madelinekelly (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
madelinekelly) wrote2012-05-19 11:43 pm
madelinekelly) wrote2012-05-19 11:43 pm
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River at 18 months
She is wonderful.
Her language is developing really well still, with plurals, verb endings, possessive pronouns, correct use of "me" and "I", all kinds of adjectives, spontaneous singing of songs that she hasn't heard for months (Humpty-Dumpty, Twinkle Twinkle, Horsie-Horsie, various kids TV themes) with most of the words right.
She seems to have developed empathy, or something very like it. I gather that children don't really have empathy until they reach 4 years old. But she appears to be very concerned when she notices someone else being upset ("Oh no! Crying baby!", "Sad Harry!" (her 19-month-old cousin)). Yesterday she bumped her head at Matt's parents' house. Everyone immediately shouted in shock and dismay. She wasn't really hurt but the sudden noise upset her. Once she'd stopped crying she kept going up to Matt's parents to say "sorry". We apologise to her if we've upset her (eg. wiping her face after meals, which she's never liked us doing; changing her nappy when she really wants to be doing something else) so I suppose she's picked up that you say "sorry" to people when you've upset them. Hard to tell if it's genuine empathy or just excellent mimicry.
New dance steps have been added to her repertoire: forwards, backwards, round-and-round, bouncing, stamping, kicking, upside-down, spinning, bumping, swaying, running. She feels the need to announce each step as she's doing it, like a barn-dance caller.
We bought her a potty this week. Who knew the purchase of something so banal could be so emotional and bittersweet?
Still breast-feeding. She is a monster for the boob.
Still waking through the night, alas.
Baby-led weaning has moved onto a new stage: cooking with daddy! As a stay-at-home dad, Matt was finding it very difficult to attend to River while making meals. I suggested that he could perhaps involve her in the cooking somehow, and he leapt at the idea. She's measured out pasta, chopped vegetables, selected and torn herb leaves, stirred things in the pans and bowls, and lots more. It's been a great success. Last Sunday her first words on waking in the morning were "Chopping onions!" (first words after her nap on Saturday were "5 6 7 8 boobies!").
I really do think following her lead is the best way of feeding her. Far less stressful for us. When my mum or Matt's mum or dad's ex-wife are here for meals they can't help but try to take control of River's eating. They feign mad enthusiasm for the food. They celebrate every mouthful she manages. They urge her to eat more. She normally responds by mucking about with the food or demanding to get down ("Up'n'down!") and I rather pathetically describe how much she ate at other mealtimes. They probably don't believe me.
I made a self-assembly falafel and pitta bread meal for tea tonight. We gave River little bits of everything. She refused most of it, because it's only sensible to be cautious about new food. We didn't push it. There were familiar things for her to eat too (cheese, tomatoes, spicy potato wedges, sweetcorn fritters) and she devoured them with gusto. Later on, when Matt and I were just chatting, I noticed that she was trying out the new things: grated carrot, lettuce, tzatziki, tahini, pitta bread. Then she tried to grab the tahini bowl ("More!") so she could dip her potato into it. Success! For pudding we had satsuma (familiar) and pomegranate seeds (new), which also went down very well. She's still addicted to raisins.
-------------------------
I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been so busy with teaching, the music festival, the allotment, and babycare, that there hasn't been time for me to write a post or for Matt to really do any significant renovations. Work on the house is still proceeding, but at a glacial pace. The latest improvements you can see in the photos above: the landing/balcony door is now sanded and waxed (River thinks it's her "chair"), and we have a lovely mirror hanging up on the wall next to it.
We have plans -- and the materials -- to put blinds up in the downstairs front window (privacy! I can't wait), to paint the stair risers white, to sand and re-paint an old dressing table I found at the tip, and to put shelves up in the living room alcoves. Shelves! Shelves means books! Books! BOOKS! (I'm very excited about this.)
The weather doesn't help, of course. Who wants to be indoors doing DIY when it's like this outside?
Her language is developing really well still, with plurals, verb endings, possessive pronouns, correct use of "me" and "I", all kinds of adjectives, spontaneous singing of songs that she hasn't heard for months (Humpty-Dumpty, Twinkle Twinkle, Horsie-Horsie, various kids TV themes) with most of the words right.
She seems to have developed empathy, or something very like it. I gather that children don't really have empathy until they reach 4 years old. But she appears to be very concerned when she notices someone else being upset ("Oh no! Crying baby!", "Sad Harry!" (her 19-month-old cousin)). Yesterday she bumped her head at Matt's parents' house. Everyone immediately shouted in shock and dismay. She wasn't really hurt but the sudden noise upset her. Once she'd stopped crying she kept going up to Matt's parents to say "sorry". We apologise to her if we've upset her (eg. wiping her face after meals, which she's never liked us doing; changing her nappy when she really wants to be doing something else) so I suppose she's picked up that you say "sorry" to people when you've upset them. Hard to tell if it's genuine empathy or just excellent mimicry.
New dance steps have been added to her repertoire: forwards, backwards, round-and-round, bouncing, stamping, kicking, upside-down, spinning, bumping, swaying, running. She feels the need to announce each step as she's doing it, like a barn-dance caller.
We bought her a potty this week. Who knew the purchase of something so banal could be so emotional and bittersweet?
Still breast-feeding. She is a monster for the boob.
Still waking through the night, alas.
Baby-led weaning has moved onto a new stage: cooking with daddy! As a stay-at-home dad, Matt was finding it very difficult to attend to River while making meals. I suggested that he could perhaps involve her in the cooking somehow, and he leapt at the idea. She's measured out pasta, chopped vegetables, selected and torn herb leaves, stirred things in the pans and bowls, and lots more. It's been a great success. Last Sunday her first words on waking in the morning were "Chopping onions!" (first words after her nap on Saturday were "5 6 7 8 boobies!").
I really do think following her lead is the best way of feeding her. Far less stressful for us. When my mum or Matt's mum or dad's ex-wife are here for meals they can't help but try to take control of River's eating. They feign mad enthusiasm for the food. They celebrate every mouthful she manages. They urge her to eat more. She normally responds by mucking about with the food or demanding to get down ("Up'n'down!") and I rather pathetically describe how much she ate at other mealtimes. They probably don't believe me.
I made a self-assembly falafel and pitta bread meal for tea tonight. We gave River little bits of everything. She refused most of it, because it's only sensible to be cautious about new food. We didn't push it. There were familiar things for her to eat too (cheese, tomatoes, spicy potato wedges, sweetcorn fritters) and she devoured them with gusto. Later on, when Matt and I were just chatting, I noticed that she was trying out the new things: grated carrot, lettuce, tzatziki, tahini, pitta bread. Then she tried to grab the tahini bowl ("More!") so she could dip her potato into it. Success! For pudding we had satsuma (familiar) and pomegranate seeds (new), which also went down very well. She's still addicted to raisins.
-------------------------
I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been so busy with teaching, the music festival, the allotment, and babycare, that there hasn't been time for me to write a post or for Matt to really do any significant renovations. Work on the house is still proceeding, but at a glacial pace. The latest improvements you can see in the photos above: the landing/balcony door is now sanded and waxed (River thinks it's her "chair"), and we have a lovely mirror hanging up on the wall next to it.
We have plans -- and the materials -- to put blinds up in the downstairs front window (privacy! I can't wait), to paint the stair risers white, to sand and re-paint an old dressing table I found at the tip, and to put shelves up in the living room alcoves. Shelves! Shelves means books! Books! BOOKS! (I'm very excited about this.)
The weather doesn't help, of course. Who wants to be indoors doing DIY when it's like this outside?
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