Penny walks!

It would be great if she would pose and do it for the camera, but instead, this is a picture of Penny's first s'more a couple weeks ago. Awwwwww!

Penny started pushing around a little toy this week. It looks like a cross between an easel and a shopping cart, and she loves the mobility it brings! She progressed in just a few days from chasing it wildly and out-of-control to using it as a prop to facilitate her walking. Then today after dinner my parents played with her out on the lawn, having her walk 3-4 steps from one to the other. Kevin hollered for me to come out, and when I did, Penny walked about 10 feet across the lawn to me. She was ecstatic, and so were the rest of us! She's officially walking!

And I know everyone is going to pepper my comments with things like, "You just watch out!" and, "You'll wish she never started!" And I don't care. I'm just thrilled that she's finally walking!

Plus, it's not like we haven't already mastered keeping her out of trouble. We're living with my parents, and their house isn't at all baby proof, especially now that they're remodeling their kitchen. We've gotten good at keeping her out of the power tools and insulation that have been within her reach the last couple months. We're so good at it, we're bored. We're ready for a new challenge! Bring on the walking!

I think this is an appropriate time to list all the other amazing things Penny does:

She says "meow," "bye," and "hi." She doesn't consistently say anything else, not even Mama or Dada. However, after I was cheering for Uncle Daniel at the football game last weekend, she yelled, "A-Da! A-Da!" I'm pretty sure she knows more than she lets on. I mean, why call for someone when they are already in front of you, ready to give you anything you want?

She has phone conversations on her cell phone-- or anything else she holds up to her face (TV control, cupboard shim, calculator, etc)

She pats her leg when she wants the dog or cats to come. They don't. ;)

She plays the harmonica, kazoo, and train whistle. And piano. In fact, if I ever hold her on my lap when I play, she rudely and insistently scoots my hands out of the way so SHE can play. Then she climbs up and plays with her feet. That may have to stop at some point....

She cries when I leave. This isn't usually a problem, since I leave before she wakes up.

Penny loves to eat xigua (watermelon), putao (grapes), binggan (graham crackers), and carrots. She likes anything we're eating, but she can't have milk because of allergies.

She can point to her bizi (nose), erduo (ears), yanjing (eyes, which she tries to open and touch with her finger), and we're working on shetou (tongue). She thinks it's really funny to poke at my eyes or stick her foot on my nose while she's nursing. Sometimes it's funny. Sometimes it's stinky. She's always cute.

She points at the sky (or ceiling) whenever she hears a feiji (airplane).

Kevin lets her pick her own clothes. Whenever it's presented as an option, she always picks her rayon shirt with the red flowers. I think it's the cutest one she has right now, and it's nice to know SHE thinks so too.

Sometimes Penny picks her own pants to go with her shirts, which is why today she was wearing some magenta shorts with her red and white flowered shirt. We'll work on that in the future...

Penny started boycotting her second nap, and now she has compromised with an extra-long midday nap. We'll take it!

Penny loves playing with her dad. She always has a special place for me (the giver of milk), but I love that Kevin has this chance to stay home with her for a couple months before he starts his diplomatic career and has to be away for longer. She squeals and throws herself into his arms. I love to see how happy they are together!