After a loooooong break

Haven't visited this blog for a looong time. A lot, and I mean a lot has happened in these few months.

Firstly, Aly learned to walk at 13.5 months. and then there was a mental leap that got her spitting out words like a bullet train. Till date, she has a vocabulary bank of more than 180 spoken words, and more than 230 understood words. On top of that she's able to answer quite a number of questions with yes or no. E.g. Do you want to take a bath? And she'll say "yesh". I'd really like to list a few words she can say.. but that will have to wait till I can find the time to do so. Oh yes, she's also gotten quite good at 3 words sentences. Like.. baby wear shoes, baby wear shades. etc. She even said a 4 word sentence a few days back, but I can't remember what it was =(

She's also started learning how to count. I'll say 1, 2 and she'll say 3. I'll say 4, 5, 6, 7,8, and she'll say 9 and 10. But she has learned the consequence of saying 9 and 10 means some fun activity will end. So she has learned that in order to prolong fun time, she'll prolong saying 9 and 10.. or just say no when she's supposed to say 9 or 10. =/

She's also learned distraction techniques. Like when I catch her doing something naughty, she'll very quickly "distract" me with her tricks (like pointing to her body parts and naming them.. baby... eyes) or pointing and naming other objects, or asking me to do something for her. =/

At 17 months, her stranger anxiety has skyrocketed. She'll literally claw on to me when a stranger approaches and she's even started showing her "shy" face. Frozen body, very very quiet, her head bowed down. Which is actually pretty cute to watch! Really similar to how cartoons portray shy kids.

She knows every single one of my students by name and face, and she can now say all of their names. All 34 of them. She's also extremely helpful. She'll pick up rubbish when she sees any, and she'll help me deliver test papers to students. I'll go: Baby, give this to koko ____ and she'll do it. =D

She also started referring to herself as "baby" 1.5 months back. She'll say baby this... baby that... she's able to differentiate between what is daddy's and mommy's and what is baby's.

She also learned to walk backwards 2 months ago and she's been learning to run. Trips alot and somehow has learned to blame the floor - a habit I am in the midst of breaking, but I wonder how she got the idea in the first place. That and the idea of stepping on an ant when she sees one! Argg..

Sleep wise, she's getting way easier to settle down now, and I've stopped carrying her to sleep for more than 6 months now. =) And 2 months ago, she started falling asleep in her own cot as opposed to our bed. =) Next step of sleep training is to get her to fall asleep without body contact (patting) and singing.. and finally to be able to fall asleep without me.

She's also been getting extra cheeky, testing and pushing boundaries every hour!And it seems that she more or less knows when she's crossed a line. There'll be this cautious look on her face as she scans my facial expressions and tone of voice.

Sooo.. that's all the updates I have for now. Will try to blog more now that I'm on a long holiday. Hopefully upload some recent pictures of her too!


Ah.. in the mean time.. please keep us in prayers, we've been TTC for 2 months now, but so far, no + signs yet. =( It is disappointing and frustrating.. the whole wait and trying.. wait and trying... But.. that's all that we can do.

So very true!

Hehehe! Some humor to fill my day. So true, so true.

Dadeeeeeeee

Last Thursday (30th July 2011), while carrying her down the stairs to head for work, I said "mommy" call "mommy". And it happened... she said Maaa meee.... <3 ahhh bliss!!!!

Then I proceeded to say... Say "daddy" and she said daaaaa deeeeee. <3 Justin melted!

Since then, she's preferred saying 'daddy' over 'mommy'. This morning, she woke up chuckling, so Justin couldn't resist and brought her to the bed. And he said say daddy, and she did! As clear as day.. Dadee!! (high-low pitch  4-2) I think he teared! =D

This was a magnificent morning was sealed with a nice breakfast together at a mamak. Btw, she loves Indian food. Till date, she's tried and approved of vade (spelling?), roti kosong, tosai, rava tosai. Didn't quite like dhal though.

Sick logs... updated

We finally took her to her pediatrician on Wednesday. And her diagnosis: ulcer on her throat/sore throat. But by that time, she was already beginning to heal! (yay!) We were given some drops to numb the area so she could drink water and swallow food - as she wasn't having anything but ice cream/yoghurt for the past 2 days.

This morning, we woke to a very happy baby!! Our lil Aly is back in business!! Really missed her.

Something about this round of sickness drew us closer together. =)

I really thank God for speedy recovery!

As for the cause of the sickness... we're not sure. But the hubby has observed that almost a day after every visit to the swimming pool landed her sick. As an added security measure, we shall be purchasing an inflatable pool to be placed in our porch, until her immune system's stronger.

I'm just sooooo happy to have my baby back!! Whee


On a side note, she added new words to her vocab! Plis (please), nananana (no no), nana (banana), pish (fish), babee (baby), klo (close), bouh (open), wahhh, tar (guitar).

We noticed a huge leap in terms of being able to vocalize new words this week We only need to repeat a word (that is similar to what she can pronounce) once and she'll be able to pick it up! Just yesterday I was telling her that I was feeding  her a banana and  she smiled and said "nana"! This is a really exciting!! We're going to teach her to say "thank  you" next!!

Sick logs... (?)

Couldn't really think of a more.. suitable title.

The internet is filled with info that warns about a dip in immune system's ability to cope after the 6th month. That's when the mother's milk no longer supplies antibodies like it used to before baby was 6 months old. I noticed that... and at 1 day over 6 months, it was the first time Aly fell sick.

6 months 1 day - Roseola, high fever for 4 days, mild rash on tummy on 5th day, recovered on 6th day

12 months 1 week - Roseola, high fever for 3 days, bad rash on tummy which spread to the forehead and cheeks, recovered on 8th day.

13 months 4 weeks - fever, lots of drooling... Not sure if it's just teething...

Suffice to say... Those times hubby and I had almost no sleep. Baby was cranky to say the least... and I felt totally helpless...

She's sick again. We're not sure if it's a virus or whether its teething. All I know is.. I can't describe how much it hurts watching my daughter.. my tiny tiny daughter cry in pain...knowing that there is nothing I can do to make it better. Last night, she lay on the bed looking at me, crying... ma ma... And my heart broke.

And she turns ONE!

My girl is officially one year and one day old. My baby is now a toddler. This girl is truly blessed. She's had 4 cakes, 3 birthday songs, one small and one mega party. Quite a feat for a lil one I'd say.

I don't even know where to begin sharing. It's been such a tremendous journey. And I'm so excited that there are still many more years to come. Looking back at how my life has changed, the only word I can muster is WOW. All praise be to God. He is amazing.

I don't even know what I'm typing now. All I know is that my heart is overwhelmed with joy and thanksgiving. Watching her fall asleep in my arms tonight was extra special... I gazed upon my miracle, my gift, my precious, my child. And all I could do was smile and kiss her. sigh... This part of motherhood cannot be described, it has to be lived. I thank Jesus for giving Justin and I the privilege to live this.

Babbles

My precious can speak! A few syllables that sound like words that is. hehehehe.

11th Feb 2011, she said "go" It was as clear as crystal after practicing the "g" sound for 3 days.

28th Feb 2011, she started pronouncing the "k" sound. Then before we knew it, she had said "kah". Her daddy pointed to the car and said "car" and she followed "kah"

2nd March 2011, while playing with her rubber ducky in the bath, I said "duck duck" like I always do, and she looked at me as though something clicked, and said "dak dak"! I said it again and so did she!!!! So dak dak dak dak she went!

2nd March 2011, while rocking her to sleep, she said da da da da da. Daddy's out the whole day and she must miss him. When I told her that daddy was going to see her only in the morning, she said da da da da da. awwww... <3 I'm so proud of my little one!!! Humbles me when I see how far she's come and how fast she's developing!

But.. there's still no sign of mama... =(

I shall wait patiently!