Homework isn't something new to C as she attends enrichment classes and the teachers there do require homework to be completed before the next lesson. And since Ms Edna's phone call last week, I was kind of expecting C to return with work from Josiah soon.

Well, sure enough C has this in her bag.

Looks like she is revising her numbers in school again.

And this is the update from Ms Edna about what C has been doing in school.

C just got back from her playground and she earnestly showed me her homework. Then she proceeded to do her homework and I didn't even have to ask her to sit down to do it. :) *I am hoping her enthusiasm will last and last and last... .*

Cheryl did a little memory game this evening. She had to concentrate on a picture of 4 colours for 10 seconds and then she was given a sheet where she would put the colours in the right order. She likes to do these activities and was asking for more.

I think I need to print more of these worksheets for her to practise.

I received a phone call from Ms Edna and she gave me an update of Cheryl's progress in school and what she would be learning the following months.

For English, C has been doing well in the blending of words but of course Ms Edna commented that C needs more practise. She will also introduce articles and linking words and Cheryl is expected to commit them to memory before she moves off to do reading in sentences. So I guess I will look into this when we do reading with C in the evenings.

For Mathematics, C will continue to learn about the concepts of Bigger and Smaller, More and Less than, Larger and Smaller numbers and so on. I am also doing simple additions with her at home and hopefully she will be able to move on to adding larger numbers soon.

Ms Edna complimented C for her writing skills and said she seemed confident to write words and numbers when asked to do so. Hmm, somehow C doesn't exhibit the same enthusiasim when we do work at home. She will always ask for her hand to be held before she does her writing with me.

Oh, I also have to get C a larger school bag because I think C is expected to return with homework. I was told to get her a clear, plastic A4 zipper carrier so that worksheets can be put in there. Ms Edna said, her current bag is way too small. *Ops! I didn't realise. *

So today, C went to school with the things that Ms Edna requested: a larger bag and a zipper carrier. :)

C started with phonics when she was a lot younger and with practice from her teachers in school and my now-non-existent nightly activities, C is beginning to pronounce some words.

Daddy was telling me that she could read the word "passport" off a brochure he received in the mail and just now, C read out the word "in" after spelling it on her scribble board. Looks like she will start to read really soon. :)

"Go, Girl! Daddy and I are really proud of you!"

This post is long overdue. And it is because I have completed forgotten to collect her class photos.

I think the photo was given out during the last Meet-the-Parents' session before the school closed and because I was unable to go down to meet C's teachers, I wasn't able to collect.

This afternoon, I finally made a trip down to Josiah and her teacher handed me this.

C with all her classmates and her teachers.

Our Precious!

Some time last week, we were recommended this piano and Daddy and I, together with C went down to take a look.

We got a professional down to help us test out the piano as we weren't confident ourselves. Although the piano was very reasonably priced, still it was a huge committment and I didn't want to get a second-rated piano even though it was second-hand.

Thankfully, Uncle Kasey nodded his head and commented that it was a great buy and that the piano has been exceptionally well maintained. C even played on the piano while she was there and she couldn't hide her delight when we asked her if she wanted it.

This afternoon, we eagerly waited for the arrival of our piano. C couldn't wait and the past few days, she had been helping me out with the clearing and packing of the stuff around the house. She kept asking if the piano had come and it was also her first question after she awoken from her nap.

Finally at 5 in the evening, it arrived!

After the movers left, C sat on the bench and started playing on the keyboard. The previous owners had left C some of their son's music books behind and C started working on the activity book almost immediately.

Updates:

It's been 3 days since and every morning, even before C brushes her teeth or takes her shower, she heads for the piano immediately and will play on it for a few minutes. Daddy and I are glad that the investment is worthed it and even more happy that she goes to play on it willingly.

Cheryl can now walk longer distances with her little feet. She is also more steady and can even balance herself when she is about to topple over.

She is so active now and since she has learnt to climb down from our bed, she has not looked back. Once she is bored, she will climb off the bed and walk to the table next to the bed to fiddle with the key hanging from the drawer and flip through our books and magazines. Definitely une petite fille très investigatrice! I can't wait for her to start talking... I mean, speaking in the language we can understand because I reckon, she will ask tons of questions.

Cheryl has finally taken her first steps unassisted! She will only walk to you if she has the illusion that she is being held on. I would stretch out my hands to her but I will stop short of holding her hands and she will then walk very quickly in her attempt to hold my hands.

She is so careful and cautious and there are times where she still prefers to be on fours because she is a lot faster.

I reckon, give her a month and she will be running a lot more.

It is an amazement to watch her grow everyday and many times, I wonder how the little brain of hers works. She knows so many things now and she can understand what we say. She has her eccentricities like for example, she wants to play with her Daddy first before milk is given to her. Playing with Daddy is her nightly ritual and if I so much as show her the bottle, she will immediately frown and start to kick. She will push the bottle away and refuse to drink. When Daddy comes back late, she will wait up for him and she will play with his shorts and call out "Daddy, Daddy".

And after play with Daddy, she will look for the bottle again. Then she is ready to sleep. Now that she is older, she does not want to be carried to sleep. I have to carry her for only a while and she only wants 2 songs; Barney's "I love you" and "London Bridge" to be sung. Then she will start to push me away and want to lie down on her own. On her bed, she will find a comfortable spot by tossing and turning and finally go to slumberland. I still remember not too long ago, she needed to suckle on my breasts before she could sleep. Honestly, I cannot envision how my life will be like when she does not need me anymore.

Hey, I have to get a grip on myself. It is only natural that she grows up and be more independent. Until then, I guess we have to treasure every moment and capture every thing that happens either with a camera or me writing down the little details. My memory will one day fail me and I do not want beautiful memories like these fading away too. At least, Cheryl will know in the future and when she gets old enough to record her own feelings and thoughts, I will pass the "pen" to her to continue noting down the happenings in her life.

Of late, Cheryl has developed this rather bad habit. She used to be able to take naps at a stretch of 2 hours or at least 1.5 hours.

There were times when she would wake up after 1 hour, but usually putting her back to bed was effortless as long as we could pat her quickly enough.

But recently, she seems to not be able to sleep as soundly. Even the slightest noise like the telephone or the door bell will wake her and no amount of patting will do after. Sometimes, only sometimes, carrying her may help.

This is not very good because then usually by 7.30 pm, she will be fussing and wants to go to bed. And if she sleeps so early, she will wake up for her night feeds more often. Now, she will wake up at 11 pm, 2 am and 5 am. Just a week ago, she would wake up only twice; at 1 am and 4 am.

Granduncle Chee was pleasantly surprised today. I bought Cheryl her own mobile phone... a toy albeit. But she held on to it like it was the real mcoy.

This morning, Granduncle Chee passed Cheryl her phone and pretended to call her. He told Cheryl that the first thing that she must do when she picks up the phone is to say "Hello". He repeated the word twice and Cheryl then said it very loudly and clearly. Granduncle Chee looked up at me with his eyes so big, I tell you, if I wasn't there to witness the whole scene, I would not believe it myself!

Cheryl can say words like "Aunty" and "Doggie" very clearly now. But she does not say them often and usually, when she is pressured to say them, she will keep mum. Then when you least expect it, she will utter them and give you a pleasant surprise.

Cheryl is picking up really fast. She knows how to gesture many little actions. Actions to depict "finish", "bye", "flying kiss", "aeroplane"... honestly, I cannot remember how many more she can do. Oh, Oh! She loves to do somersaults! She will point to the light in the kitchen when I ask her where is the light and she knows the ceiling fan. And when I ask her where is her nose, she will point to mine instead.

When I put her to bed, I will sing to her and she will also hum along with me. But the tune is not there... hmm... I hope she is not tone-deaf or something. But she has a good sense of rhythm and she will move and shake whenever she hears music. Her favourite time is when Uncle Jeremy and Douglas play the piano. She will sleep through the music but when its all quiet, she will wake up even if a pin drops.

She is learning how to walk and she will stand herself up against anything from the wall to the chair. But she is a very careful little girl. If she so much as to slip, she will say "oh!" and she will look at me.

Cheryl is growing bigger by the day. The last time she was weighed, she was about 8kg. In the past 1 week, Grandaunty June has managed to put Cheryl on a schedule.

0630hr - Cheryl wakes up

0930hr - She drinks her milk and takes her shower

1000hr - She takes her morning nap; which by the way will last for 2 hrs.

1230hr - Cheryl eats her lunch; fish porridge with vegetables

1500hr - Cheryl takes her afternoon nap; another 2 hrs

1730hr - She eats her dinner

2000hr - She takes her shower

2030hr - She takes her milk and goes to bed

Yesterday, I even managed to make her take her nap without suckling on my breast! It was a huge accomplishment. At nights, when she wakes up for her feeds, she also drinks very readily from the bottle. Looks like we are moving on the right track.

I don't have my camera with me so I cannot take pictures so bear with me. The pictures will come, ...eventually.

Cheryl has been trying to crawl for several weeks. Initially, she could only "crawl" backwards but she has since learnt to move forward. It is a wonderful experience, not just for her, but for me too. Cheryl is really happy when she can go forward and grasp at the things i put in front of her. I, on the other hand, encourage her by clapping and praising her. Nothing can replace the smiles she gives me.

I told Daddy of her achievement and even got Cheryl to show him what she is capable of.

These pictures were taken some time back, when she was just starting to be on all fours.

This last picture is the most recent because this is what she can do now; she knows how to sit herself upright after being in the crawling position.

Cheryl is strong enough to support herself and stand now. But she is still rather unstable and can be wobbly. Daddy says she is doing the Ricky Martin's dance "Shake your bon bon!"
See the seriousness in her face? "This is tough business, Daddy!"

But I am worried that she might end up with bowed legs because they are not really to support her full weight. I try to massage her legs every now and then and stop her from being on her feet for too long.

Cheryl is "talking" a lot these days and making lots of noises. In her gibberish, something sounded vaguely like "pa pa" so you can imagine how Daddy's eyes lit up! He may say, "No lah, she doesn't even know what she is saying." But I can tell that he is ecstatic!

I read that babies do say "pa pa" first. I guess its their way of making up... Daddy Chris was a little disheartened that Cheryl did not take to him initially. But now, when Daddy steps out of the room or goes out of her sight, she will whine in protest.

I prepared porridge for Cheryl and I must say, I was rather proud of myself! She enjoyed the food as much as I enjoyed preparing it.

She even drank from the training cup! The first time for her too.. although there was more chewing than drinking.

Cheryl is now strong enough to sit without being supported. These are some of the wonderful shots I managed to take. One even has her drooling!

But her smiles are very contagious because I was having so much fun!

Cheryl has learned the meaning of self awareness! She is now able to appreciate her own reflection in the mirror. Every time she sees herself in the mirror, it doesn't matter if she had been crying or screaming, she will instantly grin from ear to ear.

Recently, she will also shy away from her reflection. She will either bury her face in my chest or she will turn her face away. But she will look at herself again and then giggle!

Finally, Cheryl has grown big enough to fit into the Bumbo I bought her. There is still room for her but the good thing to know is that she enjoys sitting in it. Think she likes the fact that she does not need to lie on her back so often.




As you can see, she is definitely a happy baby! She loves to smile and why not? She's got a great smile.. though a toothless one!





I bought this pair of jeans for her and I can't imagine how grown up she looks wearing it. What do you think?