ANYWHO, here are some things the Mini has done in the past few months that have been brand new to her and that didn't get covered, to the best of my memory, in other posts. :)
First Bath
We waited almost 2 months before giving the Mini her first real bath. Up to that point, I wiped her down frequently with a washcloth, but it took a really long time for her belly button to seal up, and I didn't want to immerse her until it was healed. As it turned out, I'm really happy to have waited...The Munch's first bath, given at roughly 2 weeks, was fraught with errors and difficulties, including a leaky tub and pooping the moment her naked little butt touched the water. Plus she howled. The Mini's first bath was a total 180. She was alert, curious, looking all around, and even splashed in the water with her little feet. Our sink, unlike the sink at the apartment, fits the baby tub, too, which also adds to the ease of use. And she definitely didn't cry, and hasn't since either, except once recently when I changed soaps and a little probably got in her eye. She LOVES bath time!
Awww, all that lovely dark hair. She's lost a lot of it, sadly, but it's starting to grow back now. And she's SO TINY in this picture...Wow.
Drying off after her first bath.
First Ride on the CTA
The first weekend of December, we joined some friends downtown for a month-long event that takes place between Thanksgiving and Christmas--a German-esque little outdoor shopping area called Christkindle Market. It was chilly, but not horribly so, and since it takes place downtown, we took the CTA to get there.
We were very surprised to find a HUGE crowd at the train station, but the mystery was soon solved...We'd unwittingly arrived in time to see the holiday train, and everyone but everyone had brought their kids out to see and ride it.
We opted not to. This time, at least. Maybe next year. It IS a load of fun to ride that thing! The Mini slept the whole train ride, and much of the time we were down at the Market...but it was so, so crowded that I could not get a stroller to go anywhere, and we ended up leaving pretty early. Still, it was a good adventure to have, and I got my potato pancakes and commemorative mug, so I'm set for the year. :)
First trip to the MSI (aka the Museum of Science and Industry)
Admittedly, this story involves the Munch more than the Mini, but the Mini was there, and it WAS her first trip! :) Anywho, Brother Bear joined his school's choir this year, and one of the first outings they had was a performance down at the MSI at the beginning of December. It happened to be a day I was working, and his mom and I hatched the plan for me to take the three small ones in my car and spend the morning exploring, enjoying the little concert, and eating lunch. It started out very well, and we found a couple of fun, quick exhibits to enjoy before the concert:
I think the kids could have watched that marble thing for hours, they were so glued to it.
The Mini was sleeping soundly, and had been since getting into the car.
I really don't mean to, but it seems like the only time I make it down to this place is at Christmas time...It's not really a terrible thing, though, as it means that every year I get to see their lovely Trees Around the World exhibit, complete with the grandly beautiful center tree.
The concert came next. I hadn't known that Superman's grandparents would be there, so it was fun to run into them, and we and the delighted Superman sat with them.
Brother did a great job, I managed to snag a great picture of him, and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!
Sadly, it did not continue quite so well after the concert...When we went to do a little exploring before lunch, the Munch had a major, major meltdown. It seemed that every single school in the city had decided that that day was a good day for a field trip, and as a result, the place was extremely noisy, extremely busy, and way, way too over-stimulating for a sensitive kiddo like her. We got to her favorite exhibit, the airplane, which she'd been asking for all morning, and it was even louder (if that was possible) in that enclosed space. She basically started to panic. She was worried about where Superman was, worried about all the big tall people around her, worried by the noise, worried that I wasn't where she expected me to be...She just couldn't handle it anymore and started screaming her poor little heart out. So after finding a quiet corner and forcing her to sit in it to calm down for a bit--challenging since she didn't want to sit, and the perfectly fine and not nearly so sensitive Superman was his usual active self--we took a change of scenery and went to eat lunch.
Full tummies helped us all tremendously.
Meanwhile, the Mini, having blissfully slept all through the concert, the museum noise, the meltdown, etc, finally woke on her own during lunch--a perfect time for me to feed her! She made all sorts of funny and interesting faces, but she barely cried at all. I couldn't have asked for a better behaved baby.
After lunch, a lot of the crowds of school kids were starting to leave, but unfortunately, we had to leave too. However, before we did, we did a quick stop off at the farm area that's right by the lunchrooms, and the kids found an unoccupied cow. That made up a little for the worries of the morning, and the Mini's first museum trip ended on a good note after all. :)
First Grabbing of Toys
The Mini received a few little toys at Christmas, and it was roughly around that point that she also was beginning to appreciate toys, so it was rather perfect timing. As I mentioned in my Christmas post, she took to one little toy that my mom sent us in particular:
Crinkl-E was a perfect little toy for her to start learning to grab with, because it just lays right on top of her, and crinkles whenever she moves. She still loves it, and it usually goes with us wherever we go.
Within a month of Christmas, she was holding things if I gave them to her.
Another month after that, she was actively seeking out the toys and grabbing them for herself.
And in the last couple of weeks, she has progressed to holding things of greater value... ;)
First Two Teeth!
The first day of March landed on a Sunday this year, and we were at church, down in the fellowship hall enjoying bagels and chat-time with friends. One of our friends was entertaining the Mini by allowing her to chew a little on his finger as he talked with us. And then he told me she had a tooth! I didn't believe him...Sure, her gums were pretty solid, but there couldn't be a tooth already. She hadn't had one yesterday, and she was only 4 1/2 months old, which was 2 whole months before the Munch had sprouted her first tooth. But then his wife confirmed it, and then I felt along her gum ridge, and sure enough, there was a little knife poking through her lower gum. Surprise! Two days later, Tooth #2 had appeared next to it! Also well ahead of the 'expected' schedule. Now I'm a little worried about those two front upper teeth: The Munch's came in at 9 months, and that was when I weaned her, so if the Mini's bottoms came in 2 months ahead of the Munch's schedule, what does that mean for HER uppers and HER future nursing? Cuz...she likes to bite...And she just laughs when I flick her cheek...
March 1st March 11th
How quickly they came in!
First Roll. Plus, she's already scooting!
The Mini has very strong legs. She loves to stand and is constantly pushing with her little feet. Lay her down on her tummy, and she will often kick herself into a 90 degree bend, with her toes and face on the mat, her butt in the air, and her arms splayed out on either side. But that, of course, was the big problem for her for quite some time...She couldn't figure out that if she wanted to NOT be doing a face-plant, she had to use those arms. All the same, arms or no arms, she was already getting to be a bit of scooter before the momentous First Roll occurred...More than once, I've left her on her mat (and it didn't matter if she was tummy or back side down), only to check her a minute later to find her scooted all the way off the mat trying to figure out what to do with the new floor texture underneath her! The Munch turned in circles, which the Mini can also do, but she never scooted off the surface I put her on until she was really and intently learning to crawl at 9 months. Which means I gotta watch this Little One very closely! She's not yet doing this on purpose...but it won't take her much longer...
As for rolling, she knew what to do at least a month before she finally did it all by herself--All I had to do was put her arm in the right place, and she'd pop herself up and over so quickly that if I blinked, I'd miss it. But it took her that full month, plus some, to figure out where to put that arm for herself...and even after she finally figured it out on March 24th and rolled from tummy to back all by herself for that first time, it's still taken her up until just a couple days ago to really get consistent at it. Today I couldn't keep her on her tummy at all, though, so we've crossed that marker for sure...and then suddenly she rolled from her back TO her tummy this evening, and then back again. Look out world!
This was her 4th roll...which was the first one I was able to get on camera, thanks to dying batteries, etc... :)
And now for some general 'cuteness' pictures that don't show firsts necessarily, but we always need more baby pictures, right? :D
From November.
From December.
From January. Check out those EARS. :D
From February.
From March.
Ahhhh, I love going through my picture files. :D
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