Happy New Year

Happy new year everyone! As Andy said, it's been a rough holiday season. Maria and I are doing much better, Manolis never got so much as a sniffle. He flushes his sinuses every day with salt water - gross but effective.

Maria's been making so many improvements lately! I don't know if it's natural progression, or if the chiropractor who does his unusual Qigong techniques is helping. Her vision seems to be getting better, she's been grabbing her toys more, using both hands more, holding her bottle with both hands, and she's doing really well with sitting. She still leans very far forward, but can often sit by herself for a little while.

I keep going back and forth between being excited that she's doing so well and freaking out that she's not doing better faster. The freaking out part usually happens after I've been around another baby. I do like it when she spends time with her local "cousin", a 11-month old boy. She's finally becoming aware of his presence and reaches out for him a lot. They hold hands and she smiles when he touches her. It's very sweet.

The other thing Maria's been doing a lot is interacting with Kijana, our younger but bigger cat. Maria pets her then grabs a handful of fur and skin; fortunately Kijana is very mellow about it (but don't worry we watch them very carefully). Kijana also likes to lick Maria's hands and feet, which makes her smile (Maria, not Kijana). But my favorite part is when Kijana rubs her head and body on Maria's head and body. I tried to get it on video, but Kijana heard the camera and came a runnin'. I'll keep trying. It really is cute!