Glimpses of What's Coming

Mila is most certainly still working on defining who she is going to be, but that doesn't stop her from picking and choosing what glimpses of the future her she wants us to see. I'm not sure what long-term conclusions you can draw from her favorite things, but I bet some of them tell a story.

One of Mila's favorite things is "Lala." That's Alexis. This morning Mila sat at the front door, watching Alexis as she walked down the sidewalk on her way to the bus. The whole way, she chanted, "Lalalalalala." It could just be coincidence, but I doubt it. Lala is her way of saying Alexis. She says it every time she spots her big sister across the room. HOOBOY does the Tiny Human adore her Lala.

Mila still loves monkeys. All of them. Sock monkeys are a favorite, but all monkeys bring a smile to her face. Alexis was the same way with dogs. Now the kid can't be pried away from her pups. I'm not saying we're ever going to have a pet monkey, but I bet Mila tries to talk us into it.

The Tiny Human is doing a pretty fantastic job with food lately. She still thinks bottles are stupid and anyone holding them is suspicious, but BRING ON THE SOLIDS! Right now she thinks avacados, yogurt, tofu, and noodles are the best, but she will fight you for sweets, too. Monkey bread, you guys. That's the stuff.

I think she's going to be a good eater. I hope so, anyway.

Oh, and she literally says *nom*nom*nom* when she super likes a food. It makes me want to make her all of her favorite things all of the time.

Mila's favorite toys are LOUD. The loudest of the loud. It's funny since her voice volume is usually stuck on high. However, sometimes she softly whispers, "Ba ba baaa. Ba ba baaa." It's a rhythmic muttering that perfectly follows a beat that only Mila hears.

She's going to be a good one, you guys.

Forming the Future

There are a lot of things I love about the giant age gap between Mila and Alexis, but one of the best is the fact that Alexis is, in many ways, forming who she will be as a parent now.

Every day is a new lesson for the Big Kid. For example, initially she COMPLETELY freaked out every time Mila cried. Now she realizes that the cries usually mean Mila is either hungry or sleepy. That means it might be OK for Alexis to finish reading a chapter in her book before acknowledging that she hears Mila. The days of her yelling, "MOM, HELP HER!" the second Mila seems sad are apparently over. (THANK GOODNESS.)

Alexis has also learned that time is an entirely different concept with a baby around. She knows all about having to try to leave extra early, that the best laid plans often land you with a diaper explosion and a delay, and that you just can't rush a tiny person.

Then there are the tumbles and falls. While Mila is all about seeking out things that can be used to start a fire, she's also weirdly cautious. I've never seen a baby think so hard about sitting down. She spends several minutes trying to find a way to plop down without actually plopping, sometimes going so far as to spread her legs little-by-little until they are super far apart and it's only an inch or two to the ground. Sometimes, though, her planning backfires and she ends up falling harder than she would like.

It makes her FURIOUS.

At first Alexis thought she was hurt. She now realizes it's anger. That realization has been like a giant chill pill for the kid.

Oh, and when Mila legit falls? Or hits her head? Or scratches herself? At first Alexis FLIPPED THE HELL OUT. She worried and worried, gasping for breath, grabbing her chest, and basically having a fainting spell. After I explained that she can't react until she waits to see how Mila will react, things have been much less dramatic.

Alexis is going to be a chill first parent.

Or she's just going to call me all of the time.

Both scenarios are fine by me.

Smoosh Brings The Boom

There are many, many challenges that come with the whole mobility before common sense thing, but the one that is currently baffling me looks a little like this.

You guys, Mila attacks all things electronic.

And my camera is her most favorite thing to attack. My very expensive and highly treasured camera.

Which, we know I'm all about letting kids learn to use valuable things, but NOPE. NOT AT EIGHT MONTHS OF AGE.

(Yes, I totally was holding her grabby little hand in the two bottom pics. In turn, she was using her head to push off me so she could grab at the camera with her other hand. Well played, Mila.)

There are multiple problems with the Electronics Attacker, but the main one is that she keeps managing to turn the dial on the top. It happens to be the dial that is missing the little piece that tells you what setting the camera is on, so that's super fun. I spend a few minutes every day going, "Is this Manual? How about this? This has to be it?"

I really need to glue that piece back on that took the mystery out of it all.

The other problem with the Electronics Attacker is that I can't get a decent photo of her without standing on my head, singing Yankee Doodle in six languages, and offering the kid a million dollars. Even then, I have a millisecond before she attacks.

I've tried shaking toys to get her attention, but she just takes off like a rocket to steal them from me.

I've tried making every sound humanly possible including impersonating a drunk Yeti, but that just makes her attack faster.

I've even tried recruiting the Big Kid to help with the shenanigans, but Mila is all, "I've seen that show, people."

Prepare yourselves for lots and lots of photos of Mila in motion, internet. It's all I've got at the moment.