Tuesday, November 30, 2004

AMELIA HAS LOTS OF WORDS

Amelia now knows lots of words - fan (and her wrist goes round and round), hands, nose, mouth, ears, head, feet, bananas ('nanas'), and of course 'Mummy' (her very favorite person), 'Daddy', 'Pa' (moi), 'Ma' (Jan), Lindy (she pronounces it 'Diddy' which Lindy loves!) and lots more...

She also knows lots of instructions: 'Put it back'; 'Take this to Mummy', 'Don't touch!'

She identifies lots of people from our family in photographs...

She's now a week and a half from being 16 months and loves a couple of special TV programs, particularly Bananas in Pyjamas, and Play School. We've bought her a cheap little CD player, and she wiggles to The Wiggles (she's so cute!). Her favorite song: 'Teddy Bear Teddy Bear, touch your nose' (etc.) and she does all the actions.

One of our special little treats together is feeding the two dogs. We do a 'Shweesh shweesh' sound together and they come below the back balcony. Milly drops dog biscuits down to them.

Her little 'sibling' is due on St Valentine's Day, February 2005, and one of her little games is to ask to see her mum's belly button: she then wants to see other people's, and displays her own!

She's healthy, happy and well - and very obedient. We thank God for her all the time!

Shalom!

Rowland Croucher

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

AMELIA'S FIRST 'HISSY'



Sorry it's been a while... I've been traveling (New Zealand, Sydney, Canberra, rural Victoria) since I was last here...

Now... What's a 'hissy' you ask? Probably the most common English synonym is 'tantrum'.

She's now had about three of these: when she was a bit tired, or her new teeth were hurting, or she had in mind some game to play which a Big Person interrupted!

She's 15 months old, and according to child development psychologists she's now aware that other Big People are not simply an extension of herself. They are 'other'. And they use their authority (always gentle and loving but firm) in her life, and sometimes she doesn't like that. All very good (and not, as some think, a manifestation of 'original sin'.)

She's very cute about her squeals (which are her way of getting attention, or telling us she wants something - like her dummy etc.). Those squeals go through an adult's head so we sometimes 'Shhhhh!' her. Now occasionally when she squeals, she'll put her finger to her lips and go 'Shhhhh!' herself. She's very cute!

She also knows lots of words - upwards of 30.

She now has a sandpit on one of our balconies (which we have to cover at night to keep the possums out). She loves that.

I also bought her a new knitted fluffy toy at the Baptist Bargain Store - a multi-coloured butcher, with strings of woolly sausages around his neck. She loves her five fluffy toys; the others are four bears.

Milly now is into 'filing' lots of things. All the bears have to be carried one by one and are sat down next to each other; then she takes them all one by one and 'files' them somewhere else. We have to help her with the big bear: he's too heavy and cumbersome for her, and she gets frustrated!

When she's put down to sleep my wife Jan (Milly's grandmother) sings the Paul Robeson song she sang to our children:

Oh my babby, my curly-headed babby

Oh lula lula lula lula bye-bye
Do you want the moon to play with?
Or the stars to run away with?
They'll come if you don't cry...

Oh lula lula lula lula bye-bye
In your mammy's arms a-sleeping
And soon they'll be a'creeping' lula
Lula lula lula lula bye...

And she knows it's time to sleep: no arguments. She settles down (and these days gives us a little wave with two hands as we leave the room!)

Milly has a little brother/sister on the way: we call her/him 'Billie'. Next February. Everything's going well: please pray for all four (now) members of this little family!

Until next time,

Shalom!

Rowland.