Bababa

I took Inara in for her 6 month check up on Thursday and everything was fine and on track, but they did ask if she had started vocalizing, saying ba, ga, da, ma etc. Nope, I said. Just high-pitch screams, raspberries, squeaky door imitations and the occasional fake cough. Then, that very night she began saying "daidaidai" and "bababa" and hasn't stopped since. When she didn't want to go down for a nap, she laid in her bed whining "bababa" which I thought might be a call for daddy (pappa in Swedish) to come save her. These two videos are sort of a before and after:

Inara seems really pleased by the independence being able to sit up brings. She is now able to play contentedly on her own for long periods of time, also giving her parents a break. I often wonder what goes through her mind as she seems completely engrossed in a little piece of cardboard or a rubber giraffe for 10 minutes. 

She also keeps us entertained when her bedtime rolls around, rarely crying, but often making a ton of noise. She drags her pacifier along the bars of her crib (like a little prisoner), laughs, blows raspberries, kicks her legs, and now also yells "daidaidai." 

Another thing that warms my little motherly heart is that she has started reaching for us. When Andrew was blending her food up and the noise scared her she immediately furrowed her brow and reached for me. 

Andrew is off from school for three weeks but will need to work on some papers and his thesis. It's hard to believe that he's already half ways through his program. Other than that, we've just been to a few Christmas and Lucia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucy%27s_Day) parties where Inara has of course been the center of attention. She has no problem what so ever spending time with strangers and doesn't cry no matter who holds her and doesn't seem to worry about where her parents are. She probably gets to hear more languages than the average baby, considering we hang out with a very international crowd. Just the other evening she spent an hour being watched by three Latvian girls and a couple of Greeks are her biggest fans. 

I'm guessing we like tigers in this house.

Snuggling with grandma

  Enjoying her new toy given to us by one of Andrew's classmates!

 

People always talk about how much Inara looks like Andrew, but I have to say I think she looks a little bit like me here:

I also have to say that we're enjoying Inara more and more each day, she's a ton of fun to play with and there is not a dull moment when she's around.

Lastly, we're now pretty much settled in the apartment and I really was going to post pictures today, but since the sun rises at 8.30 am (when I'm generally asleep) and sets around 3.00 pm, I never seem to have enough daylight to take them.