Second Year Stuff

I feel bad that I've been so negative towards this phase Fifi is in. She is difficult right now, but she's not all bad. There are so many lovely things about this stage. So I'm going to jot a couple down.

1. She's learning to play pretend. It is adorable to see her give her dollies a drink and hear her go 'smack smack smack' as she feeds them. She also has learned to 'nurse' her dollies - though she does it through her belly button! It's not just dollies, either. Animals, trucks, anything she can attach a persona too gets to drink or eat out of her kitchen set.

2. She's saying lots of words and doing lots of new signs. She says loads of things, surprising us constantly. She said 'dirty' yesterday when she got dirt on her hands, and she signed 'banana' a few mornings ago when she woke up. She also learned the word and the sign for cow, which she is now very interested in.

3. We took her to a safari park on Friday, and she was old enough to be fascinated by the animals. There was a petting zoo and she got to feed a goat. Oh, and as a side note, as we drove through the wild animal reserve, a massive male lion approached our car and peed on it.

4. She understands instructions. When she's in an agreeable mood, she'll do a lot of what you say. Half the time I can't believe she knew what I was talking about! But she helps pick up her toys, usually without any objection, she'll shut doors, she'll get her nappies, and she'll say yes or no to foods or toys, making it easier to know what she actually wants.

5. She's eating a lot more. Nowadays (especially since she can say yes or no) she'll eat almost anything I give her, as long as she hasn't said no when I suggested it. She ate a whole bowl of rice krispies this morning. Yay!

6. She loves cats and babies and is learning to be 'gentle' when she touches them. I think she is still taken off guard when they move on their own, though, as if she expects them to be inanimate like her toys. She pet a cat on Friday, and when it moved away, she looked absolutely shocked. She exclaimed, 'Oh! Cat!' with a certain disbelief on her face.

There are other lovely things, but that's all I've time for now. Breakfast (chocolate and custard pastries) are ready and Scott is STILL not up. SCOTT, FOR THE LAST TIME, WAKE UP! :)