Alyssa has been taking on new experiences like crazy lately. We switched her to sippy cups, just a couple of weeks ago, which she surprisingly took to rather easily. Well, we’d been talking about trying to get her to drink from a straw, before she got too “set” on sippy cups, remembering that we had a hard time getting Katrina to do so, when she was around 2 or so. We had also heard from friends of ours whose daughter is really close in age that 15 months is a good time for it & they’ve already got her drinking from them. So, we decided it’d be good to “follow suit”. We were originally planning on waiting until the weekend, when we were at home, to avoid any “public tantrums” from the “big change”. However, we made a crucial mistake – on Friday evening, when we went out to dinner, we accidentally left the diaper bag at home & no, we don’t keep a “back up sippy cup” in the car, unfortunately… So, we had to order milk from the fast food restaurant, which they put in a cup for us, but then, we had to get a straw. Aly was *not* a “happy camper”. Luckily, she’s still at an age where we give her food to her first, then give her the milk at the end of her meal. That made most of our dinnertime peaceful. But, as her Daddy patiently tried to struggle with her, she broke the restaurant’s silence, by well, just being a toddler, really… Screaming, throwing her head back, kicking her feet – your classic, “I don’t wanna do this & you’re not gonna make me” tantrum… *sigh* It was rather chaotic & all the time, we just endured, trying to ignore the other patrons’ obvious annoyances. She did get a little bit of milk down her & once her Big Sister was done eating, we decided to go. Well, the next morning, after her breakfast, we tried one of the “transitional” straw cups (ones with short, plastic straws) we’d already purchased & had at home, for some time & she took to them, right away! Jeremy gave it to her & although she struggled a little at first, she actually let him help her, which made it all the more easy. Here at home, we’ve been giving them to her with no problems, ever since. We still take sippy cups when we go out, just because they are “spill proof”, but now we have the feeling that if we accidentally forget & have to use a straw again, it won’t be a big issue…

Just the other day, we were in the car & noticed something funny & cute that Aly was doing, too. She had gotten the hiccups, sometime before we got in the car & as we were driving home, we heard them off & on, small & spontaneous, as usual. But, this time, they began to be followed by giggles! Then, she actually did it – started “faking them”! It was as though she was wondering where they had come from & where they had gone & was trying to reproduce them! It was too precious, because not only would she make a “hiccup-like” sound, but then, you’d hear her little laughter immediately following, so it was obvious that she was doing it herself. I love seeing babies take in & realize new things about themselves & the world around them! 🙂