mar, 31st - conversations with a two year old....

day 785:

Limi: 'I have a baby in my tummy.'
Me: 'What's your baby called'
Limi: [without hesitation] 'Thunderhooves' 

I'm 23 weeks today with a thunderhooves :) we're pretty excited.

mar, 27th - conversations with a two year old....

day 781:

Limi dancing.....

'Mama, my hips are singing.'

mar, 23rd - clever fish....

day 777:

"Everybody is a genius.  But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid"
-  Albert Einstein

how fantastic is this quote that i recently came across. in fact, it made me appreciate just what a brilliant word Genius is because its meaning and use is not limited to conventional intelligence but spans creativity, talent, intellect.....you could be a genius in almost everything.....

the fact that we all have something Genius is something that i believe in. the conventional school system doesn't always help everyone to discover their true 'Genius' and instead can make them feel like they are not clever or talented. although i absolutely loved school, i am even more conscious now that i am considering Limi's future, that her Genius may lie in something beyond the conventional system and beyond what A. and i are interested in. what if she has immense talent in rock-climbing or archeology or mud wrestling but never gets exposed to these things. tapping into an individual's Genius may happen via school and what you are experience along the way but i also think its part of the parents' responsibility and in many cases you have to put your own aspirations and wishes aside and really consider your child as an individual.....i mean mud-wrestling wouldn't really be my first choice but she's certainly showing some talent in the sand-pit.......

anyway, if I ever open a school, this will be my school motto (just in Latin of course :) 

nov, 10th - picture series of limi, baby and roar....

day 618:

Limi always calls a Lion a 'Roar' and a camera a 'Cheese'........i like this....names that she made up that will start to contribute to and influence our own memories as a family.

our words from our childhoods and backgrounds have also started to creep into her vocabulary....

Pap for Porridge

Muti for Medicine

War-der (that's just Australian pronunciation of Water)

and two that we're working on...

Shongololo for Caterpillar

Bollemakiesie for Head-over-heels/ tumble-turn

mar, 1st - words....

day 388:

although we are bombarded by more words than ever these days.....instant email, status updates, tweets, text messages, blogs........it sometimes feels like we're not actually considering the words that we write down anymore......

for me, this is especially true when it comes to writing in birthday cards......i can honestly confess that lately, i've spent more time choosing the card than the words that i put into it....given that i'm usually wrapping the gift in the car and grabbing a card as we fly by Paperchase (not pretty i know.....but reality) it's considered a success if i get to jot down more than 'Dear .....', 'All our love, d, A & Limi' before i hand the present over.

so....i've decided to add two more goals to my ever growing 2011 list (love lists....they make my world go round) ......number 1: try and make more of my cards (for me, there's something lovely about a homemade card) and number 2: take time to consider the words that go inside.

i was inspired by our friend Huey, who followed up these lovely words to Limi when she was born {day 72}........with this message inside her birthday card:

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Limi

You're first year with us has been action packed and full of adventure. It's been a pleasure and a joy to watch you experience all of this and marvel at your unbridled enthusiasm for everything around you.....Please continue to bring joy and laughter to those around you, it's the best gift you can ever give.

Huey

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lovely words that are worth keeping for Limi to read one day.

{ps. i made these cards with the leftovers from Limi's birthday decorations - see day 364 and some old stamps that i bought at a market in South Africa ages ago. next stop is this place for some photo postcards}

jun, 23rd - stop the press...a word has been spoken...

[Today in the Park....gorgeous weather!]

day 132:

Limi definitely said MAMA today! to her it was just a sound that she tried out a couple of times....to me it was the result of hours of training :) (I've tried to be fair and say dada to her as much as mama...but hey, i may have slipped a few more mamas in on occasion.) in amongst the general babble and bird noises...it's very cool to hear a word you recognise. 

it will be so exciting when she can communicate. we haven't decided yet whether we're going to give baby signing a go. in theory it seems a bit kooky for us but then in practise, it's no different to the way that most parents communicate with their babies, like teaching a baby to wave when you say bye bye or clap when you say Hooray....so, although i don't think that we will be too strict about it all, i think that we may give it a try with a handful of words like:

• hungry - take your palm and circle it around your stomach
• sleep - with an open hand, you touch your fingers to your thumb in front of your eyes
• bed - cup the side of your face in your palm and tilt your head
• book - palms together, open them like you are opening a book
• cold - you make two fists and shake them at shoulder height
• drink - put your thumb up to your mouth
• eat - touch your fingers to your thumb and put the tips to your mouth
• more - with your one palm facing towards your chest, tap your other palm to the top of the hand

this is a great site for looking up signs.


some words that i didn't find that i will just make up:

• hot (weather) - open palm fanning my face (red cheeks and perspiration optional)
• swear word - hand across mouth to stop it coming out aloud
• gently (as in...pulling hair; wrestling with other babies; raking those fast growing finger nails down my arm) - stroke cheek with fingers
• oops (as in 'oops, we forgot to buy more nappies'; 'oops, you just threw-up on my shirt'; 'oops, you just threw-up on my friend's silk shirt' - extended fingers held to mouth with wide eyes

we will probably need to print out some pics or A. and i will end up teaching her completely different signs and insisting that she's hungry when in fact she wants us to read a book!