Brooks come for a visit!

Over Martin Luther King weekend, MomMom and PopPop Brooks came for a visit! We had been frequently showing Molly pictures of them hoping she'd give them a smile & a wave rather than a frown (Molly's got a bit of stranger anxiety). Fortunately it seemed to work because she gave them a wave when they came to the door! Soon Molly was enjoying a story with MomMom by the window...

And breakfast time with PopPop...

Lunchtime at the North Market...

We had lots of playtime on Molly's mat with all her toys and with daddy's hat!

Some window watching with MomMom...

Even though it was cold, we went on a few walks. The first one was around our neighborhood (Grandview Heights).

The another walk on Ohio State's campus...

Clearly, Molly was enjoying their visit!

Overall a very nice visit with MomMom & PopPop!

Sittin' on up...

One of Molly's latest milestones is getting herself up to a sitting position from lying down. Initially I didn't actually see her do it, but rather started finding her sitting up in her crib in the morning or after naps. Pretty cool, although it meant that we needed to lower her crib down because she has also been trying to pull herself up to standing! But it's pretty cute to finding her just sitting up in her crib, playing with her green frog, waiting for us to come get her. So we've been working with Molly a bit, helping and encouraging her new ability to sit up. Here's a little clip from a recent workout. One of the funniest parts about it, is how vocal Molly is as she's trying to push herself up. She really puts some effort into it!

Bouncing around the room!

We got Molly a bouncer seat for Christmas. At first she was more interested in the toys on the seat than jumping. Probably didn't help that her feet didn't quite reach the floor either! But now Molly's got the hang of it and seems to really enjoy getting a good jumping session in.

Working on a sippy cup!

Molly has quickly picked up the hang of a sippy cup! Definitely helped her at the end of last week when she also picked up her first stomach bug. We were glad Molly was game to help keep herself well hydrated! It's funny because while we're so proud of Molly's little accomplishments and milestones, they also make us wonder..."what happened to that little 5lb, 12ounce bean we brought home from the hospital"!

Who does Molly look like??

Here are some side by side pictures of Molly and mine and Jeremy's baby pictures. Who do you think she looks like??

Molly snogging...

"Molly snogging"... that's what Grandma Irene calls Molly's slobbery, but super sweet little kisses! Whatever we choose to call them, Molly sure has fun giving them. Here's a little glimpse...

Molly's first Christmas!

Molly's first Christmas was spent in our new home in Columbus with grandma Irene & grandpa Joe! Unfortunately, no white Christmas, but the mild weather allowed us to enjoy a little time outside. We took a walk to the park down the street where Molly got to try out her first swing at the playground.

 

Soon it was time for our traditional Polish Xmas eve complete with homemade mushroom soup, pierogi, smoked fish & kolacki. We started it off with sharing oplatek, or the Christmas wafer, where we each break off and share a piece of oplatek with each other along with a blessing & memories of Molly's great grandma & grandpa Gomulka. 

Christmas morning Molly was sporting her Xmas PJ's; a hand-me-down from our friends William & Theo!

Sorry, can't figure out how to rotate the picture!

Molly was ready to tear into her gifts! Molly must have been a good little girl because it literally took her the entire day to unwrap all her gifts.

Here are grandma & grandpa showing off their gifts... 

Hard to believe the holidays have come & gone. What I've loved the most about this past December has been an entire month home with Molly! She's at such a fun age right now. Everyday is something new and with it comes more glimpses into who this magnificent little blessing is!