first words and other milestones

last week heron graced us with her first word:

D U C K

(besides "mama" & "dada" which she sometimes seems to associate with us, and sometimes not). of course, she pronounces it "dut". she feeds the ducks with mama every day, and bathes in a giant inflatable duck, and plays with a family of little rubber duckies in the bathtub, so her choice is no surprise. josh was bathing her when she pointed at the rubber duckie and, with beams of joy, announced, "dut!" now it's the first word on her lips in the morning, after she's nursed for a few minutes and the food has hit her belly. she practices it all day long, smiling all the way, knowing that she's effectively communicating something in our language. so cute!

here heron initiated the high five with my mom during lunch. after every bite she began high-fiving! a very important milestone.

here heron, recently graduated from licking the trashcan (and the oven--does she like the texture? the taste?), is standing on her tiptoes and peering into the trash. she's just beginning to sometimes understand when we say, "no touch!"

and here heron is riding her first skateboard. not the last, i'm sure, with josh as her dad, and me, a subscriber to the cheap skates catalog and watcher of birdhouse project videos in high school, as her mom.