big girl weekend

Libby had some big girl milestones this weekend. First, she tried her first solid food (besides rice cereal and oatmeal), which was sweet potatoes. The first night, she hardly ate any because she wouldn't open her mouth. This is a new problem--she clamps her mouth shut like a vice whenever we try to put food, vitamins or Tylenol in it. Last night, she did a little better. I gave her her own spoon to hold and, whenever she shoved her own spoon in her mouth, I snuck some sweet potatoes in with it. She actually seemed to like them better than the oatmeal, so I'm hoping she'll eventually willingly open up. We were going to start with avocado because I've read that it's similar to breast milk in taste since it's creamy and buttery, but the one we bought wasn't ripe. That's next on the list!

We also bought Libs a sippy cup, just so she could play with it and start to get a sense of what it's for. Clearly, she doesn't grasp the concept yet, but she's interested in it. Sometimes I take the valve out of it and tip it back in her mouth so that water flows freely out of it. I'm hoping that will help her understand that she has to suck on it like a bottle to get liquid out of it. Right now, she just likes to chew on it, and not just on the spout, as you can tell from the photos.

Yesterday we ventured out to our new Target, and Libby sat in the cart big-girl style for the first time. I forgot the camera, but she was all cushy with her shopping cart cover, blankets stuffed all around her and all her toys. She's still a little small for it, so she needs a little propping, but she did great and seemed to like getting out of the house.