Dear Leilani,

This month, I liked it when you watched the gymnastics on the Olympics, then bent over on the floor as if to do a forward roll, followed by much spinning around on the floor.  I also liked it when you learnt to say balloon...only what you actually say is 'Balawoooooo' which is just about the cutest thing ever.  You run up and down shouting 'go, go, go!' and 'stop', and if you're looking for something or someone you'll shout 'Poppa?  Ooooo?'  (Are you French?  You still have a French accent and now you're shouting 'where' in French).

Your range of foods has increased by 2, since you'll now eat popcorn chicken and Birds Eye seaside fish shapes.  The fish shapes have peas in, but you haven't noticed yet.

Sometimes you sleep all night, sometimes you don't.  We go out a lot as you're such an outdoors girl.  Anywhere is good... the park, the library, just walking round town (as long as you get to go in the bookshop - that's my girl!)  The local shopping centre set up a big sand pit for the summer so we go down there to play a lot.  You get upset if other children take your bucket or spade, and haven't yet got tough enough to keep hold of it when they try.

You know your little friend Isabel, and call her 'Belle', calling for her sometimes when she runs off which is sweet.  Most of your other friends can now say 'Lani', but you still refer to yourself by pointing to yourself, though I have heard you say something that sounds like Lan just occassionally when you're riding on your car.

You love Dolly and Duck now and often take Dolly out and about with you as well as to bed.  You also like to play with your baby, putting on a nappy, putting her to bed, telling me her teeth hurt so we give her some medicine.  I love watching you play now, even if your imaginary games don't yet last very long (well, not long enough for me to sit down and read a bit!)

Days are fun, we have a good time together, and I think you're happy baby girl.

I love you,

Mommy

Dear Leilani,

I'm writing this late this month as you've been my poorly girl recently.  We thought you were just teething, alot, but it turned out to be an ear infection.  In both ears.  Poor baby.  It's been a bit of a bad month really, what with one thing or another.  That lady crashed into our car in Krazy Kidz but is denying liability (you'll understand all this when you get bigger), then whilst we had the hire care someone raced up our street and smashed the wing mirror off that.

And Nan died.  She was very poorly by the end, so it's better she didn't suffer for a long time, but I miss her enormously, every day.  I'm really glad she got to meet you though, and spend time with you.  She loved you very much, my sweet Leilani.  You have your name because of her.  Sometimes there's a flash of her features that comes over your face too.  We went to her funeral, it was a beautiful sunny day.  Laura had organised lots of coloured balloons and we all took one and then let them float away into the sky at the same time.  It was a special way to say goodbye to Nan.  You enjoyed it so much you wanted to do it again!  And you like to watch the video clip we have of us all releasing the balloons.

Anyway, there were lots of other little things that went wrong last month, and Poppa was sick, and you were sick.  Hopefully July is going to be much better for all of us.

I wrote down a list the other day of all the words you can say and sign.  I'll put it on the end of this letter so you can see in the future because there are LOTS!  I don't think I'd realised quite how much you can communicate with us now, and recently it seems like there are new words or signs appearing all the time.

I hope you stay well now, little one.  I promise I'll write you a better letter next month.

I love you.

Mommy

Leilani says…

Leilani signs…

Dear Leilani,

Do you think you might be a comedian when you grow up?You’re very funny you know.Last night we tried to teach you how to spit after cleaning your teeth which left you breathless from giggling.There was water splurting out of your mouth at the end but I think that was because you were laughing so hard!

I always forget the little things you do that make me smile, and I really should jot them down because you won’t always do them.For ages you’ve been making the noise of the microwave in the morning as it cooks your porridge. ‘mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm barp barp barp’.You also copy me a lot and I see you trying to push drawers closed with your foot, or turn things on using your foot (see, when I have to carry you all the time I become resourceful with my body parts!)A recent new word is ‘push’ which, once again, you say with a French accent for some reason.You also attempted ‘farmer’ the other day, accompanied by the sign for farmer, though both the speaking and the signing were a bit wonky so it took me a while to figure it out.

You’re obsessed with bubbles.Every time I open Poppa’s noodle cupboard you start up a chant of bubbles bubbles bubbles!It’s a popular game to play when you’re friends come round and keeps you all content.For a couple of minutes anyway!We went to visit Great Nan again and took her for a walk in the park.Nan was in her wheel chair, and you were in your pushchair, and you both looked across at each other in a knowing way!

We started a new playgroup and you played with your first play doh, and did some sticking and colouring too making a mask, which I forgot to bring home with us.We made a new friend, we went to various events as part of the Children’s Festival in town.You had a balloon, burst it, and sat in your pushchair holding the balloon’s stick with just a floppy rag-end of balloon on the top looking terribly cute and sorry for yourself!We went to soft play several times.We even took Poppa there one weekend when it was rainy.And we’ve been to London again, this time to the Science Museum (you liked the cars) and the Diana memorial playground (it rained…you still wanted to go on everything though!)

When we do drawing now you ask me to do ‘poppa’ and ‘momma’ and I draw you a P or an M.We just introduced L for Leilani as well, and you try to say your name when I write the L but it comes out as a very cute bler ler lah sort of sound.I want to video you doing it, but whenever I get the camera out you want to be behind it taking the pictures…

Oh, and you said a sentence the other day at Krazy Kidz when you demanded ‘Momma get up’ after losing patience waiting for me to finish my coffee because you wanted to go and play!Unfortunately that was also the day we had a car crash in the Krazy Kidz car park!Fortunately nobody got hurt, but our car is poorly sick.

So, you’re getting bigger and funnier and smarter and cuter.It’s a good job since you’re also not sleeping again (more teeth?!)

I love you pumpkin pie.

Momma xx

Dear Leilani,

So, it only took you eighteen months, but you finally call me 'Momma'!  It required some intensive training on Rich's part but you managed in the end.  I notice, however, that you still whisper 'Poppa' but can quite heartily shout 'Momma'!

I'm a bit late writing this, so last month seems like an eon ago.  We went away on holiday for a week, down to the Forest of Dean to stay in a lovely old farmhouse.  There was a duck that would come to the door to visit, and sheep in the fields outside that we heard you baa-ing to in the mornings from your cot.  And best of all, there was a great big climbing frame on which we discovered you could climb ladders and go down slides on your own!  We had a few day trips out.  The butterfly farm was the surprisingly fun one, since there was a funny butterfly that tried to get into Poppa's brain via his nose, and then you had a tussle with a butterfly that wouldn't get off your arm!  We went to Bristol Zoo as well on the way home, where you thought most of the animals were cows…

We spent a day in London to go to Karin's housewarming.  You were very grumpy and not much fun at all unfortunately, though you did enjoy the slide in Hyde Park as well as nosing out of Karin's window (she's living on Portobello Road).  Then we went to London again to meet Beck and Freddie at the Natural History Museum.  You thought the big dinosaur was a doggy, and had a great time chasing Fred around the exhibits before zonking out in your pushchair.

Nanna and Granddad came to visit one day.  You were a bit poorly, but they enjoyed spending time with you, watching 'Something Special' and learning all the signs.  You fell asleep on Nanna watching Justin.  Incidentally, 'Something Special' is now your programme of choice at every opportunity rather than 'In the Night Garden'…you sign for Mr Tumble when you want to watch it.  You've seen Ma-Mah and Yeh-yeh as well as we took you there this weekend and left you for the afternoon.  We went to play golf, and you went to the park with them.  Apparently you didn't ask for us once.  Charming!

There have been lots of teething troubles this month, and exzema because of that, and you've also started to throw yourself on the floor and bang your head if you don't get your way.  That's something we could do without, as well as the whiney crying.  But on the upside we've had lots of fun together in lots of different parks, doing yet more drawing, singing, and listening to your funny chatter.  And you've been sleeping nicely too – hooray!

It seems incredible to me that you're a toddler now and not my tiny baby, the time is just flying by.  Only six more months and you'll be two!

I love you, baby girl.

Dear Leilani,

My signing baby, you've gone signing crazy!  You can do lots of animals now: cow, dog, pig, sheep, cat, elephant and you attempted horse yesterday but it's quite tricky.  And you sign jelly now too.  Your spoken words are coming along nicely too, still 'open' mostly, but also up, down, hot, ball, cheese and, cutest of all, Poppa.  Rich, of course, doesn't believe me that you're saying Poppa, but you do say it all the time.  Today when we got home from Tiny Talk you wanted to go upstairs and you were whispering 'Poppa, Poppa' over and over as we climbed the stairs.  It was a big let down when you discovered he wasn't upstairs.

This month I've been mean Mommy because I've finally been weaning you.  It was definitely NOT fun, but we have you down to just the bedtime feed now and you hardly ever ask for Mommy milk in the day now.  There were moments when I thought you might never stop crying, and sometimes you'd be signing for milk so furiously it was like you were shouting it at me!

We've started going to story time at the library.  Marjorie the singing librarian does story time as well, and you've been very good so far.  You're not really listening to full stories yet, but you very much enjoy sitting on the little baby chairs, like a grown up, and Marjorie always says how good you've been at the end.

Drawing is still a very popular activity.  If you see a pen, even a glimpse of a pen out of the corner of your eye, you become obsessed and demand paper!  Poppa thinks your pictures are rubbish at the moment, but I've put one on the kitchen cupboard anyway.

We went to see Great Nan for Easter.  You had a lovely day, playing with Annie's dolly and pram, and her little teapot that makes a pouring noise.  You were a very good girl all day, and we came home with lots of chocolate.  Mmmmmm!  We also went to Odds Farm Park.  It was a very cold day, but you loved seeing all the animals and you were very brave, stroking them and saying hello.

Anyway, I hope you start saying Mommy soon.  It would be nice if you called me something other than doo doo.

I love you, pinky ponk.

Mommy

Dear Leilani,

So today we went to ‘Krazy Kidz’ (your spelling will probably end up as atrocious as mine thanks to places like this).We hadn’t been for a while and you had lots of fun including going up and down the slide on your own!I found this both exciting and unnerving since you’re still supposed to be my little baby yet if you can navigate a slide without my help I think that probably counts as growing up.You also went in and out of the Wendy house a lot, until a little baby boy shut your fingers in the door, and then we had to have milk and cake to cheer you up.You sat on the seesaw by yourself too.Backwards.And in the little car and I pushed you around as you casually waved at any babies we passed by…maybe you’re planning to marry into royalty?

You can make the sign for diamond when we get to that bit in ‘Twinkle twinkle’, and you just started to sign ‘listen’ thanks to Razzledazzle.(Incidentally, God Bless Cbeebies and all who work there.‘In the Night Garden’ is a big favourite here, and Balamory and of course Justin in ‘Something Special’.You also seem to like ‘Big Cook, Little Cook’ though that shouldn’t surprise me since when you were a tiny baby you loved to see ‘Ready Steady Cook’.Hope all this TV doesn’t brainwash you!Bet you’ll be glad when you’re bigger that I’m not one of those ‘no TV’ mommies!)Anyway, what else?You say ‘up’ to get out of the high chair.I think you said toes today, or maybe nose, and you can usually point to your nose, eyes, mouth and you’re just learning where your ears are.You can also point to mine.I don’t like it much when you stick your finger in my eye.

We saw the mean nurse again this month as you had your MMR and pneumococcal vaccinations.She’s actually a really lovely nurse, but you didn’t like her much.You were a grump after your injections.Then you got sick.Really sick.For most of this week you’ve had a really high temperature and I even made my first panicky mother phone call to NHS Direct.Of course you’re fine now, and hopefully immune to those nasty Measles, Mumps and Rubella.

Sometimes we do drawing together with crayons.The other week I saw a bit of green crayon in your poo.I don’t think you understand about drawing yet.Speaking of poo, a bird poo-ed on us on our walk the other day.How rude, considering how we provide them with plenty of food thanks to my rediscovered passion for feeding the ducks.Anyway, it poo-ed on my coat, and gloves, and your pushchair, but it’s ok though because now we have a new pushchair.Not because of the bird poo, but because Poppa broke the old one.The new one is very swish and almost makes me feel like a yummy mummy…now if I could just remember to brush my hair before we went out with it, and if I had any idea what is considered fashionable nowadays…my wardrobe choices nowadays are based strictly on providing boob access for milk and being easy to clean because you always get mess on me.

You’ve learned to open all the kitchen drawers now.And of course you want to get in every single one except the one that Poppa said was your drawer.Our tea bags have already been all over the floor, but we’ll just keep that between us and won’t tell any visitors.You have a passion for water; always want to wash your hands, like filling up jugs/bottles/cups and then pouring it out.Oh, and you ate raspberries the other day.Yes, you did, I saw you.Perhaps you didn’t realise at the time that they’re part of the ‘good for you’ food group but have since wised up, which is why you’re now rejecting them.I expect you’ll look like a noodle, or a piece of animal pasta as you get bigger since that’s all you ever seem to eat.

What a month baby girl.I’m sure I’ve forgotten lots of other things you’ve been doing, but you seem to do so much now.

I love you sweetness,

Mommy

You're starting to get really tall now.  Well, tall from our point of view since compared to your friends you're the littlest!  You can reach up to get things off tables now, and you're getting adventurous about climbing on things too.  Our house seems to become more dangerous every day!

'Open' is still the word of the moment.  You're very emphatic when you say it.  Ohhhhhh-puh.  It's such a versatile word.  I'd never imagined it to be so useful but it gets you by with pretty much everything day to day.  Open the box with the toys in.  Open the Cheerios tub.  Open the gate/door.  Open the bag.  Open the chair straps…So far you haven't added anything else to your vocabulary, though I usually feel like I know what you're trying to say somehow.  You're working on saying 'down' lately, also useful it seems.  Still no proper sign of Mommy and Poppa!

You sign cow a lot, and also signed pig when we were reading the farm storybook.  Oh, and you're now into lift-the-flap books in a big way too.  I got 'Dear Zoo' from the library (it's in Albanian and English…) and we've read that over and over and over.  And you like the 'Bear in the big blue house' book that Annie gave you that has lots of flaps on every page.  I'm glad you like reading baby girl.  I hope you always enjoy it.  It's one of my very favourite things to do.

We took a trip this month too, up North to visit Nanna and Granddad.  On the way there and back we stopped for lunch with Great Nan as well.  We had fun seeing everyone.  Great Nan let you play with her toys and you liked seeing her budgie and kept pointing to him.  (Which reminds me, you've also started pointing properly now.  You get very excited in your pushchair now, pointing out birds and dogs and cats and other babies along the way!)  You were a good girl at Nanna and Granddad's, most of the time, though we got hardly any sleep on our last night there, as you wouldn't stay in your cot.  Never mind.  I don't think you're ever going to sleep nicely.  Maybe when you've left home I'll get to have a full night's sleep…

Anyway, you did a lot of singing at Nanna and Granddad's as you're into songs in a big way right now.  Well, you don't sing, but you'll join in with any signing/actions along the way.  You would lift your arms over your head to ask for 'The Grand Old Duke of York' from granddad again and again and again.  And of course we had to do 'Wind the Bobbin Up' multiple times.  Thanks to rhyme time at the library though I now have an even bigger repertoire of songs so we don't get bored.

Now you walk so nicely we go out and about a lot, to the park or round the shops.  Yesterday you walked all the way around the block, and today we went to the garden centre and walked all around before having a hot chocolate and some cake together.  We also fed the ducks this morning for the first time.  Though actually the ducks didn't want any bread, so we fed the pigeons instead, and we fed you since when I gave you bread to throw to the pigeons you just looked at me like I was crazy and ate it yourself!

So, learn some more words sweetheart and we can chat about more things.  But don't get too big too fast, I love you just the way you are.

I love you, Lani pie.
Mommy

Dear Leilani,

Today has been one of those days when I've found myself thinking fondly of times when I worked in the law firm.  A hellish afternoon on the enquiry desk with pompous partners and rude, demanding trainees, followed by a tube strike and delays on the mainline to Reading would've been a breeze compared to today with you!  It's a good job you're so cute…

Anyway, this last month has flown by in all our Christmas preparations.  You were such a good girl, sitting and playing in the lounge whilst I wrapped up gifts and put them in parcels and wrote cards and wrote lists.  And you were patient as we trudged around shops looking for presents.  But you did get some fun.  We played 'secret santa' with your baby friends.  You got a froggy bath toy in your gift that's fun to play with.  Then we had the Tiny Talk Christmas Party.  You still weren't sure about Santa, but there were no tears this time at least.

However, Christmas Day itself was another story entirely.  You had a bit of a rough night beforehand, but seemed ok in the morning.  I called Nanna and Granddad to wish them a 'Happy Christmas' but as I put the phone down you threw up all over me!  We had to shout for Poppa to come and help (pretty urgent help since I really don't do sick!)  You had a nap afterwards, and woke up feeling not quite yourself.  You were hungry at lunch though so we let you eat a little bit, but it was a mistake because then later you were sick again, this time rushed into the kitchen by Poppa, and after that you really weren't yourself at all.  My poor baby girl.  My dinner had to be kept warm in the oven, and I kept you company in the bathroom, then did your bath for you whilst everyone else had their Christmas dinner.

That night you were sick again in the night, and looked so worried about the mess in your room – it was heart-breaking to hear you saying 'du-du-du' pointing at the sick.  You got a bit better after a day or so, but now you're poorly again though we don't know if it's your cold or teething or still your tummy or everything all put together…whatever it is, it's NO FUN and you've been a miserable girl almost all day today.  I hope you feel better tomorrow sweetness and we can have some fun all together whilst Poppa is off work.

Anyway, at least you won't remember this vomit-y Christmas since you're so little, and hopefully next Christmas will go much more smoothly!

I love you baby girl.

Mommy

Dear Leilani Baby,

What a little chatterbox you’ve become!It’s a shame we don’t know what you’re saying, but you obviously have a lot to say.Mostly you seem to talk about dogs (dogga/duddun/doggum/da da da…), though these words are universal and can apply to any animals really, or IgglePiggle, or whatever’s caught your eye.

You walk very nicely now.Almost running sometimes.You let me put on your shoes without fuss, and I’ve found you trying on mine already (my Jimmy Choos are well hidden, and will remain so now until you leave home).When we go to ‘The Biscuit Tin’ each Thursday I now get little conversation with the Mommies because you just want to be off running around or climbing the stairs there.I’m looking forward to all the other babies walking too so I get some company as you roam around the town hall each week!

You made a new sign, ‘cow’, though I’m not sure you know what a cow is since you did a sort of baa noise with it.Still, we can now have signing conversations about something other than milk, which is good.

Oh, and you met Father Christmas already, outside John Lewis.He had real reindeer, that you liked, but when I sat you next to him on the sleigh for the photo you cried.We went with the other babies.They all cried, so don’t feel bad!

I love you baby girl.
 
Mommy

Dear Leilani Baby,

You were born at a beautiful time of year.I love the autumn days when the skies are blue and the sun shines through the colourful leaves.The air is so fresh and crisp.Can you believe you’re already one year old?Sometimes it feels like you’re still brand new to me, and other times I feel like I’ve known you my whole life.

And in celebration of your birthday, you learned how to walk on your own two weeks before you turned one!It began with a wobbly walk from Poppa to the sofa, and although you’re still wobbly you’re getting a bit braver and will sometimes suddenly just launch out across the room, veering crazily as if you’re not sure what you’re aiming for!I know I thought crawling was scary because of you moving away from where I left you, but walking is even more terrifying.And you also seem to want to climb a lot of things and will just haul your little foot up to try and get up a step, on a stool, or up a wall!

I’ve felt quite emotional about you turning one.Everyone sang you ‘Happy Birthday’ in baby signing class and I felt myself filling up.Crazy Mommy!But it’s been such a year, you changing and growing so much.I hardly recognise those photos from your first few days, with your fat little red face…how is it possible you were ever that small?Now you’re more and more like a little girl, less like a baby.When I feed you your milk you lie sprawled across my lap, your legs hanging off the end.I remember when your whole little body could curl up on my shoulder to fall asleep…

Do you remember anything from when you were little?How you didn’t have a name for a while?How we obviously didn’t know what we were doing?Do you remember the first time you laughed when I blew raspberries at you?I’m looking over at you now, you’re sitting on the floor by the bookshelf biting one of my Snoopy books and looking around.You’re so cute.And I have a feeling you’re going to be quite naughty!

We had a little party for your birthday.Nanna and Granddad sent you some beautiful clothes and a teddy train to play with, and Ma Mah and Yeh Yeh came with Uncle Den to share some birthday cake with you.They brought you some clothes too and a wooden shape sorter and a jigsaw.You made everyone laugh by doing the actions to ‘wind the bobbin up’ over dinner, mostly some very enthusiastic pointing to the ceiling :)

Oh, and just before your birthday you finally started making ‘mama’ noises.Not directed at me yet, but at least you made some…I’d given up hope!You can also use a spoon now to feed yourself yoghurt, if I hold the pot.And you help me unload the washing machine.You’re very good at emptying things still.We just need to teach you how to tidy them back up again afterwards.

So, now you are one, and you’ve just begun.I wish you a happy and healthy year baby girl.It’s going to be fun watching all the new things you’ll learn how to do this year.

I love you.

Mommy