March 5, 2010: Happy 10 months birthday, Ella!

On our last visit at the doctor's office, we got a "10-month questionnaire" to complete when she's 10 months old. So we did. The "Ages and Stages" questionnaire has a few sectionsL Communication, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Problem Solving, and Personal-Social. For each question we could say "yes", "somtimes" or "not yet".

It's a good time to look back and document Ella's skills, so here are our more elaborate answers to those questions:

COMMUNICATION
1. Does your baby make sounds like “da,”“ga,”“ka,”and “ba”? ❑ ❑ ❑
yes. she's started saying da!da!da!da!da! (consistently) on the plane to Israel, when she was 6 months old. but she already blabbed before that :)

2. If you copy the sounds your baby makes, does your baby repeat the same sounds back to you? ❑ ❑ ❑
her latest favorite is saying "Ella" back and forth.

3. Does your baby make two similar sounds like “ba-ba,”“da-da,”or “ga-ga”? (He may say these sounds without referring to any particular object or person.) ❑ ❑ ❑
yes

4. If you ask her to, does your baby play at least one nursery game even if you don’t show her the activity yourself (e.g., “bye-bye,”“Peekaboo,” “clap your hands,”“So Big”)? ❑ ❑ ❑
we don't know what "So Big" is. we may be missing some very important and fun game. however, Ella claps her hands when we say "yayy!" or "good job!". i think that counts.
and this weekend (March 7th) she played lots and lots of "high five" with grandpa :)
for the record, Ella started clapping at 8 months. She started playing Peekaboo with us (i.e., she hid behind a napkin and peeked out when we asked "where's ella?") before she was 7.5 months.

5. Does your baby follow one simple command, such as “Come here,” “Give it to me,”or “Put it back,”withoutyour using gestures? ❑ ❑ ❑
not yet. but she does respond to me telling her not to whine!

6. Does your baby say one word in addition to “Mama”and “Dada”? (A “word”is a sound or sounds the baby says consistently to mean someone or something, such as “baba”for bottle.) ❑ ❑ ❑
At 7.5-8 months old she started saying "O-Oh", whenever something fell on the floor. then she started saying that before dropping something on the floor. she would hold a toy, look at one of us, say "o-oh" and then drop it on the floor, waiting for us to pick it up of course. while "o-oh" may not be a word in the dictionary, we claim it as Ella's first word, as it's always said in context and in the right intonation!

GROSS MOTOR
1. If you hold both hands just to balance her, does your baby support her own weight while standing? ❑ ❑ ❑
yeah.. for a long while now. i can't really remember when.

2. When sitting on the floor, does your baby sit up straight for several minutes without using his hands for support? ❑ ❑ ❑
Oh yeah. she never liked to be on her tummy. she's been sitting without support since she was 6 months old.

3. When you stand her next to furniture or the crib rail, does your baby hold on without leaning her chest against the furniture for support? ❑ ❑ ❑
yes.

4. While holding onto furniture, does your baby bend down and pick up a toy from the floor and then return to a standing position? ❑ ❑ ❑
no. she crashes when she tries something like that.

5. While holding onto furniture, does your baby lower himself with control (without falling or flopping down)? ❑ ❑ ❑
CRASH!

6. Does your baby walk along furniture while holding on with only one hand? ❑ ❑ ❑
not yet. but she walks holding on to a furniture with one hand, and holding one of our hands. i think it's a matter of days.

FINE MOTOR
1. Does your baby pick up small toys with only one hand? ❑ ❑ ❑
yes.

2. Does your baby successfully pick up a crumb or Cheerio by using her thumb and all her fingers in a raking motion? (If she already picks up a crumb or Cheerio, check “yes”for this item.) ❑ ❑ ❑
yes, she was a professional cheerio eater at 8 months old

3. Does your baby pick up a small toy with the tips of his thumb and fingers? (You should see a space between the toy and his palm.) ❑ ❑ ❑
yes.

4. After one or two tries, does your baby pick up a piece of string with her first finger and thumb? (The string may be attached to a toy.) ❑ ❑ ❑
yes. definitely at 6 months old, probably before.

5. Does your baby pick up a crumb or Cheerio with the tips of his thumb and a finger? He may rest his arm or hand on the table while doing it. ❑ ❑ ❑
yes. see above.

6. Does your baby set a small toy down, without dropping it, and then take her hand off the toy? ❑ ❑ ❑
yes

PROBLEM SOLVING
1. Does your baby pass a toy back and forth from one hand to the other? ❑ ❑ ❑
yes, for as long as i can remember...

2. Does your baby pick up two small toys, one in each hand, and hold onto them for about 1 minute? ❑ ❑ ❑
yes

3. When holding a toy in his hand, does your baby bang it against another toy on the table? ❑ ❑ ❑
4. While holding a small toy in each hand, does your baby clap the toys together (like “Pat-a-cake”)? ❑ ❑ ❑
yes, both these thing are a lot of fun!!

5. Does your baby poke at or try to get a crumb or Cheerio that is inside a clear bottle (such as a plastic soda-pop bottle or baby bottle)? ❑ ❑ ❑
yes. she also figued out how to take the item out of the box.

6. After he watches you hide a small toy under a piece of paper or cloth, does your baby find it? (Be sure the toy is completely hidden.) ❑ ❑ ❑
yup!


PERSONAL-SOCIAL
1. While on her back, does your baby put her foot in her mouth? ❑ ❑ ❑
yes, started enjoying her toes at 6mo.

2. Does your baby drink water, juice, or formula from a cup while you hold it? ❑ ❑ ❑
she doesn't need us to hold it... she likes drinking her bath water from a cup, usually she doesn't choke... she's a pro with a sippy cup.

3. Does your baby feed himself a cracker or a cookie? ❑ ❑ ❑
yes. (see cheerios above)

4. When you hold out your hand and ask for her toy, does your baby offer it to you even if she doesn’t let go of it? (If she already lets go of the toy into your hand, check “yes”for this item.) ❑ ❑ ❑
yes, we don't try that very often so i would say sometimes.

5. When you dress him, does your baby push his arm through a sleeve once his arm is started in the hole of the sleeve? ❑ ❑ ❑
yes. for undressing too.

6. When you hold out your hand and ask for her toy, does your baby let go of it into your hand? ❑ ❑ ❑
didn't try that. some homework for us!