Topple.

Sitting.

Not something I usually think about.  I place my rear in a chair, and boom... Sitting.

But sitting is hard work for babies, and Ellie has been working her sitting muscles.  She does baby sit-ups and builds up her core.  She is developing strength and endurance in the sitting realm.  Every week, she works with her physical therapist.

(After I master sitting, I think I'll work on my 5K time.)

We have, however, a sitting problem.  Kids with Down syndrome tend to have shorter long bones (arms and legs).  One of the steps in learning to sit is the "tripod," or sitting with legs out and arms down to provide support.

Ellie either a) sits with her arms down, and looks like she's doing a yoga pose to stretch her little arms down to the floor or b) sits with her arms on something else, causing her to become distracted by whatever her arms are propped on.

(Sitting in my Boppy, munching on my hands.)

(Why sit when you can lounge?)

 And then, she topples.

Oh, and her sense of balance is still developing.

To ease the topple, I tried having her sit on the bed.  Brilliant, because she can't really sit, so the unstable surface is perfect, right?  And she toppled.

My absolute favorite, however, is when Ellie is finally, securely seated in a tripod sit.  Then, she decides she wants to suck her thumb.  The hand comes up, the body goes down.

Topple.

(Look Mom!  I'm sitting!)

(Uh, oh!)

(Crash!  Boom!)

 We're working hard with Ellie to help her reach her sitting milestone, but it's really hard to support a baby in case of a fall, provide encouragement, and take a photo at the same time.  So please, forgive the poor quality I've got here.  Her record is about 15 seconds, but she's usually in the 3-5 second realm of tripod sitting.

(Serious sitting, while staring at Nemo, of course.)

 I'm hoping she'll show off for Uncle Zach this weekend.  He's in town and we're happy to have him.  Ellie lit up and gave him a big gummy smile the first time he held her.

(Uncle Zach)

(Uncle Zach meets Ellie.  She approves.)

Then she promptly dove out of his arms.

(This sitting junk is exhausting!)

Topple.

Linked up.