A Sensitive Period

Firstly I must correct myself and say that Pascale is probably (just) a bright child. Nothing suggests a giftedness, even though she walked at 10 months and was crawling and cruising since 8 months. She provides many amusing moments to her carers though.

She has started to say naai naai and tapping my chest area when she wants breastmilk. Once at 10pm-ish I was not prompt with presenting the boob and she said naai naai. During food time she indicates she wants to use her spoon to scoop whatever it is that she is being fed, usually avocado or yoghurt. I try to let her but then her fingers take over and she gets stuck into textural exploration (= yukky mess). She is trying to say avocado.

Food is now nana (banana being a favourite), person is dada, but mother is still mama and baba is her father. Jeh jeh or Ab is her sister. The other day she said chaat ngah, meaning brush teeth as she indicated her toothbrush. I gave it to her and she put it into her mouth, moved it around. Then I said that we need to rinse and put the brush back into the holder, and she let go of the brush so that I could do it. She also knows where to go for a bath and a nappy change: she likes to hold my hand and we walk there. If it's bath time Pascale puts her hands on the edge of the bath and peers inside expectedly. She takes her feet and arms out of her clothes as she is being undressed.

Pascale has started to take an interest in the photos on our fridge, esp ones of papa with either herself or her sister. She loves riding in the centre seat in the car, facing forward at last, cos she can see so much of the surroundings. Yesterday we crossed the Anzac Bridge and she raised her arms as we moved past the pattern of cables.

Since Thursday Pascale has been insecure and needing her mother a lot more. Maybe due to her being left at childcare so abruptly on Wednesday morning and for so long (11am-4pm). She didn't fly to her Por Por as usual when we met her today. When I was moving our bags out to the car she cried co she thought that I was leaving her in Por Por's house. Oh what have I done?