The Herrins from Scratch: On a Roll

Ella's got a new trick...she can roll over from her back to her stomach!! It happened a little over two weeks ago. We'd been "practicing" rolling over for a few weeks and I was beginning to wonder if she was ever going to want to do it. Yes--we "practice" rolling over--I thought she needed a little boost. Up until a month ago, Ella had NEVER had tummy time. She would become absolutely hysterical anytime she was placed on her stomach, bury her face in the blanket, scream and cry, and refuse to move. SO, we'd pick her up (per her doctor's recommendation). Because of her lack of tummy time, her upper body strength was rather weak. The doctor said that she would "likely" catch up. Then, about a month ago, she finally realized tummy time wasn't so bad. That's when we began to practice rolling over front to back and back to front. At first I helped her roll from her stomach to back...she HATES rolling this way, even though she can do it. Then, we would practice rolling back to stomach. She'd grab my finger and pull herself over with it. After a couple of weeks of this, I knew she was almost there. We could tell that her upper body strength was improving drastically.

That Sunday, I called Brent into the family room and suggested that he watch us practice rolling over because I had a feeling she was almost there. And she was!! She rolled over right then and there...UNASSISTED!!!!! I was so excited that Brent got to see it the first time she did it...most of the time she has her "firsts" when he's at work. But, not this time!! We were cheering like she'd just won an olympic gold medal...in rolling over of course. It's amazing how proud you feel as a parent about the things your child does. The smile on her face said it all. She knew she'd done something big...she was beaming and we were beaming!!

Now she's a rolling over fiend. When we put her in her crib, or playpen, or jungle gym, the minute we walk off, she's rolling this way and that way. She gets sooo proud of herself. It's REALLY cute. I've shot a couple of videos of her rolling on our Flip video camera. Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to convert them to put them on the blog. I've spent a couple of hours trying to figure it out...and no such luck. Brent's been too busy to take a look at it. I hope I can post it another time. :(

She really is on a roll...I think she'll be crawling now before we know it. She extremely interested in being in motion since she realized she could move herself!! It's just so much fun to watch her bloom and grow and we can't wait to see what she does next!! :)