One girl and her sheep

Well, Marisca's favourite animals are still sheep.  She can now identify very many animals, although strangely she persists in calling some by their names (dog, fish, bat, fox, bear, pig, etc) and some by their sounds (cat, lion, cow, squirrel, duck, monkey, cow, etc).  Snakes should comes in both lists, since their name is sssssssomewhat onomatopoeiac  Signs are all gone now, with the exception of anything that bounces (kangaroo, frog, horse) and elephants.

The sheep still win.  Here she is, watching One Man and his Dog.  Avidly.

Santa's train

At the weekend Gran and Grandad visited and we had lots of fun.  We went out to Shipley Glen and on the tramway, which a man called Father Santa Claus Christmas has to help him get up and down the steep hill.  I'm not surprised he needs one, because he didn't appear in peak physical condition when I went to see him.  He lives in a shed and gave me an Eeyore, even though I cried when I saw him because really he was quite scary.  I don't think much of this Father Santa person, but I did like the tramway ride up and down.  Wheeee!

Washing up

I'm helping!  This lid needs washing at least 10 times, I think.

Helping with the tree

Mince pies

Christmas is coming, and it's time for mince pies.  Cooked fruit: what's not for Marisca to like?

Making breakfast

Daddy, this is how we make breakfast in this house.

The cereal is in here:

And then I choose which one I want.  Either weetabix or muesli.

Today, muesli.

The bowls are in here:

This is a good one!

And I need a spoon

My chair is over here

And then I just dip my spoon in...

and eat!

19 months

Here is Marisca holding one of her current favourite toys.  We got the brio set out this month, and Risky is rather keen on the trains ('choo choo!'), and making them slide down the ramp from the station.  She's even getting the hang of putting the track together.  When we visited Mary and Stewart earlier this month she lugged the box of train set round the sitting room trying to find someone to open it for her to play with - bless.  As Tim and I also like the train set we're rather pleased at this development.

What else is new this month?  Counting!  Marisca is getting the hang of numbers and is very keen on counting things - she tends to skip one and get stuck straight in to two so it goes something like 'ooo, feee, fow, fi, si!'  She also gets very excited when she sees numbers in a book/on a clock face/anywhere else: I'm not sure she knows which is which yet, but she knows what they are.

And fingers crossed we might have a breakthrough on the stairs.  After months of being unable to get down stairs, and refusing to climb up them, she has just started voluntarily clambering upstairs sometimes.  We're also working on a new, forward-facing-bottom-sliding technique for coming down, which seems to work as long as she's not too tired.  A carry from Mummy or Daddy is still the preferred method of changing floors,but there's hope she might do it herself one day!

Christingle

It seemed early to us, but we recently had our Christingle service at church.  The children did very well at identifying the symbolism involved, and the leader did very well at fielding some of the 'less correct' guesses.  Well yes, the red ribbon could represent the equator.

We then got to put together our christingles, which Risky managed with some help.  She then proceeded to wave hers around quite a lot - this before it was on fire but while it still had spikes.  We brought it home for a photoshoot and so she could get her hands on the cut-up jelly babies representing the fruit of the earth.  I'm not sure where the cut off heads went, but I didn't see any on any sticks.  Probably for the best.

A baby-led morning activity.

Morning in the Mosedale household, breakfast finally finished after three bowls of muesli ('more?').  I'm clearing the breakfast things away when I hear a little voice from the coat cupboard.

M: Coat! Coat! Coat!

She reappears in the kitchen, grabs my hand and leads me into the cupboard.

M: (pointing at her coat on the hook) Coat! Coat! Coat!

Me: You're still wearing your pyjamas, Marisca.  Do you want to put your coat on?

M: Yes!

I help Marisca put her coat on.

M: (picks up her boots from the shoe rack) Booooots!

Me: Do you want to put your boots on?

M: Yes!

I help her put her boots on - over her sleepsuit.

M: (points to my coat) Coat! Coat! (points to my boots) Boots!

I put my coat and shoes on (thankfully, I'm already dressed).

M: (poddles out of the cupboard and points at her buggy). Pushchair! Pushchair!

Me: Do you want to get in your pushchair?

M: Yes!

Me: We could just go out into the yard?

M: No!  Pushchair!

(I open the kitchen door to try to entice her out into the yard).

M: (cries.  Points at pushchair).  Pushchair!

I put Marisca in the pushchair.  She grins and points to the open door.

We go for a walk.