a new buddy!

"Holy cow! I turn around and the next thing I know there is a bear looking at me!"

"Holy cow! Hey Mom! I turned around and the next thing I know there was this bear looking at me! Isn't that crazy?"

She loves the bear! On this occasion, to show her affection Cayla leaned down and head-butted the bear, which of course knocked it over.

She wasn't done yet! She couldn't seem to get close enough and ended up leaning down on the bear's chest. It kinda looks like a hug in this picture, doesn't it? Thanks for the bear, Miss Sandra!

Other new developments:

*Cayla will now sometimes pat our shoulders when we are hugging her!

*She's been standing up against the couch longer and longer. As long as there are raisins within reach, she will stay there for a few minutes. The next stage will be getting her to take a couple sideways steps to go get the other raisins.

*Lots more laughs and smiles--she's been in a great mood lately!

*She's been climbing up and over objects, including us. Especially when she wants to get to food. :)

*She's been babbling more and signing more.

It's really fun to see this progress! Even though we've known things would come slower, it has still been a test of our patience to see Cayla develop at the pace she has. So we truly treasure these things and look forward to her continued development!