Uma Puma Big Girl Blog: March 2006

Friday, March 31, 2006

Uma at the grocery

Special Friday Bonus Bouncy Video, an Uma Puma first. Lower quality (Quicktime 1MB) and higher quality (Quicktime 4MB).

The girl likes her cheese.

She also likes... whatever that thing is.

posted by Ketan @ 3/31/2006 09:14:00 AM 1 comments
Thursday, March 30, 2006

ma ma ma

We think Uma's getting an idea about words. Specifically, "mama." Sometimes it's "ma ma ma." Or "ma ma ma ma ma ma ma." It can pop out when she sees Jessica. It also pops out when she sees a picture of her. She babbles it happily as she races across the floor towards her. On the other hand, sometimes she babbles it when Jessica isn't around, too. Maybe she just likes saying it because it makes her think of Mommy. Who knows what's going on in there. Still, though she's not consistent and reliable, she's too consistent and reliable for it to be a fluke. Attempts to teach her "dada" have been a miserable failure. She'll probably say "Molly" before she does that. It's ok. I can cope.
Labels: words

posted by Ketan @ 3/30/2006 12:14:00 PM 0 comments

Going grocery shopping is serious business.

This caged puma longs to run wild.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Mmmm.... these waffles are exquisite.

posted by Ketan @ 3/29/2006 08:49:00 AM 0 comments

Sleepy Puma roar!

Naked time makes Uma deliriously happy.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

sleep contradictions

Sometimes, Uma will wake up just from her door opening, or due to us speaking quietly in the adjacent office. Other times, though, she'll sleep through barking dogs and (like this morning) thunderstorms that rattle and shake the house. We think she's messing with us.
Labels: words

posted by Ketan @ 3/28/2006 09:05:00 AM 0 comments

I don't know about this "toe food" Mommy gave me, but I'll give it a try.

Doesn't every child have a stuffed moose?

Uma's had a bit of a runny nose lately.

Monday, March 27, 2006

Uma's sleeping. No pictures today.

Just kidding. I am as constant as the sun.

Right. Sleeping. Not today. 6:15 am she wanted to be up. So we're up.

posted by Ketan @ 3/27/2006 06:54:00 AM 0 comments

Daddy made such a nice tower for me.

Pretty flowers...

Sunday, March 26, 2006

My puma trap has snared its quarry. The secret is to bait it with dead ladybugs.

posted by Ketan @ 3/26/2006 08:03:00 AM 0 comments
Saturday, March 25, 2006

Mmmmm.... mmm. Just can't get enough of that elephant trunk.

posted by Ketan @ 3/25/2006 07:28:00 AM 0 comments
Friday, March 24, 2006

vanity

Uma was watching me flip through the pictures to choose ones to post this morning. She waved at the nice little girl on the screen. When I switched to my web browser, which had no pictures of that nice little girl, she let me know her displeasure. I flipped back to the photos, and she was happy.
Labels: words

posted by Ketan @ 3/24/2006 08:26:00 AM 0 comments

Ooooh.... shiny thing! I want!

I bet this Austin magazine has lots of pictures of me in it.

Man... this carpet is too clean. There's nothing for me here.

Thursday, March 23, 2006

smarty smarty smart pants

This morning, I taught Uma to slap her hand down when I said "whack." She still remembered it in the evening. I also taught her (again) to bounce when I said "bouncey." She picked them both up fast.
Labels: words

posted by Ketan @ 3/23/2006 09:48:00 PM 0 comments

This perspective is totally weirding me out.

Broccolo, broccoli, broc broccoli!

I sure showed that broccoli what was what.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

don't do that!

Last night, I had to pull Uma away from the fireplace. She was biting it.
Labels: words

posted by Ketan @ 3/22/2006 09:34:00 AM 0 comments

I know these people from somewhere.

I really like them, whoever they are.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

what uma knows

Uma knows that flipping the switch in her room turns on the fan. She knows that shaking her head conveys that she doesn't want something (I have no clue how she learned that). She knows that she doesn't know how to let herself down when she's standing supported by the wall, and cries for help when she wants down. She knows that pressing the button on the wall in the garage makes the doors open. She knows that her O's come in the big yellow box. She knows that when I pick her up during naked time, it's time for bed (and protesting). She knows that when she has a toy in the hand that I need to put through her sleeve to transfer it to the other hand (or her mouth). She knows that when Mommy finishes her cranberry juice, she gets the straw.
Labels: words

posted by Ketan @ 3/21/2006 09:35:00 PM 0 comments

Wazzup? Check out my bling, yo. Uma Puma in da hizzz.

"Clang clang clang," goes the Uma.

Monday, March 20, 2006

On the move.

posted by Ketan @ 3/20/2006 08:28:00 AM 0 comments

Uma likes to find junk on the floor and eat it. I have only seconds to take whatever it is away....

Uma's sippy-cup after a typical meal.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Uma doesn't mind the ghetto baby look.

In fact, she kind of likes it.

posted by Ketan @ 3/19/2006 08:48:00 AM 1 comments
Saturday, March 18, 2006

Sometimes, we don't have any clean bibs and have to do it ghetto style.

posted by Ketan @ 3/18/2006 09:13:00 AM 0 comments
Friday, March 17, 2006

Don't let the lack of clothes fool you; this is one fierce puma.

posted by Ketan @ 3/17/2006 01:42:00 AM 1 comments

Naked time is a happy time.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Yup, that's real gold.

posted by Ketan @ 3/16/2006 08:43:00 AM 0 comments

I don't want to be up here; I want to crawl around.

Uma slays another toy.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Our little dentist.

posted by Ketan @ 3/15/2006 08:14:00 AM 0 comments

Our little otolaryngologist.

I play Daddy like a drum (ouch!).

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

other weird stuff

Uma has really latched on to waving. She'll wave at the dogs, at herself in the mirror, and at nothing at all. She'll wave back at you, too, but usually waits until about 15 seconds after you have stopped, and perhaps have departed.
Labels: words

posted by Ketan @ 3/14/2006 11:02:00 AM 0 comments

I'm coming to get you...

Uma's favorite picture.

Monday, March 13, 2006

11 months

I can't believe I almost forgot the 11 month day. At this rate, I'm sure I'm going to totally space on the 12 month day.

Uma has only been crawling for two weeks, but she's gotten fast. She's especially fast when she's got Molly (one of the dogs) in her sights. No doubt Molly will learn to fear Uma's shriek of delight at spotting her. She occasionally sticks her right leg out the way she did when she first started, but more and more she's on both knees. Also, she can pull now herself up onto her knees, or from another, supported position up to a full stand.

The weekend wasn't such a fun one. She woke up every hour or so at night on Saturday, woke up early (6:30 am, ugh) on Sunday, and didn't nap nearly as much as she needed. Sunday night, she woke up at one point screaming mad, about as angry as I've seen her, and took nearly an hour to fall back asleep. She's had a bit of a runny nose, but she's had worse. She had no fever, so she didn't have a cold. Her unhappiness was definitely from some external cause; rarely as she been so hard to console. We suspected teething, and a brief (anger-multiplying) poke in her mouth found a bump in the back lower left. We gave her infant Tylenol and managed to get her back to sleep eventually. She woke up only once more that night and fell back asleep quickly after nursing. Today, she was much happier, taking long naps to catch up on sleep and generally being back to her normal self, runny nose excepted.

One thing we weren't prepared for with Uma was just how bizarre and funny and interesting she would be. There's the crazy grin as she chases Molly. There's the tacit deal we've worked out where Uma won't allow us to spoon feed her unless we give her a toy (and it has to be a good one, too). We've been trying to teach her "Mama," which she often repeats and sometimes seems to understand, but on occasion has responded to with "bvvaa." There's the way she bounces and shrieks in the grocery cart for no apparent reason, or how she absolutely, positively must have that bag of cheese. She likes to dangle out the side of the stroller. Uma has a crush on a 14-month old in her music class. She makes weird noises when she's falling asleep or waking up that make us intensely curious just what she's doing in there. This is just a sample of the strange and bizarre behaviors we experience with our Little Miss. It's possible that your baby may be different.
Labels: words

posted by Ketan @ 3/13/2006 07:35:00 PM 0 comments

Come on, Mommy. Let's get a move on.

I'm going to reserve judgment on this walk for now.

Verdict's in: hooray!

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Another day, another messy meal.

posted by Ketan @ 3/12/2006 08:33:00 AM 0 comments
Saturday, March 11, 2006

This is a picture of Uma with a big spatula.

posted by Ketan @ 3/11/2006 08:36:00 AM 0 comments
Friday, March 10, 2006

Somehow I keep ending up in these places. At least I can find solace in my keys.

So can I come out now?

Freedom!

posted by Ketan @ 3/10/2006 07:28:00 AM 0 comments
Thursday, March 09, 2006

I'm ready. Let's go already.

Wheeeee!

Whooosh!

You can tell I found my muse today.

posted by Ketan @ 3/09/2006 08:45:00 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, March 08, 2006

This is where my toys live.

Ooooh.... so pretty.

Aren't you going to play here with me?

posted by Ketan @ 3/08/2006 08:50:00 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Puma roooooooaaar!

posted by Ketan @ 3/07/2006 08:49:00 AM 1 comments

You're kind of weirding me out here, Daddy.

Here comes trouble.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Uma Gangatirkar is a tongue twister.

posted by Ketan @ 3/06/2006 08:48:00 AM 0 comments

Uma sure likes to show off that uvula.

I am a work of art. My face, for example, is an homage to Pollock.

Sunday, March 05, 2006

All these toys are mine, mine, mine!

posted by Ketan @ 3/05/2006 08:35:00 AM 0 comments
Saturday, March 04, 2006

Uma is none too pleased about wearing hats.

posted by Ketan @ 3/04/2006 06:41:00 AM 1 comments
Friday, March 03, 2006

I shall bring the apple to me... with the power of my mind.

posted by Ketan @ 3/03/2006 09:23:00 AM 1 comments

Can somebody get me something to measure?

I'm still thirsty! Bring! Me! Water!!!!

Thursday, March 02, 2006

moving forward

Uma's crawling ability is advancing rapidly. She crawled about 8 feet to get at Molly's tail, and would have crawled more had Molly been further away (aside: the look of sheer joy on her face as she realized she'd be able to eat Molly's tail was priceless [not that we let her]). She's a little awkward and a little clumsy, but she definitely knows what she's doing. She still only does it for things she really wants, like the aforementioned glasses or tail, but that inhibition probably only has a day or two left.

Uma may be awkward with crawling, but she's gotten very agile with rolling and sitting up. To get from point A to point B, she does some combination of crawling, rolling, sitting up, and going back down to wend her circuitous path. She's usually sitting up when we go in to get her after sleeping. We've also had to drop her mattress a couple of inches because the added height makes it really easy for her to grab her mobile.

Less exciting is Uma's increased resistance to being fed with a spoon. She eats finger foods, but she is slow and can only eat some of her foods that way. Broccoli, green beans, and pears are fine, but the skins of peas are a choking hazard. We've been pureeing those foods for her, but she's nowhere near feeding herself with a spoon. She can't live on cheese, waffles, and Morning-O's™, after all. In spite of that, she still managed to sleep through the night. I'm going to stop noting these nights until something substantial changes.

Something you might have noticed in recent pictures is that Uma smiles at the camera a lot. Often, just seeing it makes her smile. The girl sees that camera a lot, so it's nice that it makes her happy.
Labels: words

posted by Ketan @ 3/02/2006 07:20:00 PM 0 comments

We're already on the waiting lists of four finishing schools.

Mmmm mmm. Simply delicious.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Please sir, may I have some more?

posted by Ketan @ 3/01/2006 08:21:00 AM 0 comments

An Uma-sized rocking chair.