Cereal

We decided to start Emily on some rice cereal last weekend.  She had been indicating to us that she was ready for it, so we decided to see what she'd do.  She seemed to really like it.  She didn't get super excited the way that Abbie did, but as she got used to it, she definitely indicated that she wanted more.

Since then, she has continued to be excited about it.  She has tried a variety of methods for getting the food into her mouth.  First, she tried using her tongue to suck her lips into her mouth as a way to suck the cereal off her face.  She has also tried following up on the spoon by jamming her fingers into her mouth to make sure the cereal stays put.  It's pretty cute to watch.  She is also pretty funny in that she doesn't quite understand that if she opens her mouth when it is full of cereal, the cereal will spill out.  A couple of times now she has stuck her tongue out with a big mouthful of cereal and all the cereal has come out with it.  Slowly, though, I think she is getting the hang of things and is definitely excited about this new phase.

Our "Twins"

Emily is a Gemini, represented in the Zodiac by twins.  It is certainly the case that sometimes I think she is two babies in one.  She has moments of such simple happiness, giggly and care free, and then moments of such complex intensity.  In these intense moments she is quiet, thoughtful, and serious.  The look that comes over her really is amazing and it makes me wonder what she is thinking about.  This picture definitely captures one of her more serious faces.

She is very observant, always studying, learning.  She particularly likes watching her big sister, both for entertainment, and for important lessons about life.  Of course, I think Abbie enjoys having an audience.

In other news, Emily is getting really, really close to rolling from her back to her front.  I thought for sure that she had it tonight, but she just didn't quite make it.  She definitely knows that it is a way to get things that are close to her, so I expect that it will happen sometime very soon.