Daily Discoveries

Audrey is at that age where she is constantly discovering new things about the world, and we are learning new things about her.  Every day is a new adventure for all of us.  Just this week, we've found:

• Audrey likes formula.  She was 9 months and 20 days old before she tasted it.  When we gave it to her, she drank it like she'd been eating it forever.
• Audrey likes real food, but not necessarily eating it.  She likes to inspect it, pick it up between her thumb and index finder, lick it, and then she might finally put it in her mouth.  Once she has it in her mouth, she'll chew on and taste it, but then she likes to spit it out and throw it on the floor for the dogs. 
• We think Audrey is going to be very analytical.  She takes her index fingers and runs them along her toys, the dog toys, buttons, my purse, and pretty much anything else that she can touch.  She especially likes small holes in things, like where the screws hold her toys together.  Last night, she stuck her finger in one such hole on her push toy, and then decided to sit down.  That resulted in her screaming because her finger was stuck in the hole.  Mommy rescued her, and she went right back to investigating that small hole.
• Audrey also likes things she can open and close.  She got a "stereo" that has a door that you can open to put discs in.  The toy also plays music and lights up if you push the buttons, but she doesn't care about that.  She just likes the door.  She also likes to open the doors for the CD and DVD drives on the computer tower. 
• Audrey has also found that she has the ability to make many different noises.  She makes noises with her mouth that are beginning to sound like words at times.  She also uses her toys and other items around the house to make noise.  She bangs together plastic blocks and also beats them on the dishwasher and chairs.  We let her play with a small Christmas tin, which she enjoyed hitting on the wood floors.  She lkes to shake plastic bowls filled with cereal that rattles.
• Audrey likes to climb.  She climbs through the rungs on the chairs and over the pedastal legs on our table.  She also likes to use her dad and I as her own personal jungle gym when we're sitting on the floor.  I think she likes climbing so much that she'd rather work on developing that skill than trying to walk.   

I know that with everything she does, her mind is constantly working.  She's analyzing and learning about the world around her. That puts a lot of pressure on us as parents to set a good example when she is watching and analyzing our behaviors.  I just remind myself that setting a perfect example is impossible and really not even healthy.  The point is not to hide our mistakes, but show how we sought God and learned from them.  If we were perfect, we wouldn't be able to show her God's forgiveness and grace, which are some of the most important lessons she can ever learn.