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!

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.