Summer Vacation at Lac du Carouge

We had a week vacation to spend 2 weeks ago and to please everybody, we decided to rent a mobilehome at a camping site in the mountainous area of the Savoie Region - that is to please Papa who's a bike fanatic at the moment, to please Mama who hates too much hot weather, and to please us, the little girls because there's a tiny lake just at the gate of the camping site and because we're staying in a "rectangle house"!

The camping site had a Mini Club so I got to spend some mornings with other kids while Mama and Kyla had fun at the playground or at the lake and while Papa's out biking. Mama said I progressed a lot because I was less shy and I participated in kid activities at the camping site. In fact, I went alone at the club just after breakfast when we had no planned activity in the morning. That's how big I am now!

Nights are spent watching football (it was the world cup finals that week!), or listening to karaoke or simply playing with other kids - of other nationalities! That's camping life and I love it!

One morning, my parents had a surprise for Kyla and I - a donkey ride! Its name was Galopette and it stayed the whole day with us. That was really a fun ride and I wish I could do the same again next vacation. Kyla would surely love to do it alone on her own donkey.

We did a lot of child-friendly trek and even Kyla walked with us. Mama said I could really do long distances now and that she was proud of me. One itinerary included a 350m climb (3 hour hike) but we took the wrong way on our way back so we continued climbing and some passages were really dangerous. Papa said that we were out of the child-friendly loop and we needed to take extra care in climbing. Good thing Mama didn't forget our magic lollipop that gave me extra power to climb. Kyla was comfortably seated on her baby backpack but she needed the magic lollipop anyway to give her extra power to stay calm.

Look at that, the magic lollipop worked wonders too to keep me smiling after such an effort!

Check the pictures and have fun with us!

Kids Say the Darnest and the Sweetest Things

Louna regardant tendrement sa sœur prendre son bain a dit Ah ma petite princesse.
***
Un après midi, en voyant le voisin qu'elle appelle Papy, elle m'a demandé Pourquoi Papy a une tête cassée? Mais pourquoi tu dis ça? Mais pourquoi il a des cheveux là et là (en montrant les 2 côtés du crâne) et pas là (le haut de la tête)?

Oppps.. fait attention Papa, bientôt Louna va s'inquieter aussi pour toi.
***
Comme la coquine est un peu trop gourmande, on essaye de contrôler ce qu'elle mange. Un soir, son Papa lui a interdit de manger beaucoup de gateau. Et quand son Papa est sorti de table, elle m'a dit Maman, fait plaisir à Louna, quand même. Tu me donnes un peu de gateau. Bon ben, comment je fais? Tu peux résister à ça, toi?
***
Quand elle joue aux personnages:
Maman, c'est la reine.
Kyla, c'est la princesse Cinderella.
Louna, c'est Arielle (la petite sirène).
Papa, c'est le sorcier.

MDR!!!

Il Fait Déjà Noir, Maman.

Translation: It's already dark, Mommy.
Louna's notion of darkness is always associated with a particular task like:

Eating Time

One night, the meal was already prepared and while waiting for Papa to arrive, she asked me:

Louna: Il est où Papa, Maman? (Where is Papa, Maman?)
Me: Il est encore au boulot. (He's still at work.)
Louna: Mais. Il fait déjà noir. Il faut manger! (But. It's already dark. We have to eat!)

Bed Time

I always try to prepare Louna "psychologically" when I ask a certain task. That cuts down negociation time considerably. So around 30 minutes before bed time, I already tell here that it's soon time to go upstairs and go to bed.

This evening, at 8:30pm, I told her the routine Il est bientôt l'heure de se coucher (It's soon time to go to bed). She immediately looked outside and told me: Mais. Il fait pas encore noir? (But. It's not yet dark?)...

So how will we force her to go to bed on summer time? When daylight stretches up to 10pm?

School, on the other hand has taught her a lot of things. She's got better command of words. She expresses herself no problem. She even has this method of talking to us like a teacher, honestly!

Yesterday, after putting Kyla on her favorite swing (My, she loves it!), Louna pulled my hand and asked me to "play'. Seeing her Papa run on a regular basis made her think that running is a game.

So run I did.

*Catching my breath* Darn. This little girl will never stop. Strategy, strategy..

I told her: Louna, ça y est! Maman est fatiguée. (Louna, Maman is tired. Let's stop).

Louna, looking at her Dora watch while running: Pas encore Maman, encore 1 km! (Not yet Mom, another 1 km)

What? This little kid is tiring me. Strategy, strategy...

*Ding - lightbulb open* I ran after her and tried to touch her butt. She suddenly stopped and looked at me intently:

Mais arrête Maman. Je t'explique. Il faut pas toucher les fesses. Sinon, elles vont sentir mauvais, tes mains. (Stop Mom! Listen to me. You shouldn't touch my butt. If so, your hands will smell bad!). Ngek!

Well, Louna has become a great help at home (well, when she's in the mood). She cleans the floor when Kyla regurgitates (yes, her vomitting could go that far!), she sets the table, she searches diapers, my pullover, Kyla's toys, etc.

This evening, she tried to help me peel potatoes. Look at it after Louna's intervention (right side). Errrr. Not that much left. But well, at least there were no more skin!

It's the gesture that counts dear. Lol.

Max

I always wondered where Louna got her toys' names. She calls her Barbie Jeanne. She calls her dog Max.

Last night, we were watching The Little Mermaid for the nth time, and there, I finally knew where she got Max.

Kyla, 5 Months Picture Update

I could hold my head upright. It's not really my favorite position but Maman said I need some exercise.

I could now grab and hold my toys. No trick!

I tried spinach but visibly, that was a messy experience.

I prefer this piece of bread they call boudoir. My two front teeth are in action each time I have one. I could finish a boudoir in one shot.

No, I'm not scratching my ears. I'm giving a call to Mamie and Papy.

Belat. Lol. Just showing that my toungue is clean and I finished the boudoir up to bits.

This thing calms me. It accompanies me to bed. It wipes my tears. And it soothes my toothache whenever I need it.

No, this isn't a jacuzzi. This is an improvised bathtub in Mamie's place. Louna used it. Now it's my turn.

I'm a confirmed traveller. I could stay in a car for 4 hours without a fuss. I just need a boudoir, some toys and Maman beside me.

PS: Here's a bonus. I sleep through the night no problem. Meaning I could sleep 10 hours at a stretch. My schedule is 9pm to 7-8am, non stop. But I'm already in bed at 7pm. My Maman just wakes me up at 9pm to give me the bottle (she says it's important since I don't gain weight), then I continue in my dreams till 7-8am. My first bottle is at 9am and since I wake up early, I just play and babble paaa and baaa while waiting for breakfast.

Ah, baby life is such an adventure. More of me next time ;).

Patay na Kuko

Louna approached me this morning and told me while showing her toenail Mon pied est mort Maman.

Translation: My foot is dead Maman (but I think she meant toenail because she's pointing on it).

I'm just wondering how she knew the word mort (dead) and how she interprets it.

T'es sûre, il va pas revenir?

Louna's fascination to Père Noël (Santa Claus) is so innocently sweet but is tainted with a bit of fear and doubt. Each time she sees Santa Claus hanging on windows and roofs, she gets excited and would sing:

Last Christmas, Papa decided to disguise as Santa Claus so Louna could continue with her fascination to the Père Noël story. She was pretty surprised when she saw Santa knocking on the window. Her first reaction was to sing Petit Papa Noël (see video) but when she realized that Santa was the real one, she started to sing in a low voice and move backwards. Gift distribution was fun and ended without Louna crying. She had what she asked for - a blue plane in a blue gift. She hesitantly approached Santa though, and was even more hesitant to give him a kiss.

After Santa's gift giving, during our Christmas lunch, we again asked her to sing Petit Papa Noël. But before singing, she asked me: T'es sûre, il va pas revenir? (Are you sure, he won't come back?). Lol, she was happy to see Santa in person but she preferred not to see him again.

Last night, she told her Papa: En fait, le Père Noël chez Tatate, c'est Papa (In fact, Santa Claus in Auntie's place was Papa) - with an air of confirmation. Oh, that little brain starts to analyse things. Do you think she now knows the secret of Santa Claus?

Summer Vacation 08

I'm still on vacation with my grandparents and my cousins for 2 more weeks. Just getting a long break before I start pre-school. Even toddlers need to unwind from everyday life, right?

But prior to that, I was already on vacation with my parents. We were at my uncle's house near the seaside where we enjoyed playing in the sand, riding a boat and eating ice cream. Maman's preggy condition didn't stop me from discovering new activities. First, a ride on a pony named Nougat. Oh, he was calm and gentle. I enjoyed the ride especially that I was able to chat with another girl who did the same adventure as me. I was too proud!
Next, I tried accro-branche - a monkey adventure I really loved! I was able to glide from one cord/path to another with just a little help from Papa. That was a really great experience for a pre-schooler like me!
Take a look at our vacation pictures here.

Tu n'as que des Bonbons dans ta Tête

Translation: You always think about sweets/candies.
Word-by-word translation: You only have but sweets/candies in your head.

Scenario:

We were having breakfast and Louna only had her fruit juice and wouldn't want to finish her milk nor her bread so I asked her what she wanted. To which she answered: Bonbons (Candies). So I told her Tu n'as que des bonbons dans ta tête.

She immediately touched her head and looked at me with an inquisitive regard and said: Il n'y a rien. (There's nothing.)

Ngek. Oo nga naman.

Innocently Sweet

I have been wanting to chronicle those sweet and innocent phrases our little girl is saying lately but the burden of pregnancy started to hit me. Backache, fatigue, shortness of breath, laziness.. name it. Add to the fact that I need to translate each of them without losing their essence - because yes, she's expressing herself 100% French. So there, I finally found a little courage this evening. Read and laugh with me.

Scenario 1: Louna wanting to ride the lift. Papa asked her to call the elevator (that's the word by word translation of manually pressing the lift button). Louna then shouted, calling: Ascenseur!

Scenario 2: Papa exclaming aïe (ouch!) after seeing the euro-dollar rate on the evening news. Louna's reaction: Ca fait mal? (Does it hurt?)

Scenario 3: We were at the pool when suddenly, Louna asked me to accompany her to the toilet. Once there, she didn't even pee a single drop. So I asked her where her pipi was? To which she answered: Je ne sais pas où il est. (I don't know where it is.)

Scenario 4: She inverses the names of objects/people on purpose. Like she would say I'm her Papa, and her Papa, her Maman. Or fork instead of spoon, and vice versa.

Scenario 5: She just can't control when she farts. And she finds that amusing. And worst is that, she would broadcast that she just did it to everybody! She would say: J'ai pété (I farted) followed by a contagious laugh.

Scenario 6: Whenever somebody farts, belches or coughes near her, that person would surely have his life's lesson from a 2-year old. Louna's reaction: Pardon, on dit. (Sorry, we say.)

Scenario 7: Once on the table, I asked her if she already washed her hands. She answered: Louna, elle fait la douche. Main propre. (Louna, she takes a bath. Hands clean). Evidently, she's got no notion of past tense yet. But that's not the main problem. That night, she didn't take a bath so her hands were of course, dirty. Laziness striked her.

Scenario 8: I was showing my bulging tummy to her and asked her to talk to her baby sister. She then started talking while caressing the bump. After a while, she looked at me with a tinge of sadness and said: Elle ne parle pas. (She's not talking.) A bit disappointed.

Scenario 9: Papa preparing breakfast. He accidentally spilled milk on the table and forgot to close the cabinet. Louna, playing the tidy little girl said: Papa, partout partout. Pas fermer la porte. (Papa, everywhere everywhere. Didn't close the door.) while pointing on the table and the cabinet door. Look who's talking. She's not arranging her toys either.

Scenario 10: She wants to do everything on her own. And if you're in a hurry, better not help her. Otherwise, the task would be doubly long. Because she would surely redo it. Or else, she would sulk and wouldn't move. Like, if you already put on her pajama and she decided Je vais le faire (I will do it), she would then remove and wear it all over again. Did you know that patience is a virtue? Especially with a toddler?

So that's it folks. More of Louna next time. ;)

The Blabber

I knew she's got the potential. I saw it. And I was quite sure of it. I talk pretty much. And so does Papa. An apple tree bears apple fruits, no mystery.

She's been trying to communicate at an earlier age. Though not clearly, she's nonetheless able to express what's in her mind and get what she wants most of the time. A mix of baby talk and body language are this girl's secret.

Here's some tricks and phrases of the moment:

Me trying to play Dora the Explorer DVD on my SIL's computer, but the computer was only able to read sounds without the images. Then there was Louna, playing narrator to her grandparents, auntie and cousins started:

Meow.. dans l'eau.. il pleure.. Diego.. il fait calin.
Meow (the little jaguar) .. fell on the water.. it's crying.. Diego.. cuddled him.

In trying to help her wear her shoes, or anything for that matter:

Je vais le faire.
I will do it.

In trying to accompany her to her potty, to her room, etc..

Reste là.
Stay there.

In trying to push her to eat something:

Aime pas ça.
I don't like that.

If she did a mistake:

Oh no! (With Dora accent please!)

In trying to help me or Papa finish our yoghurt:

Aider Maman?
Can I help you Maman?

The way she expresses herself just shows how independent she had become. My baby is a big girl now.

Did I hear it right? My daughter is correcting me!

One problem of being a working mom is that I only see my daughter in the morning where everything should be done at a lightning speed - and in the evening, where a good portion of that precious time is spent in the kitchen. She knows what's inside the fridge, where to find chocolates, how to arrange our groceries (she knows what to put in the fridge and what not to), how to set the table.. her vocabulary skills are somewhat focused on what's inside the kitchen too.

So you could imagine that most of the conversations evolve in that part of the house too. The conversation this morning came out like this:

Maman: Louna, fini ton verre, s'il te plait. (Louna, please finish your glass).
Louna: Non, non, non (while shaking her head). Ca, c'est lait. (No, no, no. This is milk.)

Well, okay. How in the world could I ask her to finish her glass?

And another conversation:

Maman explaining to Louna that what she's eating was cheese and it's like yoghurt but in a different form. (We try to limit her food intake as she has the tendency to exaggerate - did I say that she's a glutton?)

Louna opening the fridge then pointing to a yoghurt: Non, ça c'est wut (No, this is yoghurt. - that's how she pronounce yaourt for now).

Maman ended up scratching her head. How could I explain that both are made of milk and she could take either of the two but not both?

***

Ever wonder what your kid's doing with the Nanny while you're out? I know.

Louna and Camille with Nanou Guénaëlle watching a show at the nursery.

Little Bakers.

The Pirate, the Indian and the Little Kitten ready for Mardi Gras.

Careful With What You're Saying

The little girl starts to mumble words. And guard yourself, they start to be comprehensible. She could say aider (to help) or la lune (the moon) with the right French accent. She could even form simple sentences like C'est chaud Maman (It's hot Maman) or Il n'y a plus (Nothing anymore). Most of the time, she would talk too fast that newcomers might think she's not at all advanced for her age. But in fact, if you listen carefully, you could actually catch what she's saying.

She's at an expert level with her major body parts too - in English and in French. Too expert that she finds it boring to show her eyes or her head, nor ses yeux ou sa tête. She starts to be a bit curious with the other parts tho...

One day, during one of her baths, she started to look at her nipples and asked C'est quoi? (what's this?). Without really thinking, I said suso (Tagalog translation of nipples). To which she repeated chuchu. Then she raised her arms and pointed to her armpit asking C'est quoi ça?. Kilikili. She pronounced it in a very cute accent - kéké.

When her father arrived, she was proud to repeat her new-found words and repeated and pointed at them correctly.

Up to that, there's no big deal.

Yesterday, at her Nanny's place, she started to point at the breast of the Nanny's visiting friend and said with big smiles - chuchu. Oppps.

I tried to contain my laughter but it was just so cute and so innocent. The Nanny started to ask what that word meant but how could I explain that my 2-year-old's first Tagalog word is, well - suso. So I just told them that it's a Tagalog word without really saying what it meant.

Still last night, upon arriving at home, she saw this wall decoration and with eyes wide open, she called at me, pointed on it and said Maman, chuchu! - probably wondering how she didn't notice it before.

I just have this impression that since she learned that word, she could see but that - chuchu!

So, if you have any tips on how I could erase that word from my child's memory chip, please let me know. Promise, next time, I'd rather teach her Salamat po (Thank you) and other polite words.

My Christmas Update

Hello there! Miss me? Maman and Papa had been too busy lately, they had no time to update this blog. I patiently waited (I know you did too) .. but it seems that they already forgot this blog's existence. So now, I'm taking the initiative.. Brace yourself to a long update from me!

Where do I begin? Okay. I stayed at my grandparent's place for 2 weeks while Maman was in Bangkok and Papa was in Boston. Poor me. But wait, don't get me wrong. I love being at my Mamie's place because I eat a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits from Papi's garden. Mamie is a really excellent cook and you know, food is still my greatest weakness..

For Christmas, we had big lobsters from Boston and exotic fruits from Bangkok. Add some fois gras and imagine how we feasted with these mouth watering delicacies.

Everybody was delighted to have lobsters on their plate for this special occasion. Look at them. They seem to be in a real American restaurant with their plastic apron. While me, hmm, I struggled to finish my lychee. Can I have a mango instead?

After that long Christmas meal, a bottle of beer is surely a wonderful treat. What do you think?

Well, okay, I thought I was in a good mood to tell you stories of how grown up I am. Everybody says I pronounce a lot of new words and I think I should believe them. Why? Because I get what I want faster than I was used to.

Oh, I really wanted to tell you more stories about me, but I think it's snack time.. see you next time!

Louna's Blahblahs

She's got her list of words now. Conversation starts to be more exciting and we, as parents, have to take extra careful on what we say because this little sweetie understands and repeats what she hears.

The words or phrases listed are written as she pronounce them, followed by the real words or sentences which are mostly French, then by their English translation, if needed.

A-don - Pardon - Sorry. She utters this word each time she farts or burps. Polite little girl, right. But hold it, this seems to be the hardest word to say. And true enough, she would resist to pronounce this word after a tantrum or anytime she throws a fit.

Ya plyu - Il n'y a plus - Nothing anymore. We, as parents should understand Can I have some more?

Dotr - D'autres - Another one. Well, if we happen not to understand the previous phrase, this is her back-up sentence. Smart.

Ah pe - S'il te plait - Please. She knows how to get what she wants, don't she?

Awut - Yaourt - Yoghurt. And she definitely knows what she wants!

Ongkor - Encore - Again/More. And more!

Pa - Pas - I don't like. In fact, the complete sentence is Je n'aime pas. She starts to impose what she likes and dislikes during mealtime with pushing the dish away. Did you say, terrible twos? I guess you're right.

Sa ye - Ca y est - It's/I'm done. We of course, appreciate whatever our daughter accomplished, without moderation - be it a scribble on a piece of paper or finishing her pot of yoghurt.

Av yu - I love you. How sweet!

Atoh - Gateau - Cookies/Cakes. She loves eating, no doubt about it.

Why - Bye. Well, she was correctly saying Au revoir before but she was trying her English skills lately.

Lo - L'eau - Water. Even lakes, she calls them lo.

Lu - Vélo - Bicycle. She would certainly love to play with it, but we bought a big one. She still can't reach the pedals, lol.

Sa va? - Ca va? - Are you okay?. She would oftentimes ask her dolls if they're okay.

BackPack. Well, she's got her own backpack like Dora.

Wowie - Oui Oui - Noddy. Since she saw the Noddy DVD, she would claim for it more than Dora. It's just funny that she watches it in English but calls Noddy in French.

Ay. Sa pik - Aïe. Ca pique - Ouch. That hurts. Careful, bearded men. Shave first before asking a kiss from Louna.

Aret - Arrêtte - Stop. She hates nasty kids, so she says stop before they mess up around her.

Bobo - Wound/Cut. I was surprised she knew this word. She's learning a lot at her Nanny's place.

Pang - Lapin - Rabbit. She's got a lot of stuffed toys, that's why.

Bak - Beurk - Yuck. Oh, she knows when it's yucky!

Whew. After writing all that, I just realized how she progressed a lot from the last time. And I'm sure, I forgot to write down other words she already know.

It's NON Time

Louna, go to bed now. NON.

Let's go do the potty. NON.

Drink your milk. NON.

What happened to my sweet, ever obeying little Louna? Oh, not a big deal. She's simply growing up.

The terrible twos stage is not a new phenomenon. I knew that it will come and I'm prepared for it. The oppositional behaviour that she sports at the moment is simply her way to stress out her choices - her first approach to independence.

So how do we deal with it?

Bedtime - If she's watching her favorite cartoon movies, then we ask her to say goodbye to the characters because her Tetite (her fave stuff toy) is already waiting for her.

Potty time - Instead of imposing it to her, we ask her if she wants to go to the potty or not. We also tell her to inform us if she feels the need to go. The strategy seems to work.

Mealtime - We teasingly check her cup/plate and tell her Oh, there's still some on your plate so she's quite challenged and finish her meal.

In fact, at this age, toddlers have this need to disagree with their parents to express their choices independently. Some parents would force their kids to obey them without considering this important behavioral change their kids are going through. Toddlers would resist the more you force them. I think the best compromise is to find the best strategy that would work with each kid.

But wait, I'm no saint. She still gets her dose of Time Out Corner if needed.

Some people would seem to concentrate on this bad changes their kids are undergoing. I find it sad because there are a lot of other exciting changes and discoveries at this stage. I'd rather call this stage the Terrific Twos. Here's why:

She's expressing herself more clearly now. She starts to form sentences which is a joy to hear.

Il pleut (It's raining). Rainy days are back and she knows it. She touches her head at the same time when she says this phrase. Most of the time, she says it just because she wants to wear her raincoat.

A demain (See you tomorrow). She barely pronounces a 'main, with her hands waving. But well, it's the thought that counts, right?

Martin. It's the name of the other boy in her Nanny's place. She only pronounces 'Tin. Coincidentally, it's also the name of his cousin. This morning, she saw a picture of Martin, her cousin and she pointed at it saying 'Tin.

Bonbon (Sweets/Candies). We discovered that she's getting bonbons in her Nanny's place because she said the word the first time she saw one at home. Oppps.

L'eau (Water). This goes to all liquids - water, milk, fruit juice, chocolate drink.

Her favorite phrase, as usual, is Il est où (where is it)? But this time, it's taking more precision. It could go from Il est où, le pain (where is the bread)? to Il est où, Papa?

On to the English language, she understands quite good but only have one word for now - car, which she pronounces as cah. She knows where her nose is, for example, but she would say nez instead. Funny because I'm playing nose-to-nose with her, but when it's her who request for it, she would say nez-à-nez.

Other joys of the Terrific Twos are the cute tricks she discovers each day.

Playing Maman. Nope, not the imitating part. I mean, she would take my bag, wear my shoes, give me a kiss and say Au revoir, maman (goodbye, maman).

Cache Cache. She loves playing hide-and-seek. She would count tee tee tee (her version of 1 2 3) and would appreciate it if you hide. One dinner time, Frenchguy and I were busy talking when she started saying Il est où main, Il est où main? (Main = hand, but she was actually asking where is the stuff she had in her hand = her spoon). We started searching for the lost spoon (under the table, at the sides of her chair..), her pretending to search too and was darn serious! After a few minutes, there she was, showing us her spoon which she hid under her legs. Clever girl!

Now, would you still call this stage Terrible Twos or Terrific Twos?

New Tricks and More

You must be wondering how am I and what I'm doing. Maman had been quite busy lately and now she's sick so I thought, I might as well update my own blog. I've heard that Daddy (my grandpa from the Philippines) was asking about me non-stop and was disappointed to see my Maman in the Philippines alone, sans me. So okay, I'm taking the situation myself. I can't wait for my parents. I'll update you of the latest developments, latest tricks.. everything latest about me!

So where do I begin? Well, I'll probably start with an activity in a playground which I found beneficial and I could use in my everyday toddler life. Look at the picture below:

Me climbing the rope at the playground, then the stairs at the hotel, then trying my skills on rock climbing. I'm learning really fast!
During our vacation, we had a stopover at a zoo and the challenge was to imitate the animals to realize, well, animal-life what else.

With the pictures above, I was trying the tyrolienne bébé-style and the exercise bar wherein I stayed 9 long seconds to imitate monkeys. The 3rd picture shows how good I am to imitate pink flamingos.

Aside from good experiences, I also had my share of bad experience during our vacation. We were in a parking area at La Mongie preparing for our magnificent ride to the Pic du Midi when this cutie little donkey approached us. Maman rapidly took her camera to take a picture of me with the donkey while Papa held it to prevent any accident. I tried to caress it but the donkey thought I was giving something to eat. There you go. Maman captured a great picture of me, my hand inside the donkey's mouth. Papa said donkeys are kind and it didn't mean to hurt me.. but I was nevertheless hurt! Bad donkey!

Oppps, by the way, I finally said goodbye to my feeding bottle without the fuss. Drinking my milk from a bowl, just like my parents do, is really cool. I actually overheard them say that it shows where I'm interested into by checking on which skill I develop first. I eat excellently well for my age. Now, I drink from cups and glasses and I could proudly say that I never broke one.

Well, I don't know why they make it big of a deal that I have a BIG appetite for my tiny stomach when the little boy with me at the nanny's place had to be pushed just so he swallows something. Parents! They never know what they want for their kids.

More 20th Month Tricks

When spoons aren't enough anymore to scoop her food, she's got plan B.

Yoghurt Sharing, Louna-Style




Phone Conversation - Papi Singing with Louna





Playing in Style

More videos here.

La Vérité Sort de la Bouche des Enfants

We were at my parents-inlaw’s place the week before I left, and as usual, we had lunch with the whole family, SIL’s family included. Family gatherings like that happen probably 3-4 times in a year. So like you, they also follow Louna’s development through blog – and phone calls, of course.

Proud parents as we are, we were ecstatic to announce that Louna understands quite a lot now, both in English and in French. You could ask her to throw something in the garbage, to go to the bathroom because it's bathtime, to wipe her mouth, to arrange her toys (understanding and actually doing the task is not synch yet), to get inside the house. Well, the list is actually endless.

SIL, a mom herself, knows that parents love to brag about their kids so she started to test Louna’s comprehension skills.

Louna, does Papa cook well? (Remember, I told you, we we're having lunch. And French culture says, we should talk about anything related to food while eating.)

Louna, sitting proudly on her highchair, aware that everybody was watching her, started to nod. Everybody applauded and said ‘Bravo’.

SIL, still not completely convinced, started to ask another question.

Louna, does Mama cook well?

Louna after seconds of hesitation, looked at me, and started to shake her head. Everybody laughed except me. I suddenly turned red.

PS: You should know by now what the title means.
PS1: But well, at least, they knew that she, indeed understands well.

Picture: Louna with her Mamie (grandmom) and cousins Louise and Martin. Look at how delighted she was in seeing the cake. Takaw!

Window-Shopping Toddler

Louna translated.

Look Maman, this one looks nice. I really think it is. Don't you think Papa? Ow, this one is nice too. Wow wow wow. Everything is nice. This one. This one. That one. I want everything. Heeee.