The 18th Milestone

Baby girl is 18 months old and I can't believe how fast time flies! This time last year, she couldn't even crawl yet and had to be carried everywhere. Nowadays, she can do much more than cry whenever she doesn't get what she wants.

#1: Walks very well although running is still a challenge
Just 5 months ago I was worrying that she is a slow walker but then she took off and never looked back. These days we have to keep a keen eye on her when we're at the malls or risk having to shout out for her when she's out of sight (which unfortunately happens a lot). Thankfully she hasn't progressed to running yet so she's never far whenever we go on a frantic hunt for her (gave me a heart attack each time!)

#2: Insists on feeding herself
She has now reached a point in her development where she refuses to let mummy feed her if she can help it. In the past I used to peel off some bread and put it into her mouth. But now she will refuse to eat it from my hand, insisting to hold the bread and eat it herself instead.

Eating a banana on mama's bed

I suppose it's time for me to let go and let her be more independent!

#3: Has a vocabulary of about 100 words
She can recognise and point to many pictures of objects and animals. I'm not sure if it's a result of watching all the Your Baby Can Read DVDs but I'm still proud of her nevertheless. Her favourite words include: eat, food, yakult, milk, 奶嘴 (pacifier), 臭臭 (stinky stinky = nickname for her favourite pillow), walk and (surprise, surprise.. as if..) NO. She also likes to scream for her 奶奶 (paternal grandmother) and MAMA whenever she needs them at her service.

She can't read yet, unfortunately, but I'm not worried as she loves for us to read to her! Every night she will tug at her daddy's hand, telling him "read, read, book!" and then pulling him to her favourite sofa to read. Besides, she has always been a slow starter for everything but once she starts, there is definitely no stopping her! =)

#4: Understands simple instructions
She responds to us now whenever we ask her to do something. "Throw this in the dustbin," I'll say, passing her a dirty tissue and she will promptly dump it into the bin. "Show me how you cry" her dad will say and she will give you the saddest, most pathetic look that she can master (great actress this one). But her latest action (and my favourite) has got to be this:

Mama: "How do you act cute?"
Baby Girl (points at cheeks): "Ack kuuute!"

She's supposed to do it with both fingers on her cheek and her head tilted like how mummy taught her to do it but she only does it 10% of the time (which explains why I didn't manage to capture it on camera). She loves the reaction she gets when she does it and now readily 'acts cute' when anyone asks her to. Oh man, I love her at this age! =)

#5: Calls out to you when she sees you from afar
I can be a million miles away but the minute she sees my hair she starts saying "Mama, Mama!" to her 奶奶 (who's carrying her) and she will be wondering where I am since even she can't see that far!

#6: Shows affection more willingly
Though not often, she is now more generous in showing you her affection! When asked to give you a kiss, she will pucker up and give you a BIG FAT JUICY KISS! When asked for a hug, she will go "big ugh" (i.e. big hug) and hug you.

I'm that sucker who needs the kiss and hug before I start my day at work and after I get home from work! Obviously she's not always obliging but I treasure whatever she gives me! =)

#7: Takes an interest in playing with dolls
Her 奶奶 bought her this cute doll a long time ago and she wasn't really interested in it until recently.

She calls her "妹妹" (little sister)

Now she is so attached to her, she calls for her everytime she eats, sleeps, watches TV, etc. The only thing she hasn't done with her doll is go out with it as I've heard lots of horror stories of mothers losing their kid's favourite toy only to have their kids get so upset that they can't eat or sleep. I ain't gonna risk letting that happen as they don't even produce this doll anymore (was a clearance item)!

So it's hide the doll and distract her with the shoes whenever it's time to go out. She's so excited about going out that she can totally forget all about her doll once she's out the door. True story.

#8: Sits still for a haircut (albeit for only 10 minutes)
After a bad experience with bringing her to the salon for a haircut, I decided that I'm better off cutting her hair at home. So with the help of my mum-in-law and a hair-holder-thingy..

Getting ready for her haircut

..I cut her hair in the room while she watched TV. It was going really well at first, with me trimming and trimming away. That is, until I came to the fringe. She hated all the hair in her eyes so she was all squirmy and moving about.....

Let's just say the fringe did not look like what I had pictured in my mind *sigh*

Oh my baby! You really do grow up fast! Mummy will totally miss you once you're passed this stage so please don't pass this stage so fast ok? Pretty please? *smile*

Mama loves you ^-^

P.S: Sorry for the blurred pictures. She's so fast I only have time to whip up my iPhone! *laughs*

P.P.S: Our Ipanema Beach Pack giveaway, which is happening right now, is ending in ONE week's time! Don't forget to take part =)