Candle Blowing Expert

The second birthday of Louna was marked by an installment of candle blowing activities to which she obliged with gusto. Blowing has became her expertise because she just can't wait till her food cools down. She does the blowing to accelerate the process just so she could start with her meal.

The first candle blowing was with the family a week before her actual birthday. At first, she was quite surprised when everybody sang the Happy Birthday song when the cake was brought to the table. For her, it was simply mam mam. Then everybody asked her to blow the candle and she did. And she was proud. Now, she wants to blow every candle she sees.

On the D Day, we didn't really thought about celebrating it with the candles and all. The idea of a little family dinner in a cozy restaurant on the weekend following the D day seemed to please to everybody, even to Louna, so we settled to that plan. Of course, Louna just can't say Non, it's mam mam!

But hey, somebody else was thinking otherwise. A birthday is a birthday and should be celebrated as it is. Her Nanny celebrated it with the other kids at the children's center (picture below). What a star!

And she wasn't contented with that. It has to continue at her place with a Dora-themed celebration and a home-baked chocolate cake! And now tell me how my daughter could resist to the charm of her nanny - and to the mouth-watering cake! Louna is a spoiled brat.

And no, the celebration doesn't end there. Louna also received a set of Dora gifts - a Dora pajama holder from Noah (Nanny's son) and a Dora scooter from her Nanny. Merci Nannou et Noah! Je vous aime.
I know, you're jealous now and you want the same Nanny for your kids. Nah. Louna's keeping her Nanny till she gets to school.

So, want to see Louna and her trotinette at home? Well, she just loves this new toy that she keeps it near her, on the sofa, while watching her favorite DVD? She even dances with her scooter. Watch the vid!

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And watch her blow her candle here (her 4th candle blowing session):

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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.

Two-rific Louna

Our little darling is blowing her second candle today, November 8th. She's at the height of her development - playing between her terrible and terrific twos syndrome. Tho 2 years might not seem that long, it is just enough to make us addicted to her and make life without her unimaginable.

Take a look at this cute videos of her at 2 years old:

Louna savouring Burgundy grapes. We were actually taking an afternoon walk at the wine field but Louna couldn't resist to the inviting grapes left after the harvest. She had to stop every 5 meters to grasp for some grapes.



Louna on a bad mood. She's irritated over her cousin Martin for all and every reason. Hear her say BAD and NON 'TIN.

How She Spent Halloween 2007

Cousins Louise (the favorite) and Martin (the bad boy) were at Dijon to spend the 4-day weekend with Louna.

Take a peek:

Here's my favorite:

Here's some picture updates of Louna - the model ;).

She Said Goodbye to Daytime Diapers

Oh yes ! The trick is, we have to remove her diapers at daytime for her to tell us it’s time to do the potty. When she’s with her diapers, most of the time, she won’t even bother to inform us that it’s poo time. So here are the tricks which worked for us:

- No to diapers during daytime. At first, she refused to remove her diapers and it was a real tug-of-war between us. She in fact understood that without the diapers, she was obliged to remember (because she tends to forget when she’s busy playing) and inform us (most of the time, it’s one second too late, thus the accidents). Practice makes perfect. After repeated accidents, she understood that, well, she had to think about going to the toilet sometimes.

PS: This strategy is coupled with the questions Pot Louna? Non. Sûr? almost every 30 minutes. Yes, we have to think for her sometimes.

- Let her know that accidents are not acceptable. She has to have the notion of what is good and what is not. Time-out corner, when used moderately, doesn’t hurt.

- Encouragement. Kids love to be applauded and praised – and know what, this doesn’t cost a thing. Louna is just so proud when she does it. There was one afternoon when she wanted to keep her potty because Papa hadn’t seen it yet. And Papa was still at work! So I tried to negotiate to keep the potty chair inside the toilet, without 'flushing’ the content, but she wanted it to be near her inside her playroom. She doesn’t trust Maman when it comes to potty matters. Imagine the odor propagating everywhere inside the house! Panic! I called up her Papa and explained the situation. They talked over the phone and Papa said Bravo Louna. After then, she took her potty chair and headed to the toilet. It was ok to flush her business. Whew.

It’s been almost a month now that she’s doing her potty business without any accident. She could even control herself now. Hope this progress continues.

Another milestone is taking into form right now. Last Monday night, bad Maman as I am, I told Louna to Go do your potty on your own. You’re a big girl now. when she started to say Pot. That was because this bad Mom was busy watching the telly. But… before criticizing me, read this:

Louna went to her potty chair, pulled down her pants and diapers, then did her business. She then went back to me, pants pulled up correctly with some bumpy thing inside. I checked on it and it was in fact her diapers (it was night time – diaper time) which she wasn’t able to pull back up with her tiny hands. That was really cute! Papa and I was laughing our hearts out, followed by Louna who equally giggled on her own. We were really proud of her.

We’re not into systematic rewards each time she does something good. But that night, she had her Kinder chocolate for a job well done.

Louna hiding, ashamed of what she's doing in her little potty corner. Her potty corner is just outside Papa and Maman's own potty corner.

More On Her Habits..

Bisous

She's developing a cute daily routine at her Nanny's place. She would knock on the door. Once inside, she would give a kiss to everybody in the house - then to Maman. After saying Au revoir Maman, she would take her slippers, remove her shoes, then wear her slippers. Just after then that it's play time.

She would take the same routine in the afternoon. She would wear her shoes, give a kiss to everybody, take her coat, then wave A demain to everybody. All in that order. She's so cute.

Wipey Lil Butt-y

Doing the potty starts to be a regular routine. If it's pee time, then I just give her a toilet paper and she'll do the wiping on her own. She throws the used toilet paper in the toilet bowl like a big girl. If it's poo time, then she would bow down for me (or Papa) to do the wiping. She would then accompany me to the toilet to flush her business and says au revoir pipi/caca.

She starts to raise her panties too, not perfectly tho. Her bottoms are always left uncovered because her tiny arms just can't reach the butt part, yet.

Bébé Massage

Oh, this is an excellent bonding time between us and Louna (whoever gives her a bath). She's a willing client. She would even turn her back so we could do the job efficiently.

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?

22 Months Update

My little girl's growing and it's quite hard to realize that she's nearing 2 years old and she'll start playschool starting February of next year. She's mastered a lot of skills and tricks now that makes her more adorable. I'm sure you're excited as me to unravel her cuteness.


Vocabulary Check

Mamie and Papi - the French words for grandma and grandpa were a hit this summer, especially that she stayed almost two week with her grandparents. She calls her nanny's mom Mamie too. And mind you, she could exige Mamie's attention with matching stamping of her feet. What an authority!

Pain - French word for bread. She's quite addicted to this word as much as she is addicted to the actual bread. And the way she wipes her plate with her bread, or the way she dips her bread to her cup of milk, you would know that she's a real Frenchie.

Tchin-Tchin - Here in France, if they don't say Santé (to health) to say Cheers, they would say tchin-tchin. And my little girl would ask for a tchin-tchin everytime she drinks her glass of water.. so careful if you serve yourself with wine.

Main - Hands. Of course, she knows where her hands are and she knows how to wash them. She would take one chair near the wash basin, climb the chair and ask help from Maman or Papa by shouting 'main main' with her hands held up high.

Moo - it could be Nemo when she wants to watch the movie or a cow if she sees one.

Oh Men - Have you seen Dora the Explorer? Do you know Swiper the Fox? And do you know what Swiper says? Oh men!

Back Pack - Still with Dora the Explorer, now with the Back Pack. Louna has some collections of Dora band-aids (which her Maman bought of course) and I caught her one time at the playground telling her playmate about her band-aid - she was singing the Back Pack song while pointing on her knees with the band-aid.

More Tricks

She basically mastered all the animal sounds in her book, almost all her principal body parts and is becoming more and more sensitive to music. She could sing Frere Jacques / Are You Sleeping song with her own lyrics hehe... but you could actually recognize the song, that's essential, right?
She's trying to use her left hand for eating lately and she's doing it great. Check the videos below, at the last entry.

She also loves patterns - you know, she had to follow the trail when we do hiking. Look at the picture attached, she walks on the green lane.

On potty training, optimist-me says we're almost at the finish line. She says caca or pot when she feels like doing it and would say non if it's no, of course. The problem is, she only informs us in the morning and evening.. and during daytime, she would finally forget informing us because she would be busy with her baby life. I try to ask her every so often and it works, she would say oui (yes) or non. The problem is, when I start to get busy with everything else except Maman life, I too, forget that I have to ask her for a pot. A friend told me I have to use an alarm clock and I swear, I'll use it this weekend.


She hates Mamanrazzi

When is the age when kids adore posing infront of the camera? Mine still hates it at 22 months old. She hides from me! .. Or is she hiding because she's eating something?