Tag Archives: learning

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Bless You!

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Thursday, 25 September 2014: One Year, One Hundred and Seventy Eight Days Old

Ayla has started saying “bless you!” and I’d completely forgotten to make mention here on the blog until today when I had a sneezing fit this morning.

I don’t know how Ayla picked it up – I guess from me saying “bless you” to her and “bless mummy” to myself when she or I have sneezed – but I hardly believed my ears last week when she proclaimed “bless you” to me!

I thought I may have misheard the first time but Ayla’s kept up her polite little blessing every time I or someone else has sneezed around her.

This morning Ayla dutifully said bless you after ever sneeze (and there was about five of them!) and her words were so clear it was a little unnerving!

I think it’s totally adorable though and it just goes to show how much Ayla understands about what’s going on around her. She’s such a clever little sausage…

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Dizzy Whizzy

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Saturday, 20 September 2014: One Year, One Hundred and Seventy Two Days Old

I caught Ayla giving herself dizzy whizzies today!

I was in the kitchen doing something or other and I looked over to Ayla who was hanging out in her little play area. Ayla had her head down and was walking around in a tight little circle, almost spinning on the spot.

I couldn’t work out what she was doing at first and of course my mind instantly went into panic but I stood and watched for a few moments until Ayla stopped spinning. She then stood still and stared at the ground about a foot in front of her before her eyes suddenly went wide eyed and her eyebrows raised in a look that said “woooaaaahhhh!”.

Ayla then went to take a step but decided against it, bringing her little feet back together with a little wobble. It was only then that I realised Ayla had simply made herself dizzy!

I have no idea if Ayla discovered how it by accident or if she purposely knew what she was in for as she spun herself around on the spot, but when I laughed Ayla looked up and chuckled with a cheeky grin on her face.

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Clever Sausage

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Tuesday, 9 September 2014; One Year, One Hundred and Sixty One Days Old

Despite all her health issues, I am so undeiably and completely grateful Ayla is a happy, bright, clever little sausage.

Today, Ayla decided out of the blue that she could high-five herself. It came after she high-fived me, then high-fived my Mum, and of course becuase she didn’t want to miss out herself so Ayla held her left hand out flat in front of her then slapped down on it with her right.

Ayla also discovered that she can fit in the dolls pram I bought her the other day. This now means that Ayla’s refuses to allow anything else to sit in the pram except herself, and means I find myself hunched over, pushing her around the house for the half the day.

And, Ayla learned a new word; pretty. I put a headband on her this morning and told her to look in the mirror. She walked over to it, swayed and waved her hands and then said “pret-ty”. It was adorable.

Finally, and certainly not least. Ayla can now also pick out a picture in a book and say what it is. Particularly turtles. And dogs. Even if a new ad comes on TV with something Ayla knows how to say, she says it. Ayla’s vocabularly and comprehension is growing every minute and its completely amazing.

She’s such a clever sausage.

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Toilet training

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Thursday, 4 September 2014: One Year, One Hundred and Fifty Seven Days Old.

Ayla has decided to start toilet training… herself!

She recently learned the word “wees” and just out of the blue today Ayla decided to take her learning up a notch but proclaiming “wees!” and toddling off to the toilet.

I try my best to get her to the toilet, open the door, lift the lid, take off her pants and undo her nappy before she actually does her wee, but so far the closest I’ve got is catching the last few drops on the side of the bowl.

But the lesson has been learned so I’m consequently preparing myself to stop talking mid sentance, stop chewing halfway through a sandwich or stop with only a rinse of my shampoo to go, all in the name of getting my girl to the loo.

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One Way Ticket

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Wednesday, 27 August 2014: One Year, One Hundred and Forty Nine Days Old.

Today was Hubby’s birthday and while we had a lovely morning together as a family opening presents and eating pancakes, the afternoon was marred with pre-emptive loneliness.

Ayla and I flew out today, on a one way ticket. Her stomach problems, slow growth and a number of other concerns are still undiagnosed, and our local doctors and specialists are either as confused as we are, or so far under the pump that they care little about finding a solution.

The treatments we’ve so far been prescribed attend to the symptoms, but not the cause, and the stress of the unknowing and the fear of the what-ifs are taking thier toll on our little family.

So, Hubby and I made the decision to take matters into our own hands and travel interstate to where specialist care is more accessible and attentive.

Hubby will join us later, if need be, otherwise Ayla and I will return in a week or so, hopefully with a diagnosis and a cure.

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Lady beetle

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Sunday, 31 August 2014: One Year, One Hundred and Fifty Three Days Old.

My Mum and I took Ayla to a nearby park today, and then for a little walk around a community garden.

Ayla LOVED the garden; stopping to look with cautious awe at the bright and colourful scarecrows.

We also let her pick a fresh snow pea of a vine and taste it’s crispy freshness, and Ayla bent down with eager curiosity to inspect strawberries and peer at ripening tomatoes.

The highlight of the adventure though was showing Ayla little lady beetles for the first time.

Lady beetles have special meaning for Hubby and I, and it was precious to see how gentle and appreciative Ayla was of the tiny red insects.

Ayla was even brave enough to let the lady beetles run along her open palm, resisting a certain urge to close her fists and squish.

Hours later when we were at home getting ready for bed, I sat down with Ayla to read her touchy-geeky bunny book.

I hadn’t realised before that each page of the book had a hidden lady beetle and now knowing that Ayla knew what a lady beetle was I asked her if she could see one.

After a couple of moments studying the page Ayla pointed, straight at the beetle. I tried again on the next page, and the page after that and got the same result every time.

After going through the book a couple of times Ayla even began saying “beetle” when she pointed to them. I was surprised and amazed and proud at my clever little girl.

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Daredevil in the making

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Saturday, 17 August 2014: One Year, One Hundred and Thirty Nine Days Old.

Ayla’s a little daredevil in the making!

We went to a sports club for tea with friends tonight where there was an outdoor playground for the kids.

All the other kids were bigger (of course) and older than Baby Ayla, and because they were hyped up on kids meals and ice cream the playground was chaotic and overwhelming.

It didn’t take long for Ayla to find the slide though, and while she was trying to climb up other kids were sliding down.

After a while Ayla worked out how the other kids were doing it, and decided to copy…

Ayla climbed up eight steps, then up another step to a platform about 1.6m high.

Ayla then toddled to the top of the slide, carefully held on to the sides and sat down, then pushed off and “wheeeee!” down the double-hump slide she went.

Ayla was SO happy with herself, screeching and dancing on the spot when she reached the bottom, then off she ran back to the steps for round two.

Over and over again Ayla went down the slide, unassisted. While there were two year olds who were scared to slide without their parents holding them, but not our Ayla…. !

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Downhill

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Saturday, 9 August 2014: One Year, One Hundred and Thirty One Days Old.

Ayla started going downhill today… For fun!

What th’?! I hear you say, but don’t worry, I mean that Ayla learned to run downhill this after while our little family were out in the yard pottering around.

I has completely forgotten how fun it was to run downhill as a kid until I saw Ayla do it by accident, pause, laugh, and go straight back to the top to try it again… This time whilst saying “yay” and holding her arms in the air.

Mind you, I shouldn’t really call it a hill, it’s more like a mound of dirt with grass on it, tucked away in a back corner of the yard.

But to Ayla it probably felt like Everest as her little legs got faster with each step closer to the bottom they took her and her little belly poked out front as if gravity was calling her.

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Blinky

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Wednesday, 6 August 2014: One Year, One Hundred and Twenty Eight Days Old.

Ayla learned how to blink today!!

It was funny because I could actually see her having to use her brain to make her eyelids move.

It was also cute to watch how slowly Ayla blinks, as if she’s trying to watch what happens while it’s happening.

Ayla’s little face looks strained while she blinks, but happy because it’s an awesome new trick.

Hubby and I tried to teach her about eyebrows later but I think we’ll just leave it to one thing at a time 🙂