So, a couple of weeks ago I attacked Bella with hairstraighteners. Here's the evidence. Please excuse slightly wonky look of her face, she is not so assymetrical as that, it's just a weird 'Mummy has asked me to smile for the photo' face that she does. Her eyes are level and the same size IRL.
Her reading is really coming along. We recently bought a set of learning to read books, and she's doing really well with the first and second level thereof, and able to sound out simple words herself. If you're reading to her and she recognises a word, she'll point it out to you. We're not pushing her too hard, but she's really wanting to read more, so we're running with it. Her writing seems to have taken a sudden leap too, it's getting a lot more legible, and she's starting to try and write things beyond Bella, Mummy and Daddy. I'm ever so proud of my smart little cookie.
Also, after at least a year and a half, if not almost 2 years, of constant whinging on the blog of how hard to manage her behaviour is, I think we're finally turning the corner. I'm not sure how much of it is us learning to manage the behaviour, and how much of it is her just getting older and more able to be reasoned with. Whatever the reason, things are getting calmer and less frustrating for everyone at the moment.
Bella's bedtime is also a lot easier to manager. We've got a good routine going, she understands the routine, and we've taken the anger and frustration out of bedtime. She's now rarely awake past 8pm, and largely without any battles about going to bed at all. Three big cheers and a gold star for all of us for achieving this.
This is the only photo of the daffodils that I remembered to take this year, and it's of Morty decimating them (or picking the 'wallahs' as he would say). Morty is in the middle of a language explosion. He's coming out with new words that we didn't know he knew every day. He's understood a lot for an awful long time, but he's now starting to be able to say it too. Interestingly, although he able to say turtle (DURDL) and highchair (HITARE), he has no word for himself yet. I discovered yesterday that he can say Calpol (A-POE) [calpol is kiddy panadol for those reading along at home]. I love this period in development, when they can start to tell you what they want and need. Although for most occasions, what Morty needs is covered by WAGG-EE (his raggy, or square of muslin, that he sucks on to go to sleep) and NANA (boy is obsessed by bananas, and watching him try and stuff a whole banana in his mouth at once is a horrifying experience). I really should write the current vocab, it's largely covered by vehicles and foods.
Morty is also wanting to be involved in everything, so cooking with kids is taking on a whole new dimension.
I was making muffins with Bella, and Morty was standing beside us crying 'DOO DOO DOO', which meant he was asking me to pull a stool up to the bench so he could join in. The funny look on his face here is because he was mid 'DIR DIR DIR', meaning he wanted a turn of stirring. It was just lovely cooking with both of them, although not something I'd want to attempt for anything much more complicated than baking muffins or making jelly cups.
Otherwise life is moseying along here. I am spending my nights bed-hopping (before you think dirty, Morty tends to have existential dread in the middle of the night, that is only solved by me lying down with him, where I invariably fall asleep. Bella is going through growing pains, and last night that was not completely solved by my lying down with her listening to her moan herself back to sleep). Ah for a superking sized bed.
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