Eeyore, Baa Baa and more

Yesterday, Janelle learnt how to say "Eeyore" (the cute donkey from Winne the Pooh) when she saw her eeyore soft toy. And she says it not as a word, but more like a high-whisper sound that goes "eeyore". She sounds so cute when she says it! And she's been repeating "eeyore" over and over again, as though to perfect the pronunciation!

Her favourite song now is "Baa Baa Black Sheep". She will go "baa baa" and expect me to finish singing the song for her, where she will happily nod her head when we reach the part that says "Yes Sir, Yes Sir...". And her nodding of head looks almost like she's dancing! Because she'll shake her whole body to and fro (including her head). She has yet to learn how to nod only her head, and not her shoulders and back as well. Haha   And the amazing thing is that she never gets tired of that song! After I finish singing it, she will go "baa baa" again to request for me to sing it over again - it is almost as though her singing of "baa baa" is like a coin slotted into a jukebox (me being the jukebox)!

Some other new words she's picked up:
- bag (she'll say "beh")
- fish (she'll say "hish" without the "f" sound)
- bubble
- more (she'll say "more" and do the "no more" hand sign, ie. she actually means to say "no more" but can only say 1 word at a time)

This picture is of her fake smile. She'll smile whenever we ask her to, but her smile turns out looking fake!

 

Crown of Glory

Recently, I've been reflecting on Janelle's crown of glory - or rather, the lack of it.

It's simply amazing how the lack of hair on the top of her head can trigger so many responses from different ones! Almost everyone Janelle meets (especially strangers) will ask about her lack of hair and give suggestions on how to improve it. I've got people telling me I should rub olive oil, wine, brandy, Malay oil, aloe vera, etc etc, to people who highly recommend shaving her several times more before the hair grows out thick and nice. Someone even recommended bringing her to the National Skin Centre to have her head checked by a specialist to see if there was anything wrong!

I have no doubt that all these suggestions come with well-meaning intentions, but it just makes me puzzled how come others are more concerned and worried about it than we (Royston and myself) are! We believe that God made her the way she is and she is beautiful in His eyes. And anyway, I'm sure the hair will grow out - it's just a matter of time, be it months or years. After all, no one has ever seen a primary school kid who is still without hair right? Means that the hair will definitely grow - it's just a matter of time.

It's just interesting that the outward appearance of a person can bring on so many comments and suggestions. Indeed, man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart! God is not going to count the number of hairs we have on our head before deciding if we qualify for His book of life! All we know is this - hair or no hair, we will still love Janelle just the same.

In the meantime, I shall just have to continue reassuring well-meaning strangers (who give recommendations on Janelle's hair) that it is alright to not have hair. Strange that I am the one reassuring others about my own daughter's lack of hair!

NO Dear!

Now, everything is "no, no, no" for Janelle. She will shake her head and keep repeating "no, no, no" whenever we try to offer her something to appease her. Rarely will she accept something without protesting with "no, no, no" first! No idea what goes through her mind!?!

Her next favourite word is "dear!". She now calls everyone "dear" - myself, Royston, her grandparents, etc. All of us are now "dear" to her. Perhaps it's easier for her that way since it's easier to call us! And she calls "dear!" literally with an exclamation mark at the end - in a loud tone that tries to command some attention. Really hope that she'll stop calling us "dear" soon and revert to addressing us by the proper term of "daddy", "mummy", etc!

Last week I brought her along with me for my staff retreat in Malacca. She had a fun time running around as usual. And she got the biggest balaku of her life when she tripped while running and whacked her head hard onto the marble flooring of the hotel. There was a loud thud as she fell to the ground. *ouch*

She also managed to pose for a few pictures, which is really very rare for Janelle to do so. Most of the time she will try to 'siam4' the camera! Or stare blankly at it. Check out the poser...

 

A few weeks back, she also learnt how to smile whenever we ask her to. She'll crinkle up her eyes instead of pulling off a wide smile. And her smile looks really fake. Haha  Must take a picture of her fake smile soon for remembrance!

Janelle - 15-18 months old

Actions

Taken when Janelle was 13 months old during CNY period.

At 14.5 months old...

At 14.5 months old, Janelle can say:
- ball, bear, duck, door, dear, no, hi, bye, mama, daddy, burk (milk), mum-mum, bray (bread)
- lots of baby babble.

She still can't talk very much 'sense' right now, still pretty slow in learning to say words with clarity. But on the brighter side of things, I guess it's good because when kids start talking, they don't stop!

Then again, because she can't communicate what she wants, she tends to scream when she can't verbalise and gets frustrated.

Also, Janelle has recently discovered her newfound freedom - that she can get off her bed by herself and without our permission! Last night (in the middle of the night), I was awoken by the pitter-patter sound of footsteps and in my blurry-eyed state, saw a little figure wandering around the house. I got quite a fright initially - imagine being awoken in the middle of the night by someone walking around in the dark! Janelle then came to look for me in my room and I brought her back to her room and bed to sleep. Really hope she stops giving me such scares, especially in the wee hours of the morning!