29 Monday Jul 2013
Posted in Speech
“It’s a MOUNTAIN Mummy! Look!” squealed my three year old with excitement, pointing. “Look! Mountain mountain mountain!”
I squinted in the general direction she was pointing, desperately trying to seek out the mountain she was so eager to show me.
Nothing.
“There’s no mountain poppet, just a lot of trees and some water,” breaking the news gently. Panicking now, she started jumping up and down. “No Mummy! Look! A MOUNTAIN!” Continue reading »
23 Thursday Aug 2012
Posted in Speech
Tags
.motherhood, development, Parenting, play, speech, toddlers, words
When is an ambulance not an ambulance? When it’s a “nee-naw bans”. Didn’t you know? Yeah, the word “ambulance” is so last season.
The same goes for “ketchup”. It no longer goes by this name (where did the word “ketchup” come from anyway?!), it’s now known as “chechup”. A subtle alteration, but important just the same.
There are lots of words I thought I knew, having spoken English all my life. But, apparently, I am wrong. Continue reading »
16 Monday Apr 2012
Posted in Motherhood, Work
Tags
childcare, development, guilt, Parenting, speech, toddlers, working mother
The child I know.
When I look at Frog, I see a happy, fun, incredibly independent little girl. I don’t see a toddler that can’t do what other toddlers can.
But when I collected her from the childminder’s today, that wasn’t the case.
Although my nearly-22 month old was beyond excited to see me, the childminder said she’d spent most of the day watching from the sidelines. Because she can’t walk yet like all the other kids, she’s often happy on her own in the corner, reading a book. That’s not what bothers me so much as the next thing the childminder observed: she’s not talking. At all. Continue reading »
09 Monday Apr 2012
Posted in Behaviour, Motherhood
Tags
Dear Frog,
You may not be walking yet, but at 21 months old you’re certainly not a baby.
What you are like now:
1) You shout NO! A lot.
2) You’re rapidly going off wearing a nappy.
3) You sing yourself to sleep with that popular nursery rhyme all about a Russian oligarch with a bladder problem; Tinkle Tinkle Little Tsar is your favourite song. Continue reading »
06 Tuesday Mar 2012
Posted in Uncategorized
I’ll never forget the first time Frog smiled at me. A proper smile, I mean. She was about seven weeks old and was full to bursting with milk. Sitting on my knee, she looked me straight in the eye and flashed the most dazzling, gummy grin I’ve ever seen….
I remember this clearly, because I’d been worried she would never smile. Just as with everything else, Frog was the last of her baby peers to reach the smiling milestone. Continue reading »
07 Saturday Jan 2012
Posted in Uncategorized
Smiling for the camera in true diva fashion.
My daughter is a diva. Not in a good way.
This has never been more evident than in her behaviour this week. At times I thought she was actually going to put a pair of sunglasses on her 18 month old face and strut out of the room shouting “Talk to the hand, ‘cos the face ain’t listenin’…”.
Thursday was the pinnacle of the superstar behaviour. At around 2.30pm I received a text from the childminder saying “Please call me when you receive this message”. With my heart racing and my stomach churning I found out my daughter needed collecting. Immediately. Continue reading »
01 Tuesday Nov 2011
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
baby, baby milestones, development, Parenting, speech, toddler
This is Frog a year ago:
And this is Frog now: Continue reading »