I've been putting off blogging this for weeks now, because it's one of those biggies that marks the shift from babyhood into childhood - for me at least. But today I was given another clear example and so I really don't think I can anymore...
Yes, Janel has started to talk! She's not completely consistent, nor do I think that she has fully grasped the concept of words having meaning yet, but I do think she's made the first few break-throughs. She says 'Dada', and most often when she's looking at or for Graeme (and sometimes just at any random man!). She has also just started saying 'Ta' when she passes something to you, or wants you to pass her something.
And today - blow me down! - she said 'Ki' while pointing at a cat, and then again later as the cat disappeared through the cat flap she looked around for it while saying 'Ki' again!!!!! I didn't think she'd seen enough cats (which I've told her are called 'kitty') to know what they were, but obviously I was wrong. She's definitely seen more dogs, but 'Doggy' hasn't been uttered yet.... clearly she's going to be a cat person! (That's my girl!) I'm a little disappointed that she hasn't started saying 'Mama' yet, but then Daddy is definitely her favourite person, so it's not all that surprising really.
I guess what this all means is that my little baby is growing up!! There'll be no stopping her once she really gets the concept of words having meaning (and once her toungue develops sufficiently to make all the relevant phonics) - she already understands so much of what we say, and seems to have a lot she wants to say back. On Monday we were playing with the ball and most of the time when I asked her to fetch it, she did. When I say 'Where's ...?' she usually looks around, so she's got the concept of 'Where', even if she doesn't know what object I'm asking her to look for.
She definitely also understands 'no' amd is already starting to push the boundaries with this one. We allow her to stand at the bookcase, but not to touch the books (she's already destroyed the jacket of one). So now she looks at us, while trying to stroke the spines, just to check whether we will say or do anything. Sigh! I get so tired of having to say 'no' 1000 times for the same object or action. Consistency, consistency. This parenting thing is exhausting! I can really understand now why so many parents opt for the TV as a babysitter! Actually getting down on hands and knees to play with your kids all the time, and parent them properly, takes a lot more energy and determination than feels comfortable.
I was just thinking that I wish she'd learn after just a few times of me saying something, and then was thinking about the kids I teach at school. At ages 11 plus, they STILL don't learn after a few times, so I can't really expect her to! If I feel like a stuck record at school, with kids who supposedly can think rationally (ha ha ha!!!), then a baby must surely have a lot more leeway in terms of learning experiences. Patience, Nicole, patience!
I'm finding the whole process of watching her grow up so exciting! Every development feels like such a major milestone and I'm so thrilled and privileged to be able to take part in it. The only regret I have is that I wasn't home to take part in this process with my nieces and nephews who are all older than Janel is. It makes me realise just how precious an experience it is and just what I've lost with them..... another reason to be heading home ASAP. (Jem - the flights aren't yet booked, but I promise you we'll be home next year!!!! Definitely before the end of winter, but hopefully well before then!)
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Monday, November 06, 2006
Specially for Uncle Philly
Thought you might enjoy this one, Phil! Glad to hear that you're a regular visitor to the site... and sorry, no 'Uncle Philly' noises yet. We'll work on that!
Nice clean shirts
Yesterday Nellie didn't eat particularly well, and the night before she had a really disturbed night. So last night we doped her up on baby Nurofen to get her to sleep properly in the hopes that she was just feeling a bit unwell and maybe in a bit of pain from her teeth.
She slept through (more or less), which was great, and after her early morning bottle (around 5am) went straight back to sleep instead of playing for a while. That should have been a warning bell to us.... Anyway, when she then woke up again around 6.30am, she was very floppy and a bit unresponsive, as well as being slightly hot. We didn't think too much of it, till about 7am, when, without warning, she promptly threw up all over Graeme and herself.
While Graeme changed shirt, I cleaned her up. I then handed her back to him while I finished off something else, thinking that as she'd thrown up they'd both be fine. Not so. She promptly threw up again, on his second nice clean shirt! Poor chap!
She's fine now (more or less - she's has a slight temperature today and has been feeling very sorry for herself), and fortunately the unresponsiveness disappeared (or I would have taken her to A&E), but I decided to stay at home with her. I'm really glad I did, because I know that if I were feeling as miserable as she clearly has been, I'd want my mommy and the way she's clung on to me today and just wanted to cuddle continuously has just confirmed for me that I made the right decision.
Anyway, now to try to get her to sleep a bit more....
She slept through (more or less), which was great, and after her early morning bottle (around 5am) went straight back to sleep instead of playing for a while. That should have been a warning bell to us.... Anyway, when she then woke up again around 6.30am, she was very floppy and a bit unresponsive, as well as being slightly hot. We didn't think too much of it, till about 7am, when, without warning, she promptly threw up all over Graeme and herself.
While Graeme changed shirt, I cleaned her up. I then handed her back to him while I finished off something else, thinking that as she'd thrown up they'd both be fine. Not so. She promptly threw up again, on his second nice clean shirt! Poor chap!
She's fine now (more or less - she's has a slight temperature today and has been feeling very sorry for herself), and fortunately the unresponsiveness disappeared (or I would have taken her to A&E), but I decided to stay at home with her. I'm really glad I did, because I know that if I were feeling as miserable as she clearly has been, I'd want my mommy and the way she's clung on to me today and just wanted to cuddle continuously has just confirmed for me that I made the right decision.
Anyway, now to try to get her to sleep a bit more....
Friday, November 03, 2006
The missing photo!
Here it is. There were some changes that needed to be made to the blog (updating from one server to another) and now it seems to be working fine again! Thank goodness!At the same time I discovered that there were a whole bunch of comments that had got lost in the ether, so if you've not seen yours and wondered what was going on - SORRY!! They've now been found and published.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Peekaboo!
Nellie really is the cutest little thing! Today she made me laugh.
She has discovered that she can crawl behind the lounge chairs and that this is where some of her toys are stored. (It saves us carrying them backwards and forwards to her room.) I don't want to encourage her to crawl back there, as there are plugs and wires and things. Anyway, this morning, as she started to crawl behind the furniture I decided to try to distract her by calling out "Where's Nellie?" I used the same tone of voice that I use when we play peekaboo. Surprisingly, she crawled back out and stood up to look over the arm of the chair. When I cried out, "There's Nellie!" she laughed, and ducked behind the arm again.
I called her again, and she reappeared, giggling delightedly as I cried out "There's Nellie!" again. This went on for several minutes. It's the first time that we've ever played this game and she's been the one to do the hiding and reappearing. She was SO cute and so obviously enjoyed being the active partner in the game that I couldn't help laughing! I only wish I could have captured it on video for posterity.
The other good news is that all is well with Baby #2. I've been having a lot of pain is this pregnancy, and because Janel was prem, there's a good chance this one will be too. As a result, I've been given a lot of extra maternity care. I now have a consultant and a specialist, in addition to my midwife and GP, that I need to see regularly for a different set of ultrasound scans and to have more blood tests done. These scans will measure my cervix and the bloods will check for infections, both of which are indicators of possible premature birth. Today's scan gave me the all clear for the moment, which hopefully means that this baby will go to term. Thank God for small mercies! Let's hope and pray everything remains healthy for the rest of the pregnancy.
Because my stomach and pelvic floor muscles haven't yet fully recovered, I'm already experiencing that 'dropping' feeling (like when the baby has engaged and sits low down) whenever I cough or laugh, and my bump is already MUCH bigger than it was at this stage with Janel. Compare this photo to the photo on the post from 28 Oct 2005. That photo is from week 26, and this one is from 18 weeks (taken on Wed night, but I'll be 18 weeks tomorrow), so a good 8 weeks difference.
Well - I tried to upload it... and after 2 days it still won't upload, so I'm going to post this and try to load the photo separately...
She has discovered that she can crawl behind the lounge chairs and that this is where some of her toys are stored. (It saves us carrying them backwards and forwards to her room.) I don't want to encourage her to crawl back there, as there are plugs and wires and things. Anyway, this morning, as she started to crawl behind the furniture I decided to try to distract her by calling out "Where's Nellie?" I used the same tone of voice that I use when we play peekaboo. Surprisingly, she crawled back out and stood up to look over the arm of the chair. When I cried out, "There's Nellie!" she laughed, and ducked behind the arm again.
I called her again, and she reappeared, giggling delightedly as I cried out "There's Nellie!" again. This went on for several minutes. It's the first time that we've ever played this game and she's been the one to do the hiding and reappearing. She was SO cute and so obviously enjoyed being the active partner in the game that I couldn't help laughing! I only wish I could have captured it on video for posterity.
The other good news is that all is well with Baby #2. I've been having a lot of pain is this pregnancy, and because Janel was prem, there's a good chance this one will be too. As a result, I've been given a lot of extra maternity care. I now have a consultant and a specialist, in addition to my midwife and GP, that I need to see regularly for a different set of ultrasound scans and to have more blood tests done. These scans will measure my cervix and the bloods will check for infections, both of which are indicators of possible premature birth. Today's scan gave me the all clear for the moment, which hopefully means that this baby will go to term. Thank God for small mercies! Let's hope and pray everything remains healthy for the rest of the pregnancy.
Because my stomach and pelvic floor muscles haven't yet fully recovered, I'm already experiencing that 'dropping' feeling (like when the baby has engaged and sits low down) whenever I cough or laugh, and my bump is already MUCH bigger than it was at this stage with Janel. Compare this photo to the photo on the post from 28 Oct 2005. That photo is from week 26, and this one is from 18 weeks (taken on Wed night, but I'll be 18 weeks tomorrow), so a good 8 weeks difference.
Well - I tried to upload it... and after 2 days it still won't upload, so I'm going to post this and try to load the photo separately...
Sunday, October 29, 2006
What a week
We've just returned from visiting a friend, Belinda, who lives in Bosnia. (You can view her blog as it's bookmarked on the right of ours.) We had a fabulous time, with the most gorgeous weather!! As an added 'bonus', Janel's top teeth finally cut through. We did have a few disturbed nights, but nothing we're unaccustomed to. 
One of the constant comments we got was about te fact that Janel was often outdoors barefoot and often without a jersey. In temperatures in the high 20's C, it made sense to us (what glorius weather we had!!!), but apparently in Bosnia it's a big no-no to go barefoot. You see, you get ill that way, apparently. Ahh well, that's foreigners for you!
The other family in the block we were staying in had a baby about the same age as Janel, which was lovely as they had a swing for him. Here she is enjoying the swing. She loves swinging, so this was a special treat for her. We must get one of those when we go home next year!
Over the past month or so we've tried to capture some of her more epic moments on camera, rather than on film. (We're having major problems getting the film we've got converted to CD so we can put it on the web...)
Here are a selection of our favourites: First - eating my feet (I've just rediscovered them!)
Second - my 'no thanks' face.
And lastly, my newest occupation - unpacking anything and everything I can get into!
Well, that's all folks - for now at any rate.
One of the constant comments we got was about te fact that Janel was often outdoors barefoot and often without a jersey. In temperatures in the high 20's C, it made sense to us (what glorius weather we had!!!), but apparently in Bosnia it's a big no-no to go barefoot. You see, you get ill that way, apparently. Ahh well, that's foreigners for you!
The other family in the block we were staying in had a baby about the same age as Janel, which was lovely as they had a swing for him. Here she is enjoying the swing. She loves swinging, so this was a special treat for her. We must get one of those when we go home next year!Over the past month or so we've tried to capture some of her more epic moments on camera, rather than on film. (We're having major problems getting the film we've got converted to CD so we can put it on the web...)
Here are a selection of our favourites: First - eating my feet (I've just rediscovered them!)
Second - my 'no thanks' face.
And lastly, my newest occupation - unpacking anything and everything I can get into!
Well, that's all folks - for now at any rate.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Caught in the act!!
Janel spent this weekend with her grandparents (Tata and Gogo) while N&G went to town to see "Spamalot" and spend the night in a friend's flat. While we were away, Janel had her first brush with the long arm of the law (almost) - Tata takes up the story:
"We had gone for a walk on the common, and had taken a side journey into Tesco's to indulge my whim for a choclatey Aero, as is my wont. I purchased the chocolate, and the checkout lady was cooing over Janel who was cooing back all innocently, with no indication of the scandal that was to come. We were heading for the door and the security check when I noticed that Janel had a bag of Maltesers in her lap and was attempting to break and/or enter them. With the security guard hovering suspiciously, we returned to the scene of the crime to find the Maltesers at an easy-grab buggy's height. I have spread the word at the church, asking Janel's godparents and other significant members of the congregation to pray for Janel and her home situation, as this is clearly learned rather than inate behaviour, and one shudders to think what evil deeds have already been perpetrated!!"
So there you go - an accomplished criminal mastermind already. ;-)
"We had gone for a walk on the common, and had taken a side journey into Tesco's to indulge my whim for a choclatey Aero, as is my wont. I purchased the chocolate, and the checkout lady was cooing over Janel who was cooing back all innocently, with no indication of the scandal that was to come. We were heading for the door and the security check when I noticed that Janel had a bag of Maltesers in her lap and was attempting to break and/or enter them. With the security guard hovering suspiciously, we returned to the scene of the crime to find the Maltesers at an easy-grab buggy's height. I have spread the word at the church, asking Janel's godparents and other significant members of the congregation to pray for Janel and her home situation, as this is clearly learned rather than inate behaviour, and one shudders to think what evil deeds have already been perpetrated!!"
So there you go - an accomplished criminal mastermind already. ;-)
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