Mismatched Socks

This week, Mini decided she no longer wanted to wear matching socks. She's been picking out different ones every day.

Diaper Duty

Last night, I forgot to put Mini into a diaper when I put her to bed. A couple hours after she went to bed, she woke up crying saying she wanted to pee. I went to the bedroom and told her she could just pee in her diaper but she kept crying about wanting to pee in the bathroom. I picked her up and finally realized she wasn't wearing a diaper. I quickly got her to the toilet to do her business. I asked her while she sat there if she knew she wasn't wearing a diaper but she didn't answer me. I wonder if she knew -- maybe she's ready to go without a diaper at night -- or maybe it was just luck.

Sunglasses

Mini has a pair of sunglasses she likes to wear. On Saturday we went out to the park with Uncle J. That night she decided to wear them in the house. We discovered that Grande would cry whenever Mini looked at her. When she looked away he would stop. We asked her to take them off but she refused. We're not sure if Grande thought something had happened to her eyes or if he just thought the were a bad fashion choice.

However, the next day, she wore them again. This time Grande laughed whenever he saw her. I guess maybe he just disapproved of her wearing them at night. I mean only poseurs wears sunglasses at night right?

Expanding Palate

Pediatrician said it's now ok to start solids at four months.  When Mini was a baby, the recommendation was six months.  But Grande is a big boy and started looking longingly at food during our meals.  So we gave it a go.  I don't think he has learned to swallow so he's been sucking on a lot of foods - carrots, lettuce, fruits, sauces.  I even saw Papa let him suck on Slanted Door's famed shaking beef.  I swear I could hear Grande slurp away at the filet mignon from across the table.  This kid knows what the good stuff is!

So this has been going for two weeks and he's gotten better at swallowing.  Today, he had a spoonful of mashed banana and managed to eat most of it.  There was some gagging and spitting, but a lot went down.  Too bad it came out as chunks in his poop.  Maybe five months is still too young to be eating real food.

Sit and Roll

Grande can finally sit up.  It took a while because his big belly got in the way.  He has also rolled from back to tummy a couple of times.  It's not a fluid roll and it takes some effort.  He can get on his side pretty easily now.  

Grande's new toys

This morning I asked Mini if she wanted to share her toys with Grande. She said no. I then asked if she would give Grande the toys that she didn't like. She agreed. We went through her stuffed animals and Grande ended up with Elmo, a blue whale, and a rabbit in a carrot car. Grande has taken to making out with Elmo.

Sleeping with Mini

So we have never been successful getting Mini to go to sleep on her own. At this point, she can sleep on her own during the night but requires one of us to lay with her until she falls asleep. Ever since about 6 months ago, I've been laying with her with her grabbing my ears to fall asleep (I'd gotten her to not grab my ears sometimes but instead wrap her arms around my neck. However, as she falls asleep, she'll still subconsciously touch my ears) .

In the last 2 weeks I decided that I wanted to slowly break this habit. Instead of lying down next to her, I sat up in the bed. Immediately, she tried to reach for my ears but I sat up high enough so she couldn't reach. Then she started crying and saying, "Wo bu yao" (I don't want this) and "Wo yao ni tang zai zhi li" (I want you to lie down here) as she pointed to the pillow right next to her. It was heartbreaking.

The first night, this went on for at least 30 minutes. Then she said she wanted my hand. She grabbed it and massaged it as she fell asleep. The second night, she cried and whined another 15 minutes before she took my arm and fell asleep. By the 3rd night, she was fine with me sitting next to her (it seems like 2 days is how long it takes to change her behavior). Since then, she's actually been able to fall asleep without grabbing my arm even when I offer it to her. Next step, I'll be moving her to her own bed. :)