Making Music!

I took Paprika for her first trip to a toy store this morning. We have a Toys 'R Us right up the street, but I've been nervous to go to it. I guess I pictured a messy store full of screaming kids, crying babies, and the merchandise strewn across the aisleways. But, this morning Paprika seemed, well, bored. So, I decided that it might be time to get out of the house, and find her a few new toys to play with and discover.

We got to Toys 'R Us right when they were opening, and to my surprise, the store was empty. Everything was on shelves, in order, and there were no screaming kids anywhere to be found! On top of that, they had a whole "baby" section with all of the essentials we have been driving across town to buy! All this time, we had this store right around the corner and who knew?

While we were at the toy store, I picked up this keyboard for her. She absolutely loves it, and wants to play every key and squeals when she hears the sounds. I also bought her some magic markers and drawing paper. We've noticed that she loves holding a pen and drawing, so this should be a fun activity for us to try together.

While we were in the parking lot at the toy store, I saw a "My Gym," which is a place you can bring infants for Mommy & Me classes. So, we checked that out and we will probably be starting to take classes there before we move to Pasadena. It will be a good opportunity for us to get out of the house and for Paprika to meet other babies. Most of the "moms" we saw at the Mommy & Me class were nannies, but that's okay. I really just want to go to experience the class with Paprika, and to have her get out of the house a little bit.

I'm still in the process of teaching Paprika sign language. I think she already understands the sign for milk!

Sitting Up and Sign Language

Today Paprika sat up for the first time! I sat her up on the bed and she stayed put for about 10 seconds before wobbling and then toppling over onto the blankets. We repeated the exercise a few times and she seemed to like sitting up, as long as there was something interesting to play with to keep her attention. Her favorite activity still is rolling everywhere on the floor. She is fascinated by "big human objects," like my water bottle and the remote control. She has little patience for baby toys and really just wants to play with anything that interests Mr. Mustard or me. She would rather play with Mr. Mustard's headphones or my wallet over a baby toy any day.

Mr. Mustard's mom sent us a book called "Baby Signs" today. It is a book on how to teach your baby sign language. It's really geared more towards babies that are about a year old, but I don't think there's any harm in incorporating a few signs into everyday life and seeing if Paprika will catch on. The book says that babies will not respond until at a minimum 9 months, so it can be frustrating to the parents if they start trying to communicate via sign language at too young an age.

I was a bit worried at first that if I started teaching her sign language that it would delay speech. But, after thinking and reading about it a lot I think it could help with her verbal frustration and increase our communication. If I notice that she's not talking as early as she should be, then I will obviously cut out the signing. But, for right now, it seems like a fun and interesting thing to do together. So far I'm teaching her the signs for diaper, milk, mommy, daddy, and doggie.

Signing is pretty easy for me because my best friend in elementary school was hearing impaired, so I learned American Sign Language (ASL) at a really young age and I still remember a lot of it. The baby signs are basically ASL signs, but with some modifications to make it easier for little hands with limited motor control to make the signs. We'll see if it amounts to anything- for now, it's just a neat way for us to interact. :-)

Paprika Gets Kisses From Hauser!

Here's a quick video of Hauser giving Paprika kisses. She loves trying to pet him, and laughs whenever he gives her kisses. Too cute!

Lazy Weekend

We took it very easy this weekend, since I have been battling my cold and we didn't want Paprika to get sick again. We were supposed to go to Phoenix this weekend to visit my grandparents and their friends, Barbara and Duane, and their family. We didn't end up going because Mr. Mustard had to work, and we didn't know whether or not we would have a reliable car by this weekend. We both really wanted to go, and we were sad that it didn't work out. Perhaps it's for the best this time, though, since I have been so sick and Paprika has been fighting a cold, too. We will have to get out to Phoenix for a visit when Paprika is a little bit older. We love spending time with my grandparents, Barb, and Duane! They are so much fun to be around!

We really took it easy this weekend and didn't do too much that would be stessful or straining. Yesterday morning I got a haircut (finally). It was the first haircut I've had since before Paprika was born. Time really flies! We all went to my hair appointment. Mr. Mustard and Paprika wandered around the mall, went to the Apple store and to the Sony store while I was at the salon. Afterwards we all had lunch at the mall. Mr. Mustard got to drive the new car, which he was very excited to do! It was a very fun trip out. After we got home, we laid around the house, napped, and watched Jerry Maguire in High Definition on cable.

Today we met up with our friend Lauren and went to her Young Marrieds group at a nearby church. It was a lot of fun! Afterwards we went to brunch at a swanky place- Paprika was very well behaved- so much so that no one really knew she was there! Afterwards, Mr. Mustard, Paprika and I came home and took a nap. I am finally feeling a little less congested, mostly I think because I've been resting so much, drinking orange juice, and taking lots of vitamins. Paprika seems completely over her cold now- it was just a little blip for her, thank goodness!

Paprika's new carseat arrived in the mail on Friday. It's a very safe Britax Marathon brand in their "cowmooflage" pattern. I think it's adorable! She'll be able to use it until she's 65 pounds! This means that we're going to have to retire her infant seat. At her current size (28 inches long and 20 pounds), she's outgrown it. The infant carrier is supposed to last for the entire first year, and it's so convenient because we can bring it with us to restaurants and other places. The new seat is going to be a permanent fixture in the car, which means we won't be able to cart her around in it when we go into restaurants and places like that. It's really cute, though, and will be really comfortable for her. It's so soft, padded, and luxurious- she'll be ridin' in style!

Peek-A-Boo with Blankie