She's Walking !

In her 12 month old update, I wrote that Elyssa could walk about 6-7 steps before sitting down. Since then, she has been walking a little bit more and more, but was still crawling most of time.

Early this week, there was a sudden a big improvement. It was as if she just discovered that she loved walking !! My father said she hardly crawled the whole day yesterday. She's actually pretty steady on her legs too.

I'm still not quite used to her coming towards me on two rather than on four. *Sigh*, one implication of this is that she's officially a toddler rather than a baby. As with any new milestone reached, there's the feeling of happiness (and yes -pride as well!) but there's also the little tinge of sadness that she's growing up so fast.

Here's a short clip of her walking, which hubby managed to take last night. *need to turn off volume due to the background chatter*

Way to go Elyssa!

Standing Up - by herself!

Just look at how happy she is - of her ability to stand up by herself! She's been "practising" on and off for the past few weeks. Only two or three seconds each time and never long enough for me to take a photo of her.

But after dinner at my parent's place just now, hubby decided to try to take photos of her standing. The rest of us encouraged her by clapping when she stood up. This little girl just loved the attention. She kept on standing up (approx 5 seconds each time) and then plop herself back into a sitting position, then stand up again. She did it over and over again for more than 10 times - as if she wanted to proof that she can really do it!

She can Sit!

Last Friday, I tried to let Elyssa sit up unaided, and was pleasantly surprised that she didn't "flop" down when I let go...

Morning-

"Look mummy..... no hands!"

Night- "Yay, I'm so happy to be sitting! "

At first, she could just sit for 2-3 minutes. She's steadier now and I think the longest so far is about 15 minutes. But I still have to be careful and place her right in the middle of the mattress, cos she'll eventually "flop" - and that can be either left, right, front or back!

She seems happy of her new achivement too. Just look at her big smile!

First Solids!

Started Elyssa on her first solids last week. I was initially planning to start only after her six month mark but my MIL said that she was ready. I read up and she did exhibit signs of "being ready" such as being able to sit up and hold her head unassisted, doubled her birth weight, showed interest in food etc. etc.

So off I went and bought a tin of Nestle Infant Cereal for her. Her first solids! My heart started beating really fast when I paid for the tin at the checkout counter.

Her very first tin of solids

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And how did the feeding go? She just loved it! Each time the spoon went near her, she opened her mouth big and quickly swallowed the cereal. Once, when I paused between spoonfuls to talk to hubby, she cried out in protest. Really confirmed my initial suspicion that my princess is indeed a greedy little one. Hmm.... I wonder who she gets that from :)

"Yummy!"

Satisfied Look !

Baby Chair

"Whatya u looking at ???"
"Nevermind..... I"ll just play with my own toy"

Yipeeee...... Elyssa can finally sit on the babychair!!! I never tried it earlier cos I always thought the chairs were for bigger babies (unless it's those special babychairs). So when we were at Ikano yesterday and the waiter pulled out an Ikea babychair, my immediate response was my usual "no need". But then after a second thought, I decided to just give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised that she could sit comfortably in the babychair! She really seemed to enjoy sitting on the chair all by herself.
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Was also happy that I finally found baby leggings for her. The only ones I could find last time were expensive ones from Mothercare. The one at Ikano was only about RM13 each. (yeah, cheapo mummy). So, at least I don't have to worry about her being cold when I dress her up in skirts and dresses next time. :)

Reach Out 'n Grab

"You guys look interesting"

"Gotcha!"

Elyssa has recently started reaching out and grabbing things placed above her. I was getting a bit worried last time as she didn't attempt to reach out for toys, which is a 3 month milestone. Being a new mummy with almost zilch baby experience, I tend to rely on these month-by-month guide. Guess I shouldn't be so paranoid!

She can Turn!

The first time I saw Elyssa turn-over was when she was about 2.5 months. I left her in the middle of the bed to get a diaper, and when I returned she had turned over. That got me all excited but that turned out to be a one-off incident. My mum saw it again about a week later, but again that turned out to be another one-off.

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Last Thursday morning, she turned once when I changed her diaper. I put her back to position and then was pleasantly surprised when she turned again. After that, nothing could stop her! She must have been pleased with her new ability, and the little Miss Show-Off turned over almost 2o times that day :) When I didn't want her to turn right after her milk session (by putting a pillow next to her) she actually cried.

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She can only turn one side though and then she'll call out "ugh ugh ugh" to be rescued. More work since we have to keep "rescuing" her. Hopefully she'll learn how to turn back soon.

Head's Up !

Yay, head is finally up !

July 14 i.e. 3 months old. Photo taken at Hyatt Hotel, Kuantan. Baby's first holiday :)