I think we are in the midst of a transitional phase. There was a time, not that long ago, when the Munchkin was content for periods of time to play by herself while I got some work done. Those days are gone. Sweet memories!
Now, although she doesn’t necessarily want me to participate in every single activity of the day, for some reason my presence is required to witness said activity. As though, if I wasn’t watching it would be as if it never even happened. In a book I’m reading …

Riley has started talking. Even when she’s not actually saying words (at least not ones that I can understand) she babbles. Today she sang along to ‘Twinkle Twinkle’. I nearly died from the cuteness of it alone. She has been starting to say words and mimic words for awhile. But I have really seen it explode over the last week. She was slow to talk, at first. Probably because she didn’t need to.
Mostly she says single words like ‘shoes’, ‘shorts’, ‘help’ (finally! It’s a welcome change from the grunting), ‘Josh’, …

I am extremely soft-hearted when it comes to Riley. I don’t think twice about her sharing our bed when she wants to, lying down with her if she needs company to go to sleep, reading her a story when I’m trying to get work done or cuddling her through a tantrum. It’s not always convenient, somtimes it’s even boring (I challenge you to sit in a dark room for over an hour and not get at least a little bored) and it can be tiring. But I wouldn’t have it …

The theme this week at i heart faces is hands on fun. My struggle? Getting the energiser bunny to stay still long enough for me to even have a hope of capturing those busy, busy hands. And in the end I was only able to get one of them. It’s a victory, trust me.
It’s amazing how there is nothing gradual about development in toddlers and babies. It only seems to happen in a great giant leap, that leaves you wondering where your baby has gone. Riley had one of those …

I think it’s quite possible that all I will hear for the next year is “No! No!” and “Me!, Me!”. My ears are bleeding, seriously. I can even here the phrases echoing in my ear when she’s not saying them (because she’s asleep). I’ve been threatening to walk around all day with headphones on for days. And so I guess she’s cottoned on to the idea that it’s an idle threat on my part. You’ll remember I was the one who wanted her to talk. So I got what I …

I never thought I’d be one to particularly enjoy the toddler years. The tantrums, the not having a clue what they’re saying half the time, the wilfullness. But in true, biased parent style, every age is my favourite.
And there’s a lot to love about the toddler stage. The beginning of words (even if I can only decipher some of them), the emergence of a little person with distinct ideas and preferences and the way sheer joy that they demonstrate on any given day.
Today, I loved that even though I was …

Fair Warning – this is going to be one of those super mooshy posts where I wax lyrical about how much I love my baby. If it’s not your kind of thing you may want to skip over it or get a bucket. But don’t say that I didn’t warn you.

I’ve had a rough week. And I suppose I haven’t been my usual Christmas-enthusiast (rabid fanatical) self. I’d hoped to be pleasantly pregnant during the festive season, but my miscarriage threw me a bit of a curve ball. Physically, I’m …

I’ve been getting slapped a lot lately.

Yes. That innocent looking munchkin is the culprit. Sometimes it’s just some enthusiastic back ‘patting’ and sometimes it’s like it was this afternoon – a surprisingly strong double-handed face slap.
I don’t really know what to do. I know that it is mostly from frustration, particularly during teething. But I’m a bit torn – I know that mostly she needs comfort – but want to encourage her to express herself in a less aggressive (less painful) way. And I’ve only just got her to stop …

I think talking is imminent. She’s started babbling the day away. She does say a few actual words.
Me: It’s bed-time.
Her: No. No.No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.
Me: Do you want a bottle?
Her: Mum-mo! Mum-mo! Mum-mo!
This is some kind of morphed combination of bottle and milk.
And if at any stage she sees the moon, is looking at a picture of the moon or is reminded of the moon:
Her: Mon! Mon! Mon! Mon! Mon!
It’s exciting to …

She babbles, but she doesn’t talk. She says mama and daddy but no other words and doesn’t really imitate words (other than a meow sound that somehow her grandmother managed to teach her). According to this guideline for developmental milestones she is well behind, but then again according to this, she is still within the range of what is considered ‘normal’. She is 16.5 months now and I have heard that by the time they are 18 months they should be using at least 10 words.
That being said, she has …