Happy 3/4 Birthday, Alma!

When Alma was younger and I would talk to moms of older babies, they would always tell me that their babies were at the perfect age.  I would always think, "Pshaw, Alma is the best age ever!"  Well, I'm now admitting publicly, that they were right: Alma keeps being my favorite age.  The age she is now is no exception.  I cannot describe how much love I have in my heart for this little being.  I want to simultaneously squish her with hugs and kisses while also taking a step back to watch her figure out the world on her own.  She is my favorite channel and I'm so blessed that I get to spend my days with her. 

Here's our Alma updates for the month:

• Alma's favorite toy choice: books! She will easily bypass any toys with lights or music or soft stuffed fur for a book.  Especially books with photos of babies, cats or dogs.  For a long time, she would help us flip the page as we read to her, but now she is getting the hang of doing it herself.  It is awesome to see her sitting by herself on the living room floor flipping through a book, looking at the pictures and screeching (singing?) with joy.  Favorites include Baby Colors, Perfect Pets and Baby Talk. 
• She has finally gotten the hang of waving and clapping.  Mid-month, as I carried her along the upstairs hallway, she waved at a picture of Simon that was hanging in the hallway. Then, the next morning when we brought her into bed with us for "mush pot" time, she looked in the mirror and clapped!   Both instances were so unexpected that they just made us laugh and laugh.  She has been a waving and clapping fiend ever since.  

• She has become a fast crawler and has mastered climbing the stairs as well.  We find it interesting that instead of pulling up to standing, which she can do easily, Alma often just pulls up to her knees and rests that way for awhile.  She still has difficulty figuring out how to crawl around objects on the floor but she is getting the hang of going over things (i.e. her father when he is laying on the floor playing with her and accidentally falls asleep -- ha!). 
• Alma thinks chasing the animals is hilarious. They don't agree.  We are working on letting them have some space.
• Alma is really getting the hang of eating, although she still won't do anything that is mushy like regular baby food.  So she enjoys eating strawberries, baby carrots, whole milk yogurt, avocados, watermelon, grapes, cheese (sharp cheddar, cottage, mozzarella), apples, plums, hard boiled egg yolks, kiwi, asparagus and broccoli.  We also sneak rice cereal into her yogurt. 

While I'm sure that Alma is the best age now, I'm sure she will prove me wrong in the future and be even more of a joy.  But for now, I'm content with my ignorance at relishing this most perfect age of my beautiful and smart daughter.