Angelie is 18 months old. Boy does the time fly. Someone told me once that with kids, the days are long, but the years go fast. Too true.
Angelie is changing by the day. Her speech is becoming so much clearer and it improves virtually overnight. Most recently, from one day to the next, "cow" replaced "moo" and "pig" replaced the babysign equivalent. Her words are less garbled and she doesn't require a Mommy-translation as frequently for other people to understand her.
She's developed an intense love of television and has started requesting her favourite shows: Dora the Explore, Blues Clues, Elmo's World, and occasionally Barney. She can recognise merchandise from a few other shows in the toy catalogues which have started arriving at the door these past few weeks. Mommy tries to limit the amount of TV she watches in a day, but I admit that TV is useful when trying to prepare dinner or make a phone call.
We've had a rough few weeks with back to back colds and car trouble, so have spent more time indoors than usual, and in turn have faced a disruption in routine and sleep schedules. Part of that is because of the cold, and part from lack of stimulation (other than Mommy). Also with Angelie's growing independence during the day, she's becoming more cuddly and clingy in the night. She often requests to sleep with us, which results in none of us sleeping well, so we discourage it. We did allow it one night when she was really sick and her breathing was laboured, and that's all the encouragement she's needed.
What's helped keep Angelie in her own bed is an over-abundance of furry friends. At times it's hard to see Angelie in the crib because of the stuffed animals surrounding her. I often peek in on her as I head to bed myself and now have to go completely into her room and lean over the crib to see her in the nest of bears she's made herself.
Besides the growing independence and verbal skills, we're seeing a surge in intuitive thinking and problem solving. If there are two critters of a certain species, one is the Mama, and one is the Aiyi (that's how she says her own name). If there is a third critter then it's often the Dada. When she plays with them, they walk and talk and kiss each other. She follows directions very well, when she wants to, and understands a lot. Daddy called her a wiggle bum and she very deliberately stood and wiggled her bum back and forth. Physically she's growing quickly too. Her hair is almost long enough for pig-tails. She climbs onto our bed by herself. If she stretches she can reach items on the edge of the kitchen counter. She has pushed the kitchen chair across the kitchen to get things off the counter, like helping herself to fruit in the fruit bowl. And she's been taken down off the kitchen table more times than I can count and even once out of the kitchen sink. She can no longer be left alone in a room for a minute.
Angelie generally loves water, but for two weeks she refused her evening bath (but continued to have her morning shower with Mommy so she wasn't dirty), for no reason I believe other than exerting her free will. We've come through that now, and she's happily playing in the tub again.
I love watching her learn new tricks and new words and seeing her develop into the smart little girl I know she is. But sometimes I want to slow her down, just a little, so I can enjoy my baby longer. Because she's not going to be a baby for long.
Angelie is changing by the day. Her speech is becoming so much clearer and it improves virtually overnight. Most recently, from one day to the next, "cow" replaced "moo" and "pig" replaced the babysign equivalent. Her words are less garbled and she doesn't require a Mommy-translation as frequently for other people to understand her.
She's developed an intense love of television and has started requesting her favourite shows: Dora the Explore, Blues Clues, Elmo's World, and occasionally Barney. She can recognise merchandise from a few other shows in the toy catalogues which have started arriving at the door these past few weeks. Mommy tries to limit the amount of TV she watches in a day, but I admit that TV is useful when trying to prepare dinner or make a phone call.
We've had a rough few weeks with back to back colds and car trouble, so have spent more time indoors than usual, and in turn have faced a disruption in routine and sleep schedules. Part of that is because of the cold, and part from lack of stimulation (other than Mommy). Also with Angelie's growing independence during the day, she's becoming more cuddly and clingy in the night. She often requests to sleep with us, which results in none of us sleeping well, so we discourage it. We did allow it one night when she was really sick and her breathing was laboured, and that's all the encouragement she's needed.
What's helped keep Angelie in her own bed is an over-abundance of furry friends. At times it's hard to see Angelie in the crib because of the stuffed animals surrounding her. I often peek in on her as I head to bed myself and now have to go completely into her room and lean over the crib to see her in the nest of bears she's made herself.
Besides the growing independence and verbal skills, we're seeing a surge in intuitive thinking and problem solving. If there are two critters of a certain species, one is the Mama, and one is the Aiyi (that's how she says her own name). If there is a third critter then it's often the Dada. When she plays with them, they walk and talk and kiss each other. She follows directions very well, when she wants to, and understands a lot. Daddy called her a wiggle bum and she very deliberately stood and wiggled her bum back and forth. Physically she's growing quickly too. Her hair is almost long enough for pig-tails. She climbs onto our bed by herself. If she stretches she can reach items on the edge of the kitchen counter. She has pushed the kitchen chair across the kitchen to get things off the counter, like helping herself to fruit in the fruit bowl. And she's been taken down off the kitchen table more times than I can count and even once out of the kitchen sink. She can no longer be left alone in a room for a minute.
Angelie generally loves water, but for two weeks she refused her evening bath (but continued to have her morning shower with Mommy so she wasn't dirty), for no reason I believe other than exerting her free will. We've come through that now, and she's happily playing in the tub again.
I love watching her learn new tricks and new words and seeing her develop into the smart little girl I know she is. But sometimes I want to slow her down, just a little, so I can enjoy my baby longer. Because she's not going to be a baby for long.
posted by Dawn at 1:59 PM
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