March, April 2010

More...
More willful, more emotional, more social and more teeth!!



Mina's personality is emerging, she's quite a thoughtful and nurturing girl. She loves to kiss, hug and feed others, her friends as well as Mommy and Poppy. A silly sense of humor is developing, too! She is still fairly quiet, but a few words come out now and then. We expect her to start really talking some time soon.



Her appetite for solid food has increased. She absolutely loves broccoli, yogurt and strawberries and has been known to enjoy a pickle or vinegary cucumber. :)



March:

Mina really started to come out of her shell this month, enjoying herself and participating more at the library story hour as well as at Mothersong, our two regular organized activities. She's made a few new friends, too.



Some pretty big emotional outbursts this month pave the way for tantrums. Lots of babbling and experimenting with words as well as a surge in sign language!



For Vernal Equinox we planted some seeds in our garden. Mina enjoys watering her garden daily and watching the sprouts emerge. Visiting her backyard Fairy Garden is one of her favorite things to do. We spend quite a bit of time at Descanso Gardens. Mina loves to smell flowers and herbs (she pinches leaves to smell them) and look at the koi in the ponds.



April:

The month began with Mina's first official tantrum and a sudden fear of the bathtub. The tantrums are almost cliche - flat on her tummy pushing backwards while kicking her feet and, of course, screaming. Luckily they are not frequent. The bathtub fear was a surprising bummer, but Mina is slowly getting over her fear and learning to love bathtime again. Although baths are a challenge, washing hands is not. Mina loves washing her hands!!



NanaSue was here with us for a week and Mina loved having the extra attention. Although she was teething and not feeling her best, Mina had a fun Easter hunting for eggs that Poppy hid in her Fairy Garden. She had a blast one day playing with the hose in the Fairy Garden with Mommy and NanaSue.



Two teeth emerged this month, #'s 5 & 6 (top front). Teething sucks. :(



Mina likes to sit in a chair like a grown up. She also likes to climb all over stuff like a monkey. And have tea parties with her new tea set and play dress up (such a girl). Reading is still fun. So is her play kitchen.



Mina went to her first wedding... a traditional Hindu Indian wedding. She had fun looking at all the pretty outfits and enjoying curry samosa sandwiches!



All in all Little Miss Mina is doing great and keeping us on our toes. We couldn't be happier (or more exhausted).

Jan, Feb 2010

Stable on her feet now, Mina walks everywhere she can. It's a mixed blessing. We've been venturing out more often visiting local parks and playgrounds. Mina loves to look at the big girls, especially ones that are really girly with pigtails or fancy outfits. She's still pretty shy, but has a few friends her own age that she's comfortable with. In January we started going to a music/singalong group called Mothersong. Some days Mina is social and really enjoys herself, other days it's a bit overwhelming and she clings to Mommy. The unfortunate part of being out and more social is that Mina is exposed to cooties from the other kids. She had a little cold in January, mostly just a runny nose and some sneezing.


January 2010

Mina is still a good reader and will now point to and say "cat" when she sees one in a book! Funny, about cats - Mina will wave hello to Mommy, Poppy or any cat. That's it.



Front tooth #2 made it's long-anticipated appearance this month. So cute. A few days after that Mina took the initiative, grabbed a baby spoon and started feeding herself while we were all eating dinner. While she prefers to eat off of Mommy or Poppy's plate, she has ordered her own entree while dining out... steamed brown rice!

Mina feeds herself! from Greg Wiatroski on Vimeo.

Mina's First Birthday

To celebrate this momentous occasion we took a mini-vacation to Disneyland, staying overnight at The Grand Californian. (Mommy & Poppy love this hotel) We arrived at The Magic Kingdom in the late afternoon, checked into the hotel and then headed towards the park. By the time we got to Main Street it was dark and beautifully lit up. Mina loved it. We got her Micky Mouse ears and a light up balloon. It's a Small World was the first ride we went on and she seemed to enjoy it, but the next ride was her favorite. The Carousel! After that we went on The Pirates of the Caribbean and Mina dozed off.



The next morning, Mina's official Birthday, we had brunch at Storytellers Cafe in the hotel. There were characters at the restaurant, Dale (of Chip and Dale) along with a lion and gorilla (who's names I don't know). Mina was scared at first because the gorilla sort of took her by surprise, but in the end she was entertained by them and even touched the lion's nose. Mina's birthday cake was a vegan cupcake sweetened with agave. She didn't eat any of it herself but had fun feeding it to Mommy and Poppy. After brunch we headed back to the park, played in Toon Town and then went on the Haunted Mansion. While walking around trying to decide what to do next Mina fell asleep. So we left.



February 2010

12 month Well-Baby visit was good. All is well. Mina got a DTaP vaccine.

Height - 30.5" 90th percentile
Weight - 23.1 lbs. 85th percentile
Head - ? 80th percentile (oopsie, forgot to write it in my journal)

Valentine's Day we spent at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. It was nice but really crowded. We walked around Long Beach and had lunch at George's Greek Tavern on Pine St. Mina wowed our waitress and ate tons of pita bread. Mina has really developed a fondness for bread, her favorite being Armenian bread from our local breakfast spot Foxy's.



Luckily Mina's getting better at eating food, although she still nurses quite a bit. We've decided to continue breastfeeding until she's 2, as recommended by the World Health Organization.



Being outdoors makes Mina very happy, and even though it's been a wet winter here in SoCal she has still been able to spend lots of time outside. Our backyard is uphill with terraces and steps. She loves to walk up the steps (assisted by Mommy or Poppy) and check things out. There are lavender and rosemary bushes along with succulents and beautiful trees and vines. Mommy taught Mina how to pinch the lavender leaves to release the lovely scent, but of course Mina pinches the leaves of any plant to see if it smells. We took Mina to Descanso Gardens for a Fairy Tour, which was magical and fun.



Mina now takes regular walks in the neighborhood... walking herself while holding hands with Mommy and/or Poppy. She's really good at holding hands, hopefully that will last for a long time. What hopefully won't last is her obsession with closing doors! Oh, and sign language is coming along. She uses the sign for "light" herself and understands many of the signs that we use when communicating with her. Speaking of communication, Mina has been letting us know when she needs a diaper change. It's truly remarkable. She will either fidget and touch her diaper or actually get either the changing pad or the wipes to let us know she needs to be changed! She is also quite helpful around the house. When mommy sweeps up, Mina likes to get in on the action...



Finally, our darling daughter can also tell people how old she is by holding up her finger. Yes... it looks like she's pointing at something, but it's actually one finger meaning the number one. Really. She's quite consistent. :)

months 9 and 10

Sorry it's taken so long for us to update the family blog. We've been busy.

The boxes have been unpacked, closets have been organized (almost) and we've settled in nicely here at our new home on The Hill. Now that Mina is walking I'm so grateful for the extra space and open-ness of the house. I can't imagine her trying to walk and navigate the clutter of the apartment. We don't spend much time in the backyard, but that will change come Spring. I'm anxious to plant some herbs and maybe tomatoes or peppers.



Here's a recap:

Month 9 (November)

Mina had her 9 month well-baby visit. All went well & she got a DTaP vaccine (which left a little bruise on her thigh for at least 2 weeks).

weight: 20.14 lbs 85th%
height: 28.5" 75th%
head: 46.5 cm 95th%

On her 9 month birthday Mina started walking by herself with the push-toy, a lovely wooden thing that resembles a lawnmower with ducks on it. It's noisy and fun. Lots of mowing and pushing things around. She eventually started pushing my yarn basket around, too. Hand clapping is a fun trick she learned this month, it makes us all smile.



Aunt Danielle from San Francisco came for a visit. She was the first houseguest at the new place and we all had a nice time. Lots of shopping and eating! Mina will come to you when called or beckoned with a finger signal. Crawling, of course.



We celebrated Thanksgiving at Kenne & Kristen's loft downtown. Mina ate sweet potatoes, played with Magda & Lucius (bow wow) and took her first steps!!! She loves her stuffed animal friend "Kissy" the Kissasaurus green dinosaur. She gives it kisses. When you sign or say "book" Mina will bring a book to you. She will also find things if you ask where they are (Kissy, Captain Henry, etc).



10 months

Lots of walking, by the end of the month she's wandering around from room to room!
Mina said her first word - "PAPA" to her Poppy at the beginning of the month. She says MAMA when she's upset, but usually there is a bit of whine and fuss along with it. PAPA was said directly to Poppy with a smile and point. Speaking of pointing, Mina points at everything she finds interesting. It's fun to watch her direct Poppy while he is holding her... like she's driving him around.



Of course Mina loves all the holiday decor. Twinkle lights make her point and smile. We took her to the LA DWP light festival. It was cold and rainy, but she liked it. :) Mina started waving at stuff, waving Hello and Goodbye, waving at the cats, waving at pictures of cats in her books. The waving started off as a flapping motion, very large movement using her entire arm... it's gotten a bit more sedate now, just a wrist-flap now. So cute.



After 2 weeks of fuss Mina finally got a top tooth. Yay for teething biscuits. All she wants to eat this month are cheerios or teethers. She likes to share them and will even feed Poppy or Mommy a cheerio! She does practice eating with her own spoon and likes to practice feeding us with it, too. We did get her to taste a pickle and nibble on an apple slice...



Christmas was quiet and lovely. Mina enjoyed opening her gifts, of which there were plenty. She is a well-loved (read: spoiled) child! We are grateful for our generous and loving family and friends. Mina loves all the holiday cards we received... they are strewn all over the house, wrinkled and creased with a few drool marks. The photo cards are well kissed, although her favorite photos to handle and kiss are ones of herself. Of course - who could blame her? She's so damn cute. :)

Month 8

October was a crazy month for the Windy Family... with the baby crawling and all, we just needed more space. So we moved. Moving with an 8 month old is not easy, needless to say we are still unpacking boxes and nesting. The new place is lovely, a Spanish Revival home on a hill with a lovely fairy garden terraced backyard and pretty sunset views of Griffith Park.


Mina had her first cold this month. Poor dear. She woke at 3am one night with a fever, and had that fever on and off the whole day along with a runny nose and sneezes. Poppy called her Oogie Boogie. Luckily it was a Saturday, so Poppy was here. We gave her lots of love, attention, boob juice and water. It was hard for us to see her feeling crappy, her energy level was so different and her eyes were just sad and tired. She was better the next day. (It took Mommy a week to kick the cold/flu, and Poppy had a touch of it for a while as well.)

Just after the Oogie Boogie spell we had lots of exciting developmental leaps. First, Mina learned how to bend her knees. Squat-to-sit, squat-to-stand. Her bum was taking a LOT of abuse since before she figured out the knee bend she would fall straight legged from a standing position to sit on her butt. Ouchie. A few days later she was walking while holding Mommy's hands or with her duckie push toy. She's so proud of herself every time she walks, it's the sweetest thing to see.


Still no more teeth. We expect those top chompers any day now. Feeding has been hit or miss. She likes to eat her healthy Cheerios knock-offs and will sometimes gobble down pureed foods. Other times she just locks her lips and turns her head away from foods. But she loves to play with the baby utensils. Her sippy cup of water is a favorite item, luckily. And she still nurses on demand.


Her eyes are still sparkling blue, her hair still curly and a lovely golden light brown.


OH! Halloween! Mina's first Halloween was fun for Mommy & Poppy, a bit overwhelming for the baby. Friday the 30th Mommy dressed her up in a costume she had made and brought her to Poppy's work for trick-or-treating. All the people and all the stuff and cubicles and newness kinda freaked her out. But she looked adorable!


Halloween Day was actually a big errand day, since we had really just moved into the new house. Baby Miss Mina still dressed up in costume, though. Another handmade costume, this time a faerie.

Since we're a bit late posting this we can include the stats from Mina's 9-month well baby pediatrician visit:

Height: 28.5", 75th percentile
Weight: 20 lbs 14 ozs, 85th percentile
Head Size: 46.5 cm, 95th percentile

7 months

We are mobile.

Mina started crawling, really crawling on all fours, the first week of her 7th month. Our world has completely changed! Although she's gotten really good at crawling, well balanced and quite fast, she really would much rather stand. One skill mastered and immediately on to the next. 5 days after her first crawl she pulled herself up to standing in her crib. She enjoys standing and practices standing and walking while holding onto the ottoman or sofa. She occasionally lets go and can balance free-standing briefly (before plopping down on her diapered butt).



That same week she started giving kisses. Oh my are they sweet. Round, soft open-mouth kisses... very moist with drool. At first you had to ask for them, but eventually she started to give them out unsolicited. Only to Mommy & Poppy so far. <3



Mid-way through the month Mina started to communicate with us by using sign language. We've been using sign language with her since she was about 2 or 3 months old. For a while there it seemed like it was a futile effort, but we persevered. Yay! Patience paid off! We were all out for a walk on morning and Mina started fussing. I thought it was her diaper, so I took her in the bathroom to change her and she kept fussing and giving me this Look. Well, I finally took notice of her hand which was making the sign for "Milk" in a very determined fashion. Later that day she signed again when Poppy was around. She's not stopped. That girl wants a lot of milk, let me tell you. :) She gets very excited when we make the sign for "Cat." Once when mommy made the sign she looked around for the little devils! When we read to her we also use sign language for some of the animals in the books. She gets a kick out of that. We think the next sign she uses will either be "cat" or "duck."



Solid food has been fun, ups and downs. We're making about 75% of her food. She's a good eater for the most part. If she's in the mood for it she eats it. Otherwise it's back to the old boob juice! Still mostly pureed foods. We started trying to get her eating small bits of food just recently. She's progressed to three solid meals a day.

6 months

Another busy month for The West Wind clan. We had 2 more visitors, Nana Sue and Grampy Bill. The Station Fire raged less than 10 miles from our neighborhood. It was a hot month with some pretty major baby happenings. :)

At the beginning of the month Mina had her 6 month well-baby visit and received her first vaccinations. She's perfectly healthy and on target for her age. Here are her stats:
Height - 26.5 inches, 75th percentile
Weight - 18 lbs 11 oz, 93rd percentile
Head - 44.5 cm, 85th percentile
(Yes, she's a big girl!)

We slowly introduced Mina to solid foods this month, all prepared fresh here at home by us. I never thought using a food mill could be so rewarding! It's a wonderful feeling to prepare the food that will be nourishing your baby, and that will be her 1st experience of solid foods. So far she's had: brown rice, banana, sweet potato and peas. Her favorite being banana. :) We had a little run-in with constipation at the end of the month... she went 5 days without a poopie. During that time Mina was not very interested in solid foods. Smart girl!

When Nana Sue was here we went to La Jolla to visit my cousin & his family (they have newborn twins) as well as Nana Sue's sister and her husband. It was a lovely day. Mina spent a bit of time in a pack and play, and actually pulled up to her knees for the first time in the p&p. She also started crawling backwards. She has not yet mastered the art of crawling forwards, but she does some great yoga poses... downward facing dog & dolphin. :) Mina loves to stand with a bit of assistance, in fact she's more interested in standing than in crawling.

Towards the middle of the month Mina began sitting up by herself from a laying down position. This has changed the crib experience dramatically. We have her crib beside the bed, so now when she wakes up she sits up and then stares at us. It was unnerving at first, but now it's cute because she's usually smiling at us as well. :)

An interesting thing that happened this month involved Captain Henry, Mina's favorite pirate cat. Mina and I were on the floor in the living room on her playmat and Henry walked by and did something silly. Well Mina laughed at him, then looked at me and smiled and we both laughed together. It was so cool to interact with her like that!

The biggest milestone this month occurred at 6 months, 3 weeks. Teeth!! She cut her first tooth on Monday, the second on Wednesday. Her behavior was erratic for a few days, but by Thursday it was smooth sailing. Grampy Bill arrived that week, too. He was great with Mina. We had a major heat wave while Grampy was here, and a huge fire, so we took off for Venture one day and Santa Monica the next to enjoy the fresh and somewhat cooler ocean air.

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.