Sunday, August 2, 2009

Mina's 1/2 birthday

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Mina!!

For her 6 month birthday Mina ate her first solid food. Well, semi-solid food! Mommy prepared an organic brown rice porridge from scratch, mixed in some fresh boob juice and then spoon fed the birthday girl with a bamboo baby spoon.





Saturday, August 1, 2009

month 5

Butterflies! Merry-Go-Round! Tar pits! Grandpa Jerry and Uncle GJ! Cousins!



Month 5 was awfully fun. Mina is very interactive now and it keeps us on our toes. She's sleeping well through the night, waking up once or twice for a milk-snack. She's getting big, already 18 lbs and wearing 6 - 9 month clothes. It's amazing how quickly they grow out of clothes. :)

One morning after walking with my mommy friend Caro and her boy CH (who is approx. 3 weeks younger than Mina) we got to see the babies really interact with each other. They've been together a few times so far, but not really caring much about the other. This time was special - they were each sitting on their mom's lap, facing each other and they got it. Mina reached over to touch CH's face (luckily she was gentle - it was a hot morning and she was moving slowly) and CH sucked on her hand. It was wonderful for both of us moms to see. :)

We visited with another mommy friend and baby this month. This mom and I were due on the same day, but Mina came early and he was a bit late. We hung out at Griffith Park and rode the Merry-Go-Round together with the babies. We wore them in slings while sitting in the bench seats and went round and round. Mina feel asleep immediately after, so did her baby friend.

As a family we don't watch much TV, in fact, we don't even have cable. Netflix allows us to watch a movie or TV show when we're in the mood. We started reading aloud to each other (and Mina), which has been a wonderful way to bond and relax. Right now we're reading "A Wrinkle In Time" by Madeline L'Engle, which is the first book in a series of 5. I have fond memories of this book, it was one of my favorites as a young girl, so it's extra-special to be reading it aloud as a family.


Week 21:
Mina begins to explore with very grabby hands. ("the grabbing hands grab all they can..." to quote Depeche Mode) She likes to grab our noses and mouths, and grabs often. This week she began to sit upright unassisted. Her world totally changed. We visited the Natural History Museum - they have a temporary butterfly pavillion. Mina wanted to grab the butterflies. It was sweet. Glad she didn't catch any...


Week 22:
The grabbing continues. She's strong!!



Week 23:
Teething for real. Mina is more drooly than ever and we can see whitish marks on her lower gums where her teeth are slowly making their way to the surface.
Grandpa Jerry arrived this week. We went to the Autry Museum and looked at cool cowboy stuff. Crazy Uncle GJ came in at the end of the week. It was great to see Grandpa and Uncle with Mina.



Week 24:
More grabbing. Mina loves watching Captain Henry, he fascinates her. She got to meet my cousin Tina and her husband Johnny. Oh, and she went to the Page Museum and the La Brea Tar Pits.




Week 25:
Still teething! Those darn chompers are gonna bust through any day now!! Our strong sitting up girl now sits like a big kid in a high chair at the table with us. She is very happy now that she's on the same level with us, part of the group and all. No food for her yet...