Oh Lex,
What can I say?! I'm so sorry. I am failing to record all these exciting times. Well, better late than never, so here goes...
Out with the baby and her bath water (sob!)
You have left your babydom behind. We all starting waving and crying as it set off around Christmas. You are becoming a toddler just as your sister morphs into a little school girl. It's a gradual transition but the progress is steady and sure.
Walking the walk
Just after Christmas you went from cruising and stumbling to actually walking (and stumbling,) and these days you run, at some speed, from place to place, usually looking for the nearest dangerous outdoor play area. You're a good climber, scarily good, and so I spend a lot of time hoiking you off tall things and attempting to thwart your regular, foolhardy ascents.
Talking the talk
Not only are you increasingly ambulatory, but my God, the sounds, and the words! Daddy, Mummy, these we've had for a while. But Yes and No have been pushing their way in since January - first as nodding (for both). So I could say "Lexi, would you like a drink?" and get a vigorous nod - but if I asked you "Lexi, would you like to be boiled in oil?" still, the vigorous nod. You learned the difference within a few weeks, and although words broke through slowly, it was obvious to me that you understood most of what people said to you.
I remember in particular that we were in the garden and you were attempting to negotiate the step down from the patio to the grass. I said to you "Go over to the wall and hold onto it and step down." and you did, which didn't surprise me, but it shocked the hell out of your daddy, who has less opportunity to watch your language and comprehension skills increase. We were both very impressed.
Latest vocab summary for April 2011 is as follows:
Daddy, Mummy, Ya-ya-ya (yes), NO!, ME!, Star, Nanny, Emily (girl next door), Ry-yi-yi-yi-ya (Riya, another girl next door), Caaaah (Cara, also from a neighbouring house), Baaaa (bath), Bubby (Bunny), Daisy (Upsidaisy) Piggle (Igglepiggle) Ow, wee-wee, poo-poo, Achoo, DOWN! OUT! Garden! Ma' (water) Mak (Milk), Woof (dog) Miow (cat) RAAAA - tiger, lion, cow (??? I think she's screwing with us!)
Singing
You also like to sing - Baaa da bil-tah da da da da Baa da bil-tah A-ya-ya-ya (to the uninitiated, this is Bob the Builder), and you also enjoy singing or trying to single Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Ba Ba Black Sheep and Wind the Bobbin up - you're getting quite good at the actions too.
Hair Today
Your hair line has finally filled in, and your hair is more of a bob than a mullet now, although you did not sit patiently or motionless for the hairdresser, nor do you tolerate clips or bands of any kind and therefore you look a little shaggy, but always beautiful.
Toothy Grin
We have a lot of teeth now, molars and everything. I am finally able to start trusting you with raw carrot, pieces of apples and so on, and previously you attempted to mulch them through the medium of wishful thinking, which inevitably led to disturbing (but minor) choking episodes. Of course now we have a lot of teeth, we have a lot of tooth brushing to do, and if I thought Georgie was hard going at this stage well, I hadn't seen anything yet. Now I see it. Every day. Twice. Your dedication to future tooth decay is impressive and annoying. Bless you.
You sleep ok, you eat a lot, as a rule, spend a lot of time bellowing orders at the top of your lungs (like the other women in this house,) and so of course, you fit right in. Luckily you also love to run up to us and bestow multiple, noisey kisses, and you demonstrate your affection for your family by crying when one of us leaves, even if it's for three seconds.
You love your sister, although call her Daddy, rather than Georgie. You follow her and stand up to her as much as you can, and at times, it's you picking on her and jealously trying to dislodge her from my lap. You both pick fights, it's a normal sibling thing but you are also lovely to each other and play funny games, the rules of which often elude me but it keeps you amused, and there's nothing wrong with that.
