Wednesday, March 02, 2011

6 new teeth sprouted @ 15 months!

Mummy was quite surprised to find two additional tooth on top, making it 8 on top, and 6 at the bottom!
 
No wonder she was so cranky after the Chinese New Year trip :)
 
That makes a total of 14 teeth @ 15 months! Only 6 more to go (and no more teething pains, at least for a couple of years) for now!

Identified: The Rhino Song (from Youtube)

Mummy identified another song this morning!
 
She was signing song, with the "Itsy bitsy spider" action, swinging her arms side to side, because Mummy does it when she sings the "Incy Wincy Spider" song from youtube.
 
This morning, lying on the bed, she made a song request, action, then she "sang" to the tune of The Rhino Song!
 
The words were supposed to be,
"Mr Rhino,
Everybody knows,
You've got one tail, four feet, twelve toes!"
 
The tune and rhythm, was almost perfect, just need to fill in with words ;)
 
I'm gonna have to learn more interesting songs to our little song bird :)

Monday, February 28, 2011

First Swim in Public Swimming Pool

We went to the Woodlands Swimming Complex on Sunday, around 4pm for our first swim in public.
 
We love swimming but were daunted by the challenging task of showering after the swim.
 
The weather was just nice, cloudy but still warm. We changed into our swimming costumes and went in to the play pool first. The water was freezing cold! It was the most shallow of the 3 pools and had showers and a water slide. Ning was shivering and turning back almost immediately.
 
After carrying her around the showers and slide, we decided to go into the waist high pool. There, the water almost felt warm in contrast to the first pool. We went in and watched many big brothers and sisters, including little ones with their parents. Most of the little toddlers were wearing floats. Our Ning was one of the rare ones who didn't used any floatation device.
 
Ning watched Mummy and Papa take turns float and swim and she was so excited that she screamed and laughed at the top of her lungs. Towards the end, she was kicking her legs forward, went underwater towards Papa twice, and stayed underwater with Mummy and Papa, smiling!
 
All in all, I thought she really enjoyed the experience in spite of shivering a lot of the time.
 
Planning to go again soon, if weather permits!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Ning uses predictable actions to her advantage

When Ning wants to get the long stick that Mummy puts out of her reach, she uses predictable actions.
 
She'll get a little ball, or puzzle piece, one small enough to roll or throw under the sofa, and chuck it in there.
 
Then she'll go, "ah!" and over comes Mummy.
 
Mummy says, "aiyah, it's too far for Mummy to reach, we'll need the stick", but of course, Ning was already on her way to the stick and pointing at it so that Mummy can take it for her.
 
Once she has the stick, she's no longer interested in the item under the sofa. She'll go walking around tapping the floor and trying to sweep other things on the floor with the stick :)
 
Smart girl eh? Sigh, I'm one busy and outsmarted Mummy. Took me 3-5 times before I realized what she was doing.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Yay (and claps) !

She's been doing this all week!

Just today, she woke up and used the toilet early morning. When she finished peeing on the potty, she said, "Yay!" and clapped!

She'd finish knocking all the pegs in and drops her hammer, says "yay" and clapped!

Then she put the blocks up and knocks them down, says "yay" and claps!

So adorable!!

Poor ants!

I noticed a little black ant today and pointed it out to Ning.

She immediately started stamping her foot on the floor. She was trying to crush the poor little thing, but her aim was not perfect, so it looked hilarious. She followed the ant, foot stamping, to the door, and got on all fours, took her Minnie Mouse shoe and tried to swat it! It was really very funny to watch.

Later on, in the living room, an ant emerged from the foam mat, and this time, she got it with one stamp of her foot.

Poor little ant.

Mummy explained the ants didn't do us any harm, so we shouldn't crush it. How'd she like if someone crushed Ning (hand pressing gently down on Ning's head)? She shook her head. Then nodded when I told her not to kill ants anymore. Let's see if she remembers it the next time we see an ant.

After note: Later, Papa told me he taught her to kill the ant with her foot because she was doing it with her hand, to protect her. Shouldn't we teach her to walk away instead, lest she follows it to the nest and swats it...

More words: Toe! Draw! Straw! Go! Long white thing!

I heard more words this week!

She'd point at toes and say "toe"!
And when she wants the magnetic drawing board, she'd say "draw" and try to reach for it!
"Go" when she wants to go somewhere, and pulls at Mummy's finger.

"Long white thing", I thought I heard this twice, amidst her jabbering while pointing at my rice vermicelli soup. She likes it. Kept asking for more.

She's also showing interest in knowing other body parts, by pointing at Mummy's then her own. When I named the fingers for her, she signed "more", and I said it once more. Thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, little finger.

Mummy's also restarting the flashing of cards, though not as vigorously as before. Only for when she is interested. Today, she pulled out "爸爸" and said "ba ba"! I'm so encouraged! Quickly pulled out mother, but no combo luck. Will try again tomorrow!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

"Kakak don't"

She said this repeatedly yesterday while she was on the slide.
 
Kakak Anna was banging under the slide.
 
When Mummy and Kakak Nana realized what she was saying, we told Anna to stop and she did.
 
Then Ning nodded her head :)
 
Wow, she's piecing words together, soon it'll be sentences !!!
 
Earlier this week, she said "Papa, dog!".
 
Long time ago, she said "Put on".

Friday, February 18, 2011

Developing wit and sense of humour

She's beginning to develop a sense of humour, when she sees things that act or look unexpectedly.

We downloaded the "Twinkle, Twinkle" song from youtube.com. There was a silly looking sleepy boy in the video and she laughed at that!

She's also beginning to play tricks on Mummy.

Yesterday, while going to bed, she signed "toilet" nearly 10x just to delay going to bed. She only passed urine the first time. After that, she'd point and say book, and there, to indicate she wants something else. Smart eh... Papa suspected she didn't really want the toilet at bed time after the first sign, last week. I didn't believe it. It finally dawned on me when I was trying to put on her nappy and asked her for the snappy, and she acted like she was going to hand it to me before throwing it backwards and shaking her fists, "no more". Hahaha, I don't know if I should laugh and admire her tricks or be angry!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Yesterday was 3rd day without wetting/soiling diaper

Yesterday was the third whole day she went without wetting/soiling her diaper!

I played safe, put her in a diaper cover for outings and sleep. She'd show signs of needing the toilet, and when placed on her pottete plus (over the adult toilet seat) she went! So far, she's passed motion 2 mornings and last night. I think she feels quite safe on the sturdy adult toilet and with the pottete plus as her seat, she can even fold / pull up her legs and hold onto the sides (of pottete handles) while straining.

It first started earlier this week when she'd wake up after 11pm until 7am, every hour and roll back and forth, not wanting to drink, but unable to sleep continuously. Mummy was very tired from lack of sleep. So I thought, no harm bringing her to the potty, if she wakes it's no worse than waking up every hour, but if she goes, I'd get a few hours of continuous sleep!

The first night, she went to sleep at 8pm. Mummy went in about 9:30pm. She woke at 11pm, latched on, then unlatched and started the rolling, whine, try to sleep, then repeat routine. So Mummy asked, "You want to go to the toilet is it?" She stared a while, surprised Mummy was talking to her in the middle of the night, then she nodded! So, "Mummy take of your nappy yeah..." and put her down in the toilet and she passed urine like a waterfall! After that, she fell fast asleep before Mummy was done fastening her diaper buttons! The next time she woke was 7am, latched on for a while, then toilet again, waterfall and passed motion! What a relief!

After toilet, I'd put her in pants, telling her she's a good girl and can use pants now that she uses the toilet! I let her choose, between cloth diaper or pants and she chose the latter. Sometimes she'd be creative and shake her head at both, then I'd just put her in pants.

So there! We're almost done toilet training! Mummy's so relieved she doesn't have to worry about wiping poo off Ning's buttocks and washing smelly poo-soiled diapers for much longer!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Walking more and more!

Today we went out twice, and twice, she walked independently, unless she comes across an overly friendly stranger (who tries to touch her, or come near).

Especially in the evening, we walked almost 100m non-stop to the fitness corner.

I'm just afraid I don't give her enough opportunities. I can't seem to remember, what's the target for toddling from Doman's book. Gotta go check.

Eating more food now!

Her apetite seems to have been switched on!

She'd actually open wide for me to put the whole spoon in!

However, being the careful little girl she is, she'd open just a tiny slit to taste first. Once she finds it okay, she'd nod for more. Mummy's so glad!

Been feeding her mostly egg yolks with porridge, plums, bits of what I'm eating, even vegetables and minced pork. I think in total, she'd probably taken only 10-15 teaspoons a day so far, but it's a start! She's also drinking less of Mummy's milk, so I'd have to remember to supplement with cow's milk or water to replenish her fluids.

"Make" = Milk!

She's finally saying it consistently!

It sounds like "make", but it's okay, Mummy gets it!

Oh, these are exciting times!

More words! Car! Cow! Clock! Card! Take out! Put back! Dog! Cat! "Mutt" ("sock" in Cantonese)

She's been using them for sometime now, except cow, which Mummy was just shown this morning!

Car, for the IKEA toy cars, and when we're beside the road.
She was sitting on the potty, flipping the "Mr Brown can moo, can you?" book, and pointed to the cow, said "Cow!" for the first time! At least this is the first time I noticed! She's been saying "Clock" (mostly sounds more like "cock") and pointing at the clock in the book, and our alarm clock.

Card when she points at Mummy's booklets of cards (my EZLink farecard, credit cards, ICs, etc), and playing / poker cards, or anything that's cardboard like.

Mummy also just noticed, "take out". She pulled out one of Papa's cassette tape and hands it to Mummy, saying, "take out", unexpectedly. And I did. She's used "put back" with the "fook wa" or "bliss dolls" after playing with them on the rattan chair, simultaneously pointing to the dolls, then to their original place on the shelf.

Dog at the wooden puzzle from Yee Yee, and sometimes outside. Cat, very seldom, at the wooden puzzle or actual cat downstairs.

"Mutt" this morning. Picked up and gave Mummy a pair of socks. I put it on for her to see and said "mutt". She repeated after me, very clearly. She's also said, "yi chek" (this one, in Cantonese) right after Mummy said it when showing her which block goes into which hole shape.

And, (yay!!), she's been calling "Mama" more often now! And when she says it, she does it in a sing song manner, as if enjoying the words.

Oh, Lougong, our daughter's going to be able to hold real conversations with us very soon!!!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

A note on letting go...

Some time ago, between the time when Ning was just starting to stand up by herself and the time she started to move her foot an inch or two forward, we started "letting go" of her hands. She usually complains a bit and sits down, but on the very rare occasion, she'd take a few steps.

Somehow, she let me know, I can't remember exactly how, that she doesn't like us "letting go", which was twisting our fingers out of her hands. It definitely did not feel good.

Try to hold someone else's finger very tight, and just because that person is stronger than you are, she twists it out of your hand. It feels really unkind. And she's holding on because she's afraid.

So Mummy made it a point to let her hold on as long as she likes and asks her to let go by herself. This way, she chooses.

At some point or other in the future, it'd be Mummy who'd be afraid she'd not want to hold Mummy's hand.

Better savour the moment while it lasts!

Ning's turning up the volume and testing limits

She's trying out her vocals a lot more now!

The most noticeable is her volume. She'd say things 3x, once softly, once louder, and another loudest, without yelling. She did this most frequently with the words, "Baba" and "Kakak".

Sigh.

No "Mummy" audible...

The best to date is, "Ma".

First time signing and peeing outside home!

Today, after breakfast at the nearby coffee shop, we hung around our flat's void deck. Mummy was blowing bubbles, it's quite cathartic, for Ning to chase. Ning chose to step on them instead.

She was racing against a boy, about 5 years old, who purposely slowed down to baby pace and let her over take him, what a nice boy. After she overtook him, she turned around and urgently started her "toilet" sign. Mummy signed the correct sign and she nodded. So we went to a quiet corner, took off her shorts, held her legs up, she squirmed and complained a bit, and she peed into the drain!!! A lot!

Mummy's elated!

Mummy kissed her, and praised her for peeing with pants off, keeping her pants, legs and shoes dry!

I've been trying a different mode nowadays, since she's been doing it every where but the potty. As soon as she's out of potty and not interested, back into her nappy. When we go out, and Mummy feels it's about an hour and half since last pee, will try to cue her. If she doesn't calm down or pee, will put it back on. I don't want to force her, just let her have the opportunity to let go, if she's ready.

"Calling" Someone is...

calling that someone with a telephone, at least to Ning.

Recently, when somebody approaches our home door, I'd ask her to call out that person's name. And she slaps her hand to her ear, as if putting the phone to her ear, then said the person's name.

When Papa opens the door in the evening after work, Mummy says, "Papa is home. Go call Papa," and she puts her palm flat against her left ear, to "call" Papa.

So funny.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

New words: "Zi" (paper) and "zi sek" (purple)

It was breakfast time, and all three of us were at the table.
 
When Ning's thru with eating what we fed her off our own foods, she started to fidget and point to the egg rolls.
 
Mummy pretended to try guessing what she wanted, pointed at all other items and saying "Is it this blue piece of paper, is it that purple piece of paper?" in Cantonese. And it distracted her, she nodded. So Mummy passes her the purple paper. And she repeated after me, savouring the sound "zi", "zi sek".
 
And Mummy noticed, and praised her. She was so proud, and it showed :)
 
Sigh, Mummy's also swelling already.

To Alexandra IKEA for lunch!

We went to IKEA today, after Ning woke from her nap and had her milk.

Mummy brought:
1 jumper;
2 sets cloth diapers in zip-lock bag (both used);
100ml of Meiji fresh milk in bottle (drank 10ml; on breast 3x);
2 baby crackers (finished half of one cracker).

We played with their wooden toys, and she was particularly interested in toy cars, Lillabo vehicles. It comes in a set of 3, a bulldozer, a police vehicle and fire engine. It is well made, I tried pulling apart the wheels and dumping it from waist height to floor, to test durability, it could withstand my abuse. So, we bought a set. And the wooden pegs, hammer them all down, turn over and start again.

She made water, I denied it at first, when a boys mother spotted the puddle, until I felt her bumwear, it was wet. It was so embarassing. Went to change her, she was dripping and still holding and peeing. Found a cleaner, and asked to borrow her mop, but she said it's okay. Sigh.

Then we went and tried out the swings, chairs and tables. She climbed onto 2 types, the really sturdy$49 solid wood nursery chair, and the $19 AGEN rattan chair. No prize for guessing which one I got, the rattan chair. It matches our existing adult AGEN chairs and my butt can fit too!

Made our way back by taxi. The driver was very kind, he took umbrella and helped us carry our stuff to the void deck in the rain. Sigh, there isn't enough taxi drivers like him.

Will explore once a week from now on.

Pretty bored at home.