Rhiannon Miller

Faith's been asking for boots for a while now, and to be honest she's got a point. It's quite wet and puddly around here and we go down quite a muddy lane from our house to get to the nursery. So we went shopping this afternoon, and hit This Little Piggy first, with the intention of going on to Clarks afterwards if necessary. But Faith immediately spotted these and loved them. They were fairly flexible so I was pleased, and the assistant tested the fit and then added an insole to adjust it better. So good service and I liked the price too.

It was all over so much more quickly and painlessly than I'd feared that I suggested we try them out in the nearby park. Faith loved this idea, of course, and went haring off in her wellies over the grass, crying 'Happy!' and got to the bit by the duckpond where the grass gives way to tarmac. At that particular point, just on the join, there was quite a wide puddle. She stopped at the edge and looked at me. I said, 'Yes, you've got boots on, so you can go through the puddle if you like, that's what they're for.'

On the first step she sank in up to her knees. On the second step she stumbled forwards and fell flat on her face.

I fished the poor thing out with much apology. She was soggy and covered in muck — the puddle had been filled with dead rotting leaves (which had made it look much shallower than it was) with that lovely decomposing smell. I had spare pants, trousers and socks with me in case of another sort of accident (which did not occur), and of course she still had her shoes, but nothing for her top half. Fortunately her coat had protected her jumper and shirt from most of it. She said 'Sad' and 'I'm very sorry' (by which she meant that I was sorry — she hasn't quite sorted out her pronouns yet) and 'Mummy's sad'. But after I'd put her clean clothes on her and reassured her that I was happier now that she was dry again and pointed her in the direction of the swings, she cheered up and said 'Mummy's happier. Ffaiff happier.'

So she played on the swings and slides for a bit and then we saw the moon, which made her day all over again. She loves the moon and chased across the park towards it, crying 'Have it!' I never realised children did actually literally ask for the moon!

I realised I hadn't posted for ages, so I thought I'd give an update. I've split it up into several posts as I reckon that makes it easier for people to read. I'm sorry if I've spammed anyone's friends page!

Faith has a rather random selection of beasts that she's had given to her/discovered and decided she wants in the bed. I never suggested that she sleep with any of them; it was entirely her idea. Lately she's started throwing them out of bed when she wakes up in the morning. This morning I went in to her and they were all on the floor.

'Out!' she said.
'You want out of bed?'
'Toys!'
'Oh, the toys are out! Yes, they're all on the floor.'
'Fightin.'
'Fighting? Who's fighting?'
'Cow. Ah-bert.' [Albert is a Chinese dragon, rather smaller than the flat cow. They'd landed close to each other, so that Albert's head was resting on the back of the cow.]
'Well, you'd better go and break it up then,' I said, lifting her out of bed.
'Bake-it-up.'
'Yes, go and tell them not to fight.'
So she picked up the cow in one hand and Albert in the other, looked at them seriously, and said 'Not to fight.'

Last week the nursery surprised me when I went to collect Faith by giving me a form to fill in about potty training, and asking me to bring her in in pants. She's been using the potty at home for quite a while and at nursery a bit, but I'd had the impression they weren't that interested in helping her, up until a couple of weeks ago when they finally made sure there was always a potty around and started up a star chart. They've said they're changing their policy to offer potty training at a younger age now. Is it perhaps a little cynical of me to notice that there's another child about the same age as Faith also using the potty, and this one is the daughter of one of the staff?

In any case, they've cleared all the junk out of the little toilets by the todder room and put them back into use, and since Monday Faith has been wearing pants and using the toilet or potty. Or not. She's very keen on the pants, and Monday went very well and she kept her pants dry all day. But it's been going steadily downhill all week, and she's been going through several changes of clothes. They’re now talking about putting her back into nappies. Meanwhile she's been doing pretty well at home. She mostly has a bare bottom at home though so I'm wondering whether she's fully realised the difference between pants and nappies. Or possibly she hasn't figured out that now she can tell the nursery staff just like she tells me. So I’m going to see how she does over the weekend.

Sunday was my birthday, and while Faith and I were out swimming as we usually do on Sundays, Robin prepared a nice dinner. We came home at dinner time and she noticed the fine china on the table straight away. 'Payte!' she said. And she noticed that she had two forks. And she noticed the flowers on the table. ‘Roseees!’ she said. So we told her it was because it was a special occasion — it was Mummy's birthday.

And she looked at me and smiled and said 'Happee dur-day!'

And carried on saying it all through dinner. It really made my day!

Our oven has died. The grill still works, but the actual oven settings just don’t get hot. This, coupled with a dying fridge that just isn’t big enough for a household of three (the shelf on the door has broken off twice thanks to the big bottles of milk we’ve been putting in it, and the shelves inside are cracking too), and the fact that we think the kitchen is ugly, means we are taking the opportunity to refit our kitchen – and, with grateful thanks to the Bank of Mum and Dad, try and extend the house, with a larger kitchen and a proper piano studio for Robin. We've had an initial survey and will get the first drawings in a week or two.

It's all very exciting. Faith's picked up on it, and says 'Stention!' at odd moments. I'm looking forward to having the freezer in the house, so no more traipsing to the garage in the rain to get things out of the freezer. And no more garage either, because it's ugly and useless. And a kitchen big enough to get two people in at once without them having to apologise for getting in each others' way the whole time… And Robin is looking forward to a room big enough that he can play the loud bits on his piano without deafening himself.

But then, the piano broke a string, so he went out and bought a digital. We’d have done it eventually anyway when we got the studio, so it’s just brought it forward a bit. It’s really helping him practise in the evenings without disturbing Faith while I’m putting her to bed — he can just put his headphones on and all we hear is a faint, rapid drumming noise.

My not-yet-two daughter is more organised than I am. She frequently reminds me to do routine things that I might otherwise forget. 'Eyes,' she tells me as I get dressed, reminding me to put my contact lenses in. 'Ointment, toe!' she says while she's having a bath in the evening and after my shower in the morning, reminding me to put cream on the sore spot on my foot. 'Grind, linseeds!' she says as we're getting a meal ready, reminding Daddy to prepare his ground linseed drink.

Oh yes, the linseeds. Robin has been having more and more stomach upsets lately, so he had himself tested for food allergies. Apparently he has mild intolerances to dairy, beef and eggs, and is to stay off dairy for six months and beef and eggs for three. (Also sole and plaice, but he doesn't really eat those anyway!) The linseeds were recommended to help his digestion recover. He's also taking probiotic tablets (since he can't eat yoghurt) and extra digestive enzymes. Ever since he started this diet he's seemed to be a lot healthier.

Two weeks ago Robin and I spent a night away from Faith for the first time. We had my parents to stay at our house to look after Faith on Saturday night, while we took ourselves off to a nice hotel in Glasgow (location chosen because of the presence of Robin's favourite restaurant, hotel chosen because they had a good deal on a room with a king-size bed). The grandparents came on Saturday morning, and we left after lunch. Faith looked sad but resigned to see us go, though she was very tired at the time (just before naptime). She apparently had great fun with her grandparents while we were away, and we had a good relaxing afternoon and evening.

Last Sunday we took Faith to Blair Drummond Safari Park, along with Faith's aunt and cousin. Faith was particularly impressed with the llamas in the petting farm.



More pictures.

We also saw the sea-lions perform — they really do balance balls on their noses! — and took a boat ride to see the chimpanzees on their little island. (Faith learnt the word 'chimp' — up till now she's been saying 'ape'). Then we drove around the safari section and saw elephants, lions, African cows with huge horns, rhinos, and camels, amongst other creatures. Faith very much enjoys looking at the programme booklet we bought, and the photos we took, and keeps saying 'rahri' (safari) whenever we get into the car in the hopes that we'll take her back there! We will have to one day, as there was a lot there that we didn't have time to see.

This weekend we have been mainly spending looking at kitchens. Our oven suddenly died a few days ago (we can grill but not bake), and the hob has been dying for a while, with one of the rings now unusable. Our dishwasher is unreliable (about half the glasses come clean about half the time), our fridge is falling apart (and too small), and we're fed up of going into the garage whenever we want to access the freezer. On top of all that, we have been feeling for a while that the kitchen is ugly and not best laid out. The colour scheme has really shrunk on us since we've been here, there's an ugly gap either side of our cooker because the space is slightly the wrong size for it, and the corner cupboards are not that easy to get into.

So we've decided that we need a new kitchen. We took Faith round B&Q a couple of days ago and she had great fun opening all the cupboards and drawers, but the novelty seemed to have worn off a bit this morning when we took her to Magnet. But she still kept saying 'Chitchen. Chitchen. Buy it!'

Faith's beginning to start roleplaying as part of her play. The other day she put Jessie Cat on her ride-on car and pushed it around. And she picks up her toy phone and says 'eyoh', and when I ask her who she's phoning she says 'Pa-paa' (Grampa). She'll be drawing up a character sheet before we know it.

She's also trying to be helpful around the house. I've been getting her to help with laying the table, which keeps her out of mischief for a few minutes before dinner. 'Pates!' she says, going to the sideboard, 'Bows'. She pulls a plate out, announces 'Daddy's' and, with prompting and maybe a bit of help bearing the weight, takes it round to Daddy's place at the table. Then she does the same for everyone else (it confused her a little recently when we had visitors and there were two extra places to be laid). She helps with the cutlery too. 'Nai,' she says, 'poon'.

Today I went to get a bottle of wine to chill in the fridge for tonight. Faith saw what I was doing and toddled after me with a pair of wine glasses! 'Waaiyn,' she said.

And tonight, after brushing her teeth, she commanded me to 'Sin'.
'What do you want me to sing?'
'Sausage.'
Sausage, sausage… aah, she means Scarborough Fair, which I've been singing her for a lullaby the past few nights (sometimes for a couple of hours before she finally drops off). Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. She was tired and desperate for me to take her to 'beb'.

More pictures here.

The fire brigade were out doing some sort of safety campaign, hence the fire engine. I think Faith was a little nonplussed by it. We also met up with Grandma and Grandpa, who are in the final photo.

We took Faith to the zoo on Saturday, and met up with Grandma and Grandpa and Granny and Grandad for lunch. She's been telling me ever since about the tiger ('rahr!'), the penguins having a shower, and the baby baboon. Must take her back again soon!

So after church last Sunday she toddled through into the hall for a biscuit, which she nibbled over the next few minutes while we bought jam and got buttonholed by various people. She finished it just as I was strapping her into her pushchair.

'More,' she said.
'We're going home now,' I said, 'and we'll have lunch when we get home.'
She looked at me. 'More bibbit.'

That was her first sentence!* So of course after that I had to give her another biscuit. She ate it on the way home and then fell asleep.

A couple of days later I brought her home from nursery. She was hungry and so I gave her a biscuit to keep her going until dinner was ready. She finished it.

'More!'
'More what?' I asked.
'Bibbit!'
'You want another biscuit?'
She nodded. 'Peassssss.'

She got another biscuit.

Tomorrow we go to the zoo. She's very excited about this and I've been counting down the days with her. She can name quite a lot of animals - her favourites are elephants and tigers (with a side order of zebra). Oh, and giraffes are called 'necks'. I've been warning her that Edinburgh Zoo is too small to have elephants so she's not too disappointed, but I think there'll be enough to occupy her that she won't mind.

* Apart from 'Hiya Dadada' when she was about eleven months old and very excited that Daddy had come to pick her up from nursery, but I think that was just because she didn't know which of the two words she wanted to say most.

Recent new words include giraffe, rainbow, and zebra (said and signed – she's been watching the signing DVD, where they visit a zoo). This morning I heard some more new ones: knife, shark, shell. None of which I recall teaching her, so she's obviously picking something up at nursery. (The 'shark' she was pointing at was actually a picture of a dolphin, but I think that's pretty good nonetheless.) And she's started saying 'sa' for 'what's that?' when she wants something identified.

She can consistently identify purple and cyan. Most of the time, all other colours are 'yellow' until I identify them as something else, though she will then repeat the correct name after me. Maybe she is confusing the words 'yellow' and 'colour'?

Faith's latest new words include: amen, all done, away, flower, hot, please, shower, and a fair attempt at roundabout!

This afternoon, as has become usual on a Sunday, I took Faith swimming followed by a quick visit to the play park beside the swimming pool. She looks forward to this all week and points out the swimming pool whenever we go near it (twice a day on weekdays since you can see it up the road on the way to nursery). The swimming pool has a couple of little shallow shelves with gentle jacuzzi-type bubbles, which she loves to play on.

So I was putting her to bed this evening and said good night.
She signed 'swing'.
'Yes, you went on the swings today. Now go to sleep.'
She said 'Ba!' (park).
'Yes, you went on the swings in the park. Now go to sleep.'
She signed 'swim'.
'Yes, you went swimming this afternoon. Now go to sleep.'
She said 'Bubboo' (bubble).
'Yes, you played with the bubbles in the swimming pool. Now go to sleep.'
She signed 'swing'.
'Yes, and then you went on the swings. Now go to sleep.'

After about three iterations of this I put her in her cot and told her 'Yes, you had lots of fun today, and now it's night-time and time to go to sleep. No, you've been to the toilet, you don't need to go again. Lie down and go to sleep.'

Cue some wailing, but it didn't take that long before she quietened down, cuddled into my arm reaching into the cot and went to sleep.

So I took the day off work today to blitz the cleaning, as the house is becoming a bit of a disaster area. Robin seized the opportunity to take me out to lunch to celebrate my promotion. We decided to go to one of our favourites, Jade Garden, as we remembered having some very nice Italian bubbly there a while back. But when we got there, we found it wasn't on the wine list. We'd been having some friendly chat with the waiter, so I asked after the wine. He said he thought they'd discontinued it, but he'd go and have a look.

Lo and behold, there was one last bottle of it left! So he served it to us, though he said he didn't know whether there was still a code in the machine for it. 'That's ok,' I joked, 'we don't mind if you give it to us for free.'

The wine was even more delicious than we remembered – I think it must have aged some more in the bottle. The food was excellent too, as always, as was the Chinese tea.

At the end of the meal, he handed us the bill and told us the wine was on the house, because there was no way to put it through the system! So the whole three-course meal, plus orange juice, tea, and a bottle of bubbly, came to just £21.

We left a large tip.

I've been angling for a promotion at work for some time now, and yesterday I was told I've got it! Woo-hoo!

Faith can identify Miffy. Apart from some lovely slippers she wore between about three and six months (thank you roosje_katoen!), she hasn't really had any Miffy stuff, nor have we talked of Miffy. No books, pictures, or toys.

And yet when I left a smalll box lying around which had a picture of Miffy on the lid, she pointed at it and said 'Mi'y, mi'y!' She did the same when she spotted a small piece of waxed paper from inside the box, which was also decorated with a Miffy print. I can only assume she's being exposed to Miffy at nursery somehow. Unless she remembers the slippers?

(The box had contained a china beaker, one of her christening presents. I unpacked it into the china cupboard the other day, reckoning she's old enough now to handle crockery, and left the box lying around – it's now in use holding her crayons.)

Faith is eighteen months old today!

Latest word: 'knee', accompanied by pointing to her shin.

Video of Faith walking in the garden (with added aeroplanes and police car sirens):

Low res (5Mb)
High res (13.5Mb)