the cup

I'm proud (and a little sad) to report that Ariel has gone 2 full days with no b-o-t-t-l-e.  She's been drinking all her milk, juice, and water from her straw cups and open cups.  The day I took these photos, she held the cup and drank milk with little or no mess.  She also likes drinkable yogurt when we're out and about in Japan.



We'll indulge her and Jeff in a few bottles when he visits next month.



The A Report

• 21 pounds, and 2 feet + 11 inches tall (the weight fluctuates a little - I swear she feels heavier)
• loves tomato sauce and recently guzzled chocolate milk at a "kids' club" dinner on base
• getting into Thomas the Train, Winnie the Pooh, and the Wiggles
• words (or parts of them): Ralph, car, go, "no mine", "no Ma", more (a variation of it), whee, yeah, D (for Dora).  Can do sign language for milk, more, and diaper change.
• enjoys watching Dora so much, she exclaims "D!" when I turn it on
• dances to the ABC song in the kitchen (a magnet toy plays it)
• has new backyard toys we found discarded on the curb (trucks and picnic table)
• avoiding mosquitoes with Avon Skin so Soft
• getting her cuspid teeth - not as painful as previous teeth, but require lots of sleeping!
• has a new Japanese "mama-san" bike that we bought from our neighbor.  Took our first ride today with Ariel asleep in the front baby seat.
• meeting new playmates and their families through our babysitting exchange
• could really use some new coloring books, as the base does not have any.  Sesame Street, Thomas, Pooh, Dora are all good.  We have some Japanese coloring books (Anpanman & Doraemon), but they're a little different.
• could also use a good healthy cookbook for toddlers

eating skills

Ariel can feed herself with a spoon (still messy.) She can feed herself finger foods, and yesterday ate lots of mashed food (veggies, pasta, egg) with her hands. She still rejects sippy cups, but is taking to the straw. This is good, since the straw is better for her facial muscles and teeth than a sippy cup. She is down to 1-2 bottles of milk a day.

We just got a nice second-hand dining set, but we have to put it over carpet. So for messy baby meals, we stay in the kitchen for now. Notice how Ariel still fits into her "World Journey" helicopter shirt from last summer.

The A Report

We've been busy with routine things since returning from Singapore. We both had little colds, so had to skip Kindermusik this week. Ariel knows Kindermusik day, though, and has been entertaining me with her "moves" ever since. She dances in a circle to music, taps things together, drums on old formula and oatmeal canisters, claps, splashes, and moves to her own rhythm.

Jeff & I celebrated our 14th anniversary yesterday. Ariel & I took Doraemon to the vet for comfort care, and later pulled out my guitar. I'm out of practice, but amazingly she danced to my John Denver renditions. We did get to talk with Jeff on the phone, which is always a pleasure.

On with the A Report:

• 23 lbs, 31.5 inches (10.4 kg, 80 cm) - right in the middle on the Southeast Asian Girl growth chart
• cut her first molar on March 5th. So she now has her front 8 teeth + 1 molar.
• She can scribble with a crayon, put things in a box, make lots of different sounds that sounds like real talking.
• She really loves books. We have book baskets all over the house. Lately she uses my finger to point to pictures and words. Her favorites have cats & other animals, textures, buttons that make sounds, flaps, realistic pictures, Sesame Street characters, Curious George, Sandra Boynton animals, Skippyjon Jones (a Siamese cat.) Her favorites change, and it's hard to predict what will next interest her. We can always use duplicate books.
• Favorite clothes: anything soft, cottony, tagless, and footy pajamas. I put diaper cream on the back of her neck so tags & labels don't scratch her. Other than that, she doesn't have sensitive skin.
• Dislikes: ceiling fans and large rotating fans (discovered on our travels)
• Likes: cats (of course!), water (bath & swimming pool), pushing a cart, balls, leaves/sticks/pine cones, wooden puzzles, Dora, Elmo, Grover, writing on a chalkboard.
• Nicknames: Schmig, Smink, The Schmiggler, Schminklemuffin, Little Ralph

vanilla wafer video

Here's "vanilla wafer: the movie":



Yes, it did get stuck to the roof of her mouth. We removed it after filming.

Other exciting firsts today:

• scribbling on paper with a crayon (green)
• pretend eating (a plastic strawberry)
• pretend feeding a doll (the strawberry to Mickey Mouse, with the encouragement of Isabel, who knows how to teach babies!)

self-feeding!

This is huge news! Tonight while Doraemon and I ate "Nilla Wafers", Ariel decided to grab them and gnaw on them herself. I thought I'd tried every type of puff, cracker, and Cheerio (all rejected.) She found these pretty yummy. She has never been one to put things in her mouth, preferring to explore with her hands.

standing practice video

As of July 28th, Ariel can stand a few seconds unassisted. She caught on quickly, and now likes to practice it over and over (like 100 times in bed last night!) It's hard to video because A) I don't have the camera handy or B) she's distracted by the camera. But this short video gives you an idea. It's fun for her to balance, and she's proud of herself, too.