Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Jumpin’ monkey

Kaylee has recently taken up jumping. Of course, to a four-month-old baby, jumping involves the following steps:

1. Complain until Mommy helps you stand up.
2. Suddenly pick your legs up off the floor.
3. Hope Mommy realizes what you’re doing before you collapse into a heap.
4. If Mommy plays her part, she will bounce you up and down, letting you launch yourself off the floor with every bounce.
5. Repeat every few minutes, all day long, or until Mommy’s arms give out.

We didn’t know where she’d learned this particular stunt until Rob went to pick her up from daycare late last week. He was gathering her stuff into her diaper bag when he heard something going “boing! boing! boing!” and the joyous laughter of a highly entertained baby. Kaylee was sitting in a Jumperoo, bouncing enthusiastically and enjoying every moment.

We were still in search of something that’ll keep Kaylee busy while we eat dinner, so over the weekend we bought her a Rainforest Jumperoo that takes up about a third of the living room.

She loves it. More than she loves us, I think.


If there were a way to give her bottles via IV so she didn’t have to stop bouncing, I think she’d go for it. As it is, whenever she gets hungry, tired or otherwise upset while in her Jumperoo, she makes sure she lets us know, and loudly –- but she doesn’t stop jumping. And it’s entertaining to us, too, because it’s very weird to see a baby jump spastically while alternating between crying and laughing. (“I’m hungry! This is fun, wheee! Give me a bottle! I like jumping!”)

Here’s hoping it’ll keep her entertained long enough for Rob and me to eat a meal at the same time. That would be nothing short of miraculous.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's amazing how quickly actual human beings (meaning parents) can be supplemented by mechanical devices. Just ask Play Station, for instance.

Even so, she's a darling human being in her mechanical playpen, more beautiful than any machine could contrive. Look at that smile!