Sitting Pretty at 6 Months!

Can you even believe that our little Ara turned 6-months old yesterday!? It's amazing how far we've come: through the "loud" first 6 weeks, then through the serious next 2 months, and finally the jovial last 2.5 months. In this time, Little Ara has travelled to two countries other than her native Hong Kong (world powers USA & Japan), and has mastered the art of flipping over, passing objects between her hands, fine motor control with thumb and forefinger, blowing bubbles, gurgling (melodically) and of course, eating toes. We were, however, a little concerned about her sitting. It really didn't look like she was going to catch up to mommy, who (as shown in hipster 70's photo on left) did manage "all by herself" sitting at 6 months (nearly to the day). That was on an Easter visit to my grandmother's house. Imagine how proud she was that I reached this milestone thanks to her intervention! Well, it seems like grandmotherly visits are the catalyst to uprightness, because lo and behold, two days after my mom's arrival, and just two hours before the 6-monthiversary of Ara's birth, she achieved Alone Sitting! As with flipping over, Ara just needed the right motivation. And what was that motivation? Once again, taking after mommy, it was Ara's new found love for technology, specifically, Digital Cameras. Ara was hanging out, leaning back against me, when grandpa-Essy held the camera out in front of her. Would you believe she sat right up, using her arms for balance when she threatened to topple over, and then tried to grab the camera for herself! Up to this point, Ara had been comfortable enough when propped in a sitting position, with her arms suggestively placed in front of her for balance. But up until last night, she was content to let her arms slowly but surely bend, and would lower herself face-down (in an enviable yogic forward bend) onto her mat and start licking it! Either that, or she would overcompensate for her descent, and would frantically arch her back so that she fell backwards instead! But no more! Now she's busy practicing all the things a baby can do from a seated position, including reaching for something placed right in front of her without losing balance. This usually involves a comic amount of arm flapping, as though she's trying to achieve flight in order to maintain her seat! Keep trying to soar, little one!