Cradle Cap
I noticed s few days ago that Miranda's head had an odd smell, a combination of sweat and a bacteria smell (like an armpit or foot or something of that sort). I pointed it out to Andrew and we wondered how on earth a little baby manages to get a stinky head, and couldn't think of anything.
Last night, after her bath, I was holding her on my lap and I noticed her hair was a little bit gunky in one place. I investigated further and saw that her scalp is actually moderately crusted over beneath the thickest part of her hair (which is why I didn't see it before).
I've used a semi-stiff brush on her damp scalp to loosen the crusty part. I guess we'll just have to keep gently scrubbing her scalp until it clears up. It doesn't seem to bother her at all and thankfully it doesn't show unless you actually look for it.
Singing!
Zoë started "singing" at quite a young age. She would sing along with Ariel in The Little Mermaid.
Miranda's "singing" now. At the age of eight months, she has discovered that she can make similar noises to those she hears. She was singing along with Princess Fiona in Shrek. It was very clear that's what she was doing, especially since the last time she saw Shreck, she yelled along with the villagers at the beginning of the film.
She also recognizes jingles and songs from commercials, television shows, etc., just as Zoë did (and still does). Seems they've both got something of a musical gift, which is hardly surprising given the family background.
Scooter
Miranda's gotten to the point where she's able to creep and scoot around on her tummy. At this point, she's still actually scooting backward, as a lot of babies do at first. She's managed to scoot underneath the couch, under a chair, and underfoot more than once. She also gets very upset if we pick her up and put her back on the blanket we keep spread on the floor. After all, she went to a lot of trouble to wiggle off in various directions!
Ah-dah
Zoë nickname for Miranda is "ah-dah". Miranda's actually starting to respond to that name. I called her that in jest and she quite clearly responded to it. I sort of figured that she'd end up with a sister-endowed nickname, but I didn't expect it to be Ah-dah...
Teeth
Eight months old, and still no teeth at all. No ridges in the gums, nothing. She does periodically have crying fits for no reason that we can discern, and I suspect it is teeth causing occasional pain, but they're not visible yet. Zoë didn't get any teeth at all until she was eleven months old. Miranda may well follow suit.
Chocolates!
Tonight I was eating some small chocolates while holding Miranda. She figured out that it was food, possibly by the scent, and also because I was putting it in my mouth. She got to the point where she watched every piece that went into my mouth... Eventually, it all got to be too much for her and she saw my put in a piece and close my mouth and her little hand shot up and tried to pry my mouth open. "Hey! I know you put chocolate in there! I want some!"
Egg custard
Last night at the grocery store, we got some baby egg custard (the kind you mix fresh from a powder). Miranda's almost eight months old and the custard has egg yolk but not whites, so we'll try her out. I'm not terribly concerned about allergies and such, but I like to be careful.
Anyway, today she had egg custard and she loved it. She also had a tub of strawberry yogurt (baby yogurt with full fat), which is one of her favorites. If there's one thing you have to say for this little girl, she loves her food... Well, so long as it's not peas or green beans.
Fair haired girl
Miranda's hair, which was thick, curly, and quite dark at birth, has gotten very noticibly lighter. It's still a soft brown, but the new growth is very light, and it's much wispier and finer.
I have to admit, I hope it turns dark again and retains the curls. Her hair looked just like her daddy's when she was born, and I just loved it (I think his hair is his best feature). It'll be okay if she stays fair, of course, but I quite like dark hair.
Her eyes are pale blue-green, usually more blue than green, but in some light they definitely look green. My father has eyes that color, actually, although his aren't quite that pale. I think Andrew was hoping that Miranda would have my dark eyes, but that doesn't look like it's going to happen. Everyone in his family has gray, blue, or green eyes (or some combination of those), and it looks like both Miranda and Zoë are following suit.
It's actually amazing how different she looks from when she was born. The first year of a baby's life is amazing!
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