Clapping!

Amelia started clapping yesterday! And she thinks it's great fun! I picked her up from daycare and as we were leaving, she started clapping. We've been working on it since her 9 month check-up. The doctor said she needed to clap so she knew what her hands can do. That seemed odd to me since she already was transferring toys from one hand to the other, grabbing everything in sight without any perceivable eye-hand coordination issues, picking up small things in a pincer grasp, etc. But when I mentioned to the doctor that Amelia was doing this sort of flail that including hitting her chest when she got excited and happy, she pronounced that clapping needed to be learned. So Nana intensified the "Patty Cake" sessions, complete with arms being thrown up for "roll 'em in the pan!!!" - Amelia's favorite part - and a month from that appointment we have clapping! And like every newly discovered skill, she's a pro all of a sudden and wants to do it as much as possible. This includes while nursing which is really kind of funny! If her hands aren't close to one another - and usually they're not because one is wrapped behind me, she will stop eating, sit up and clap a few times and then go back to eating.

The clapping has already transferred itself to her "I'm a cow" book which has a little squeaky toy type of cow on it. That was the book of choice for bedtime reading with Daddy last night. The cow is supposed to be squeaked whenever "I'm a cow" is said in the book - which just so happens on each page. She was all about hitting that cow with her flat palm (and getting a good squeak!) rather than using just her index finger as she had been. Good thing we don't have a dog with a love of squeaky toys like Uncle Stephen does or that would have been one challenging book reading session!

[photos dated 8/1/06]