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!

Ready for school??

Janelle's latest fav activity is to carry her great-granny's bag and walking stick. This video shows her proudly carrying the bag and walking around :)

Kids Learn Fast!

I was in the room with Janelle and needed  Royston to help me get something, so I called out to him "Dear! Dear!".

Royston came to the room, got my instructions to get what I want and went out to get it.

To my surprise, when Royston went out of the room, Janelle looked at the open doorway and shouted "Dear! Dear!" at Royston!! When he came to the room, she also kept calling him "dear! dear!", much to our amusement. I laughed till tears rolled down my cheeks! And Janelle found it amusing that we found her amusing, and she also laughed along with us.

We tried to correct Janelle to tell her that he is "daddy" and not "dear". And only mummy (ie. me) can call him "dear"!

Book Collection

Proudly presenting Janelle's little shelf of books!

I decided to display her books on a shelf within her reach, instead of keeping them hidden in the drawers all the time. She was absolutely thrilled and delighted to see ALL her books within reach! She went wild and kept taking her books off the shelf to read!

Am really surprised at how much Janelle loves books! Today I was driving alone with her sitting in her carseat at the back of the car. When she got restless, I passed her a 4-page book and she kept herself really busy for 15 minutes just flipping the pages and intently looking at everything there was to look at. Finally, she closed her eyes and fell asleep with the book still in her hands! Think she was too exhausted from all the reading and concentration! Haha

Janelle - 13 months old & CNY

Favourite things

Janelle says HI!

 

Her recent fav activity is to pretend to feed others and herself with a spoon and bowl, especially during mealtimes. And of course, to pretend to chat on the telephone. Sometimes she can 'chat' for a looonnggg time!! Looks like need to limit her 'talktime' on the phone soon...haha.

Books are still her all-time favourite though! We can put her on the bed or sofa with 3 or 4 books and she'll entertain herself reading them for up to 1 hour on her own. She'll pore through every page - both upside down and right-side up - and point out pictures and make funny sounds. It's amazing what a sharp eye she has! Sometimes she'll point at something and say "ball" or "bear" and I literally have to scrutinize the thing to find out there's a tiny little insignificant picture of a ball or bear!

13 months old

Over the past few weeks, Janelle's vocabulary has increased. Here are some of her new words....

Able to say with clarity:
mama
dada (ie. daddy)
mum-mum (ie. food)
ball
bear
duck
woof-woof (ie. dog)
no
ohhhh (ie. when something drops onto the floor)

Almost able to say:
bray (bread - her favourite food!)
diaa (diaper - when she needs a diaper change)
murr (ie. milk - when she sees her milk bottle)

GLORIOUS FOOD
Her appetite has also greatly increased and food never seems to be too much for her! Her favourite foods include all kinds of fish, tofu, bread, medicine syrup, etc etc. Thank God that she is generally a very easy baby to feed!

NEW UPDATES
At 13 months old, she's really an active toddler who loves walking round and round the house. I believe she walks quite a few kilometres every day just going round the house!

2 days' ago, she has also learnt to appreciate the water after some previous traumatic encounters with the swimming pool. In fact, while enjoying the calmness of the pool, she looked like she almost fell asleep in her swimming float!

She has also learnt how to tease and play with others....She loves to lift up my T-shirt and tickle me at my waist!! Well, must have picked it up from me as I also love to tickle her! The peek-a-boo game is still an all-time favourite with her. Also, she loves to pretend to hand you an object and when you reach out your hand to take it, she quickly retracts her hand, turns her head away, and gives you a smug and cheeky smile.

It is really amazing how children at 1 year old are like a sponge, absorbing and learning everything that comes their way! It is a great reminder that we as parents are to be good role models for them to follow after