Ten new things my baby has learnt

1. Saying mum, dada, ohyea, aka, ata, om, and various related noises. She also can make strange noises in her throat that make her sound a bit like a dolphin. Trying to imitate these gives me insight into her difficulties in imitating my language sounds. 
2. Clapping preliminaries. She brings both hands together with extreme effort and concentration, sometimes missing, sometimes colliding, always to an uproar of parental applause. 
3. Putting small things in her mouth. She has yet to fully master the thumb-index grip, but a cube of bread/cheese/carrot now reaches her mouth in about 40% of attempts - a 40% improvement from 3 weeks ago. 
4. Chewing. A month ago small lumps had her retching. Yesterday she munched her way through a chicken dinner with no more than appreciative mmmmms and aaaaaaaaaaahs. Just as well, as the mixer has broken down. 
5. Opening doors. Her papa thought that door opening and closing would be a hilarious game to play with her. I would have liked her to stay a little lower on the learning curve to be honest, but what can you do. 
6. Kissing. She makes loud squelchy kissing noises in response to others'. This makes me extremely happy.
7. Ignoring "no" is hilarious. So any time I wish to stop her doing something "No, don't play with the compost bin, the dirty nappies, the hot oven..." she redoubles efforts to do just that, grinning like a coyote. I'm all for learning the hard way, but as she likes to hang off the oven handle and kiss the glass on the door, I'm anxious the experience could involve a trip to casualty and permanent scars. Barricading dangers with chairs is my current response, but I'm open to all effective solutions. 
8. Traversing. From chair, to armchair, to cupboard, without sitting down. The crab-style gait of the crawler. 
9. Not to fall off the bed. She lies down flat on the edge and reaches down, but doesn't keel over. Yet to learn to turn and lower herself, but still an important step. Not that I'd be willing to test it over long periods. 
10. To smile for the camera. For a long time, she would adopt her most gormless face when she saw it, but now she shrieks with excitement. She is often a blur, but usually a happy blur.