Just before I put Nellie down for a nap this afternoon we were standing in the passage. She was, once again, chewing on her fingers. So I asked her whether she had an "owwie". She nodded her head, made the sign for "owwie". So I asked her where it was "owwie". She made the sign again, and pointed to her teeth ("feef")! Now I ask you with tears in my eyes - isn't that the sweetest thing?
So then I asked her whether she wanted Mommy to make the "owwie" "all gone". She nodded, and repeated "all gone". I asked her to come into the kitchen for some medicine (meddies), which she did - opening her mouth in readiness for it before I'd even poured it on the spoon.
This kid is smart, let me tell you. She just needs a way to communicate with the rest of us idiots.
We were out in the garden earlier and there was a pile of leaves, sticks and small stones that the wind had blown into one corner of our patio. Nellie wanted to sit on the little wall behind this pile of stuff, but because she was bare foot, she didn't want to walk over it. I don't blame her. I wouldn't want to either. My little feet are pretty tender - it's all this wearing shoes thing in the UK... Anyway, when I showed her how to rake the leaves away using her rake, she was thrilled and spent the next 15 minutes raking the stuff everywhere - and I do mean everywhere. Again, wish I'd thought to video it...
Still, she had fun, and that's all the matters. Being clean and tidy, I'm learning, is just not going to happen when there's a toddler in the house, so it's pointless fighting it or getting my guts in a knot about it. (Later on I did go and sweep it all up though... I can only bear it for so long...)
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Thursday, May 17, 2007
She's learning
Some days it's incredible to think you can go from wanting to shoot your kid to wanting to eat her up she's so cute.
Picture it. 2007. May. It's been raining pretty much non-stop for 10 days. The skies are thunderstorm grey, and have been for days. Neither of us was in a particularly good mood. I hadn't slept very well last night, and she's been teething, so is suffering. Add a plate of food into the mix, and we've got a fight brewing.
After half an hour of her crying I gave up. So, for lunch today she ate 6 raisins, 1 spoon of yoghurt and 2 spoons of food. Not a heck of a lot. I didn't lose my temper with her during this ordeal, but I was still massively angry with her afterwards for not eating. I can hold a grudge like no-one else I know!
This is the third day in a row when she has had about 4 hrs worth of naps and done 3 or 4 runny poos during the day. Usually she has 2 hrs worth of naps and does 1 (solid) poo. She is definitely not OK, but I know that a lot of the fighting over food is just her being stubborn, which only makes me more angry. I know her gums are sore (her fingers are permanently glued to them, even WITH her dummy in her mouth!), but this food thing is not because of that. She's just being otherwise and obstreperous.
How do I know this? Because for supper tonight she ate all the food that she refused to eat at lunch, and more. Not only did she eat a jar of Lancashire hotpot, but she finished a yogurt, a fruit pot, a veggie pot, a carrot stick (!!!!! she's NEVER eaten carrot sticks before) and 2 biscuits. And mostly without too much fuss. So it's not that she doesn't like the food, she just refuses to eat it unless I intersperse the proper food with mouthfuls of sweet food. I really don't want to do that because she needs to stay off the sweet stuff. She also refuses to eat if I ask her to feed herself. No thanks - she likes to be able to play with her food and a spoon while she gets fed, but she point blank refuses to put that spoon into her mouth if it has food on it. AARRRGGHH!!
But then, at the other end of the spectrum, she is just the cutest, sweetest little girl alive, and I could just eat her up at times.
Like this afternoon/ evening. We'd had a reasonable amount of fun at a One 'o clock club (free council run centres with toys and activities for the under 5's) this afternoon while dodging the rain. When we got home I gave her a bottle, which she sat drinking by herself in the lounge. Now that's another first! Usually she insists that we sit with her, but she didn't complain once. Then off she went to bed for another 2 hr nap (it would have been longer if we hadn't woken her).
When Graeme brought her into the bedroom, she wanted to cuddle with me! There is nothing so special as your little girl wanting to cuddle with you! Before G headed out again for a meeting the 3 of us spent some time on the bed tickling each other. She was so cute, trying to tickle my feet and G's back. We all had a really good chuckle together.
I then fed her and bathed her. Bath time was another bundle of laughs. Firstly, she deliberately tried to splash me - which again was a first for both of us. Then, she made the sign for fish and we spent time talking about the fish, complete with facial expressions and hand movements that I wish I had captured on film! She is so serious about whatever it is she's trying to say (I often don't have a clue!) that I can't help but laugh at how cute she is. Finally, she told me her bum was sore, all using signs! After all the pooing she's been doing recently, I'm not surprised, but I was THRILLED that she was able to tell me about it. This signing thing is definitely a winner.
I have no doubt that when she becomes a teenager we're going to have a rough ride. She is as stubborn and strong-willed as a mule (she takes after her mother in that department). I really hope that she and I won't clash often, but I don't see how we can avoid that. We already clash terribly over food, which she invariably wins. I dread to think what it'll be like when she's hormonal.
She's got me wrapped around her little finger though. I just love her to bits. All it takes is one little smile from her, one little expression and I can't help but laugh, and all my anger evaporates. And when she tells me something and is able to communicate with me, it brings such joy to my heart. I can't wait till she's able to talk properly! I just love getting to know my precious darling - watching her growing up is such an adventure and I thank God for her.
Picture it. 2007. May. It's been raining pretty much non-stop for 10 days. The skies are thunderstorm grey, and have been for days. Neither of us was in a particularly good mood. I hadn't slept very well last night, and she's been teething, so is suffering. Add a plate of food into the mix, and we've got a fight brewing.
After half an hour of her crying I gave up. So, for lunch today she ate 6 raisins, 1 spoon of yoghurt and 2 spoons of food. Not a heck of a lot. I didn't lose my temper with her during this ordeal, but I was still massively angry with her afterwards for not eating. I can hold a grudge like no-one else I know!
This is the third day in a row when she has had about 4 hrs worth of naps and done 3 or 4 runny poos during the day. Usually she has 2 hrs worth of naps and does 1 (solid) poo. She is definitely not OK, but I know that a lot of the fighting over food is just her being stubborn, which only makes me more angry. I know her gums are sore (her fingers are permanently glued to them, even WITH her dummy in her mouth!), but this food thing is not because of that. She's just being otherwise and obstreperous.
How do I know this? Because for supper tonight she ate all the food that she refused to eat at lunch, and more. Not only did she eat a jar of Lancashire hotpot, but she finished a yogurt, a fruit pot, a veggie pot, a carrot stick (!!!!! she's NEVER eaten carrot sticks before) and 2 biscuits. And mostly without too much fuss. So it's not that she doesn't like the food, she just refuses to eat it unless I intersperse the proper food with mouthfuls of sweet food. I really don't want to do that because she needs to stay off the sweet stuff. She also refuses to eat if I ask her to feed herself. No thanks - she likes to be able to play with her food and a spoon while she gets fed, but she point blank refuses to put that spoon into her mouth if it has food on it. AARRRGGHH!!
But then, at the other end of the spectrum, she is just the cutest, sweetest little girl alive, and I could just eat her up at times.
Like this afternoon/ evening. We'd had a reasonable amount of fun at a One 'o clock club (free council run centres with toys and activities for the under 5's) this afternoon while dodging the rain. When we got home I gave her a bottle, which she sat drinking by herself in the lounge. Now that's another first! Usually she insists that we sit with her, but she didn't complain once. Then off she went to bed for another 2 hr nap (it would have been longer if we hadn't woken her).
When Graeme brought her into the bedroom, she wanted to cuddle with me! There is nothing so special as your little girl wanting to cuddle with you! Before G headed out again for a meeting the 3 of us spent some time on the bed tickling each other. She was so cute, trying to tickle my feet and G's back. We all had a really good chuckle together.
I then fed her and bathed her. Bath time was another bundle of laughs. Firstly, she deliberately tried to splash me - which again was a first for both of us. Then, she made the sign for fish and we spent time talking about the fish, complete with facial expressions and hand movements that I wish I had captured on film! She is so serious about whatever it is she's trying to say (I often don't have a clue!) that I can't help but laugh at how cute she is. Finally, she told me her bum was sore, all using signs! After all the pooing she's been doing recently, I'm not surprised, but I was THRILLED that she was able to tell me about it. This signing thing is definitely a winner.
I have no doubt that when she becomes a teenager we're going to have a rough ride. She is as stubborn and strong-willed as a mule (she takes after her mother in that department). I really hope that she and I won't clash often, but I don't see how we can avoid that. We already clash terribly over food, which she invariably wins. I dread to think what it'll be like when she's hormonal.
She's got me wrapped around her little finger though. I just love her to bits. All it takes is one little smile from her, one little expression and I can't help but laugh, and all my anger evaporates. And when she tells me something and is able to communicate with me, it brings such joy to my heart. I can't wait till she's able to talk properly! I just love getting to know my precious darling - watching her growing up is such an adventure and I thank God for her.
Cute kids
Graeme forwarded me this very cute story about kids from a message board he belongs to...
I Learned Something About Kids Recently...
...I learned over the past few days that kids retain everything.
Flashback to Saturday: We were visiting the grandparents, and Shayla (going on 18 months) was getting a bit fussy. One of her favorite things in the world is to go for a walk, so I took her for a lap around the development.
As we walked, she was her usual full-of-questions-well-actually-only-one-question self.
"Wazzat?""That's a car. We use them to get from place to place. Vroom vroom."
"Wazzat?""That's a squirrel. They're kinda cute, but there more of a pain to homeowners than anything."
"Wazzat?""That's a barbeque grill. We use them to cook up meat, like yummy hamburgers and hot dogs."
"Wazzat?"That's litter. Someone thought that the street would be a good place for his old McDonald's bag. That someone is what we call a 'scumbag'."
"Wazzat?""That's a street sign. It shows us what street we're on. Of course, some nitwit turned it so now it's inaccurate, but you get the idea. Well, actually, you don't, since you're too young to understand 99% of what I'm saying, but just hearing my voice explaining things is good for your development."
Flashforward to this morning: Ok, time to take Shayla to day care. Unfortunately, I didn't get a parking spot in front of out house last night, so we'll have to walk the block to the car. No biggie.
As we walk, hand in hand, my daughter ever-so-cute in her new dress, a guy rides by on his bicycle. Carrying a Coke bottle. Which he casually drops in the street.
And a little voice pipes up: "SCUBBAG!!"
Damn, I love this kid.
I Learned Something About Kids Recently...
...I learned over the past few days that kids retain everything.
Flashback to Saturday: We were visiting the grandparents, and Shayla (going on 18 months) was getting a bit fussy. One of her favorite things in the world is to go for a walk, so I took her for a lap around the development.
As we walked, she was her usual full-of-questions-well-actually-only-one-question self.
"Wazzat?""That's a car. We use them to get from place to place. Vroom vroom."
"Wazzat?""That's a squirrel. They're kinda cute, but there more of a pain to homeowners than anything."
"Wazzat?""That's a barbeque grill. We use them to cook up meat, like yummy hamburgers and hot dogs."
"Wazzat?"That's litter. Someone thought that the street would be a good place for his old McDonald's bag. That someone is what we call a 'scumbag'."
"Wazzat?""That's a street sign. It shows us what street we're on. Of course, some nitwit turned it so now it's inaccurate, but you get the idea. Well, actually, you don't, since you're too young to understand 99% of what I'm saying, but just hearing my voice explaining things is good for your development."
Flashforward to this morning: Ok, time to take Shayla to day care. Unfortunately, I didn't get a parking spot in front of out house last night, so we'll have to walk the block to the car. No biggie.
As we walk, hand in hand, my daughter ever-so-cute in her new dress, a guy rides by on his bicycle. Carrying a Coke bottle. Which he casually drops in the street.
And a little voice pipes up: "SCUBBAG!!"
Damn, I love this kid.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Time for Nellie...
Easter was a good time for Nellie, although she really doesn't seem to like chocolate - evidenced by the fact that she's very happy to give it away. Of course, Mommy (behind the camera) is not going to say no to free chocolate!
Granny's visit was over far too quickly...The latest development is that Nellie is quickly learning to baby sign. In addition to 'more', she is now starting to sign 'please' and 'thank you', and 'nappy'. Of course, she still gets them all mixed-up, but the fact that she's trying is very cute. She has also learnt to put her hand in front of her mouth when she coughs, which is just so sweet!
Fortunately, it seems that Mommy and Daddy are learning what her different cavewoman grunts mean, so we've had fewer tears of frustration recently. Of course, it now seems that her molars are starting to move around in her jaw, because she's started drooling and chewing on her fingers again. Associated with this have been bouts of crying for no apparent reason, so I'm hoping they are just because she's in pain, rather than that she's crying because she's picked up on our grief.
She's also learning to pick up after herself. We've started to insist that if she deliberately throws things off her highchair she picks them up after the meal. Likewise, we've started insisting that she helps clean up when we're done playing. This has also resulted in some tears, but that's more about the fact that we're defining boundaries than anything else. In general, she really seems to enjoy doing what we ask - either bringing things to us so we can put them away or putting her toys back into their bags/ boxes. Long may her enjoyment of this last!!
Summer seems to have arrived - over the weekend we had temperatures in the mid-20's! This is when I thank God our flat has outdoor space where Nellie can ride her car, push her pram and throw her ball. She has also been learning to garden with her spade and little basket, and plenty of Mommy's unused plastic pots. She has a little watering can, but if we fill it with water she seems more intent on watering herself than any plant, so we haven't done much of that.
Of course, like all children, she's also spent quite a bit of time eating soil, and then coming to us to have her tongue brushed off.... I keep telling myself not to worry - she'll soon grow out of the need to mouth everything, and in the meantime eating soil will only build up her immune system....
With the improved weather, and more time spent outdoors, and with Mommy being in a place to give her a little more quality attention, Nellie has been really happy the last few days. She is the one bright thing in our lives at the moment, and we both thank God for her and for the way she brightens up our lives. 'You are my sunshine, my only sunshine...'
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Milestones??
On Sunday we went to church. We purposely arrived late and sat right at the back so that we wouldn't have to talk to people for a while. It was an all-age service, which meant the kids were in for the entire service. That was okay, as I don't think I would've wanted Nellie to be out of sight in the creche (plus one of us would have had to have been with her because she still doesn't settle there without us...).
The sermon was good - all about what it means for Jesus to be king - nothing too emotional. I found the worship really tough - not because I couldn't acknowledge God as all-powerful king, but because doing so means letting go of Zoe in some ways. Graeme didn't manage to engage at all with any of it as he was running around after Nellie. Tea after the service was ok. Mostly people were lovely - neither too caught up in their own grief nor too distant from ours. There were a few people who kept their distance that we had hoped would say something, but there was only one person whose expression of grief I felt I had to manage. The rest were just amazing.
So, all in all, a tough morning, but not a bad one. At least now we've seen a chunk of the church members, which should make the Easter service easier, and should make the funeral easier too, as it won't be the first time we're seeing people. One milestone (if you can call it that) down...
Another milestone was going to meet Ella. She's gorgeous - looks just like her parents! (But if you know her parents you know there's no way she could be anything but gorgeous as they are both very good-looking people!) Seeing her was a lot easier than either of us expected it to be. We had thought we would need to weep, but that wasn't the case. For me, there were only one or two moments where I felt a pang (and caught myself thinking about how I wasn't going to have that problem/ feeling/ bond for at least another year), but nothing overwhelming, thank God. Having a cuddle was very special - there is something so incredible, so holy, about newborns.... I don't know if you truly appreciate that when it's your child. I think you're just too tired and wrung out. I certainly wasn't as aware of it with Nellie, or with Zoe, as I was with Ella. Odd. Anyway, we were really able to celebrate her, and celebrate with her parents, and that was very special too.
It felt odd being the experienced ones though and seeing them struggle with all the issues that first-time parents have (sleep??? what's that??? when will my milk come in?? is she feeding enough?? why won't she stop crying?? how do you hold her??... etc, etc, etc). I can remember how out of my depth I felt, and it was great to be able to reassure them both that while this first week is tough, things get progressively easier.
On the Nellie front, things have been up and down. After we got the news about Ella on Saturday, and had spent the rest of the day feeling devastated, Nellie was extremely anxious on Sunday. Fortunately, she had a really good day with the child minder on Monday, so was much happier last night and again today.
I can't remember whether I've blogged that she's started eating raisins (finally!! some fruit that she really enjoys - she's gone off whole pieces of any other fruit, and isn't wild about pureed fruit either anymore). Needless to say, in an effort to get fruit into her, she's now got a runny tummy.... hmm. Maybe Mommy is getting over-excited about the raisins.
She also said another word the other day - yodit - meaning yoghurt. So cute! She's learnt to make the sign for 'more', which means that we have another way of checking if she's still hungry towards the end of mealtimes. And she's started trying to communicate to us when she's done a poo!! She's also starting to learn the sign for 'nappy', which will help with this. Potty training here we come... in a little while. Let's get through the funeral first, then we'll hang on a bit longer for the warmer weather to become more predictable before we venture forth into this next phase of toddlerhood.
So - there are things still worth celebrating, even in the midst of all the pain and confusion, and we're trying to keep focussed on those things when we can. It helps with the pain; makes it slightly more bearable.
The sermon was good - all about what it means for Jesus to be king - nothing too emotional. I found the worship really tough - not because I couldn't acknowledge God as all-powerful king, but because doing so means letting go of Zoe in some ways. Graeme didn't manage to engage at all with any of it as he was running around after Nellie. Tea after the service was ok. Mostly people were lovely - neither too caught up in their own grief nor too distant from ours. There were a few people who kept their distance that we had hoped would say something, but there was only one person whose expression of grief I felt I had to manage. The rest were just amazing.
So, all in all, a tough morning, but not a bad one. At least now we've seen a chunk of the church members, which should make the Easter service easier, and should make the funeral easier too, as it won't be the first time we're seeing people. One milestone (if you can call it that) down...
Another milestone was going to meet Ella. She's gorgeous - looks just like her parents! (But if you know her parents you know there's no way she could be anything but gorgeous as they are both very good-looking people!) Seeing her was a lot easier than either of us expected it to be. We had thought we would need to weep, but that wasn't the case. For me, there were only one or two moments where I felt a pang (and caught myself thinking about how I wasn't going to have that problem/ feeling/ bond for at least another year), but nothing overwhelming, thank God. Having a cuddle was very special - there is something so incredible, so holy, about newborns.... I don't know if you truly appreciate that when it's your child. I think you're just too tired and wrung out. I certainly wasn't as aware of it with Nellie, or with Zoe, as I was with Ella. Odd. Anyway, we were really able to celebrate her, and celebrate with her parents, and that was very special too.
It felt odd being the experienced ones though and seeing them struggle with all the issues that first-time parents have (sleep??? what's that??? when will my milk come in?? is she feeding enough?? why won't she stop crying?? how do you hold her??... etc, etc, etc). I can remember how out of my depth I felt, and it was great to be able to reassure them both that while this first week is tough, things get progressively easier.
On the Nellie front, things have been up and down. After we got the news about Ella on Saturday, and had spent the rest of the day feeling devastated, Nellie was extremely anxious on Sunday. Fortunately, she had a really good day with the child minder on Monday, so was much happier last night and again today.
I can't remember whether I've blogged that she's started eating raisins (finally!! some fruit that she really enjoys - she's gone off whole pieces of any other fruit, and isn't wild about pureed fruit either anymore). Needless to say, in an effort to get fruit into her, she's now got a runny tummy.... hmm. Maybe Mommy is getting over-excited about the raisins.
She also said another word the other day - yodit - meaning yoghurt. So cute! She's learnt to make the sign for 'more', which means that we have another way of checking if she's still hungry towards the end of mealtimes. And she's started trying to communicate to us when she's done a poo!! She's also starting to learn the sign for 'nappy', which will help with this. Potty training here we come... in a little while. Let's get through the funeral first, then we'll hang on a bit longer for the warmer weather to become more predictable before we venture forth into this next phase of toddlerhood.
So - there are things still worth celebrating, even in the midst of all the pain and confusion, and we're trying to keep focussed on those things when we can. It helps with the pain; makes it slightly more bearable.
Tomorrow my mom arrives from SA, after about 25 hours of travel. (The cheapest flights always go via, via, via... with lay overs of several hours between connections.) It's going to be FANTASTIC having her here with us, but she's going to be too exhausted to think for a day or two I suspect! Funny how, even now as an adult, when things go wrong, all I want is my Mommy!!
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Language, language!
Recently, Nellie has taken to dropping items from her high chair on purpose, to watch us pick them up. Great new game! Today at lunch though, when she dropped something by mistake, it sounded like she said 'Oh shit!'. I nearly fell over laughing! I'm fairly sure it was a complete coincidence and that she didn't actually say that, but it was just so funny.
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