Zara turned 19th month 2 days ago. I was so busy, I only have time to write down her development (just like the previous month) today.

~ Weight 9.2kg
~ Height : 81cm
~ No new teeth sprouting. Her 4 Cuspids (canines) are still not fully sprouted.

Dexterity :
Expert in climbing and getting down furniture, but sometimes still prefer to shout out “Mummy help”
She’s jumping more and higher nowadays.

Language :
She never seized to amaze us in her language development. Speaks very well for her age, and with quite accurate pronunciation. She’s also talking non-stop now, we could always hear her chatter in the house.

New popular words:
Before & Because
~ Mummy give Zara grapes before
~ Zara sit on horsey before
~ Zara don’t want, because Zara don’t like.
~ Zara cry, because Zara angry

Very good with forming sentences now, and always picking up new words without us consciously teaching her.

She can count 1 to 6, not just saying the numbers, but actually counting items.
Knows how to differentiate a few colours, purple, green, black, orange, still mixed up with the rest of the colours.
Able to recite longer part of some nursery rhymes (Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, etc), and also started singing part of some songs in tune (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Polly Put The Kettle On etc).
She knows a baby frog is called tadpole, and a baby butterfly is called caterpillar.
Started differentiating left and right. Knows her left hand from right, and left leg from right etc(mainly her body parts which comes in pair).

Feeding and Food:
3 meals and 3 milk feeds a day.

Not very adventurous in trying out new food, but will still try with lots of persuasion and the permission given to her to spit out if she didn’t like it.

Takes most vege except those extremely fibrous and bitter.

Emotions :
I have to say she’s very loving, she gives lots of hugs, and kisses; although still not quite know how to share yet.
Although clingy (to me), and sometimes very mischievous to the extend of being naughty, she’s overall quite an easy girl. She listens to instructions and reasons (at least to the ones given by me); knows what she can and can’t do; knows what is rude and shouldn’t do (like pushing people or things away); knows her manners, i.e. greet people (by saying Hi or waving her hand) and say good bye; knows when to use please, thank you, excuse me (when she sneeze).

I just love her to bits!

She likes the flower making set that Samantha has given her, and she could play with it for a long time, making ‘umbrellas’ and ‘vege’, as she calls it. I was working from home, and when I went down for a drink, here was what she’s made.

And here is another way she spends her days at home, playing with her balls. She says she’s playing badminton, using her toy masak-masak (Malay: cooking set) spatula as the racquet. She’s muttering “Oh-Dear Oh-Dear” when her ball got kicked away from her sight, and she’s saying “What to do? What to do?”.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey-BANPlAvE]

It’s really fun to see her play, as she talks and laughs and sings to herself a lot. That’s the thing about working from home, if I hear some gigling downstairs, I can always go check out to see what she was up to.

Last night during bed time, I got her to agree to stay in bed while I went to shut down my pc in the study. When I got back, 5mins later, she told me, “Zara no cry!”.
I have to give her some hugs and praises, and told her how brave she was (the lights were all turned off except the night light, I think that was very brave of her to stay in a semi dark room all by herself). I pushed my luck further and asked her if I could go downstairs to have a cup of milk. She said, “Mummy go drink milk milk. Zara lie down.”
So I went down, had a glass of milk, rinse her bottle, went back to the room, and there she was on the bed with a big grin, “Zara so bave (brave), mummy go down drink milk milk, Zara no cry.”
I carried her and shouted “Hooray” gave her more praises, just to make her kembang (Malay: feel good about herself).

I was making her early morning bottle of milk in the room, and she started walking on the edge of the bed coming towards me (our bed has a thick wooden frame which she likes to walk on). I warned her, “Don’t walk at the edge, after fall down huh.”
She ignored and still continued to move towards me, and true enough, she slipped and got her foot stuck between the bed frame and the wall. She looked at me rolling my eyes, and she said, “Very good!” scolding herself (I wonder who used that on her before).

She was leafing through our wedding photos, and then she pointed to Daddy and said, “Daddy so cute!” Then I asked her, “What about mummy?” She looked again and said, “Mummy handsome!” *slap head*

On Sunday, I prepared her for bed, and told her she’ll be going to King’s Wife‘s place on Monday.
Me : Zara likes our house more or Ah Kim’s house more?
Zara : Ah Kim’s house.
Me : Why?
Zara : Ah Kim’s house got Mr Bean (we don’t subscribe to Astro and hence no Mr Bean cartoon at home).
…
Later in our conversation.
Me : Tomorrow Zara bring dinasaur sweet (just bought her some gummies in the shape of dinasaur) to Ah Kim’s house, must share with jiejie yeah?
Zara : Give Sam jiejie dinasaur sweet. Give jiejie Alicia dinasaur sweet.
Me : Yes. Clever. Must share share ok.
Zara : Ok.
Me : Can share with Navisha jiejie (King’s Wife’s neighbour who likes to hang around with her girls) or not?
Zara : *tears started flowing down so suddenly* Don’t want. Don’t want give Navisha jiejie. Zara don’t want.
Aiks.. it was time to pacify her and end of conversation.

We had string beans sprouts (Kuai Dao Miu) for dinner yesterday, while Zara had her own dish. After dinner, my niece Samantha took a bowl of string beans and started eating in the living room.
Zara saw what Sam was eating, so she asked for some, “Sam jiejie, give Zara beans please”
I took some from Sam and started feeding Zara, “Zara likes the beans?”
Zara said, “Like!” Then she added, “Jack bean stalk!” and laughed at her own joke.

(Tuyam told me this happened just now)
Zara was messing around her box of VCDs/DVDs, trying to take out some of the title sleeves.
Tuyam : You don’t do that. After mummy scold you.
Zara ignored Tuyam, so Tuyam repeated herself.
Zara stopped what she was doing and stared at Tuyam, “Zara angry!”
(She’s very good in bullying the maid, but with me, she will never use such tone and said such things.)

I was trying to test the water to check if Zara was ready for my upcoming business trip.
Me : Zara, can mummy sit airplane and go work work? (That’s what we say when Daddy is away for his business trip).
Zara : Cannot. Daddy go only.
Me : Why cannot?
Zara : Mummy stay you.
Me : *don’t understand* Huh? Mummy don’t understand Zara. Can mummy sit airplane and go work work or not?
Zara : Cannot. Mummy stay you.
Me : *still don’t understand* Why cannot, Zara sleep with kakak, ok or not.
Zara : Cannot. Mummy stay Zara.
(oh.. I finally got it. She meant “Mummy stay with me” when she said “Mummy stay you”.)

Zara’s speech development is just so amazing. There are things we didn’t consciously teach her, but she just picks up along the way. She also pronounces most words very accurately, just like an adult. At times, she surprised us with how her little mind words, stringing those words together. Here are some of what she’s able to say.

In the mornings, when Zara wakes up and hears the sound of shower in the bathroom, she’ll point to the bathroom. “Daddy taking shower in the toilet.” Points to me, “Mummy lye down on the bed”. Points to herself, “Zara sit down on Zara’s bed (her cot).”

Daddy wanted to shower Zara, and told her, “Come Zara, Daddy bath you.”
Zara exclaimed, “Oh Ma (my) God!” then, she continued to say, “Don’t want Daddy do. Want mummy do.” and she ran towards me.
(don’t know if she knows what Oh My God means, but she uses it so appropriately)

I took a tub of yogurt to the car thinking of having it in the office. In the car, Zara spotted it and said, “Yogurt! Yogurt!” wanting some.
Tuyam took her Petite Miam (yogurt for kids) out, and asked her, “You want mummy’s one or this one?”
Zara said, “Zara wants this one (pointed to her Petite Miam). Mummy’s one not so nice. Zara’s one nicer.” (I was surprised she knows how to use the word ‘nicer’.)

We were in the car and Zara suddenly just said, “So hot outside. Wind blowing blowing. So nice.” (She saw some branches swaying in the wind under the hot sun.)
I was surprised at her remark, but I responded, “yeah, nice right, the wind blowing?”
Zara continued to say, “Nice. Wind blowing Zara’s face. Wind blowing Zara’s hair. In kakak’s room.” She was referring to the fan in Tuyam’s room.

She recently is also able to differentiate: market for wet market (where we “buy fish, buy vege, buy manana/banana, buy papaya”); supermarket for grocery shopping (where we “buy vitagen, buy cheese, buy bread, buy pear”); and restaurant (where we “eat dinner”). She pronounces market, supermarket and restaurant perfectly.

Here are few of her common vocabulary blips. She sometimes call a porcupine pineapple, a guinea pig guinea pork, sun as sunflower (she knows what a sunflower is before she knows what sun is). And of course she can’t differentiate Me and You, she’s always asking people to “Carry you” when she meant “Carry me”.

In the morning, Zara wakes up and demands for her milk.
Instead of saying “milk milk” liked she used to say before snuggling close by to nurse, she says, “wants bottle breast” (thanks to breast feeding, she thinks all milk come from breast, even if it’s the bottle).

In the night, after she’d brushed her teeth, and come out of the toilet.
Zara : “Zara’s teeth so nice.”
Then she adds on : “Uh-Ker (uncle) XXX Seng’s teeth not nice.” Remembering Sengkor‘s chocolate coated teeth at May’s birthday.

She likes this new VCD Wow! That’s What I called Nursery Rhyme very much. I don’t quite like it because the nursery rhymes are sung too quickly, and the moving graphics too chaotic.
She took the VCD to me the other day, tapping on it, she said “Mummy put this one”.
I told her, “Mummy don’t like this one. Too noisy, make mummy headache”
She replied, joining her thumb and index finger together, “Soft soft ma”.
Ha.. she thought I was complaining about the volume, so she suggested I turn down the volume.

While out with my eldest sis and her baby Tasha, we teased Zara.
Sis : Mummy tonight sleep with Tasha baby, you sleep with Yi-yi ok?
Zara : Mummy sleep with Daddy only.
(obviously, I can’t sleep with anybody)

I was working from home. I heard the little girl shouting for me from the stair case.
Zara : Mummy where you (where are you)?!!
Me : Here.
Zara : Come, see.
Me : Wait.. coming.
I gladly went down to check.
Zara : Zara queen! *grin*
So here is the queen of the house.

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Heard Zara farted. So I asked her, “Zara fart fart?”
Zara giggled and said, “Like Daddy. Pooot”

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Zara having her favourite fishball for lunch.
Daddy : Zara share share your fish ball with Daddy ok?
Zara : Don’t want
Daddy : Zara must share share
Zara : Zara share share with Zara only (clever answer)

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Zara vomited out some milk after her feed.
Me : What happened? Why Zara vomit?
Zara : *grinned* Zara choke! Urk! Urk! *demonstrated*

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After she’d finished playing with her toy, I asked her to clean up.
Me : Zara! Clean up time!
Zara : Don’t want.
Me : Zara, if you don’t clean up who will clean up the mess then?
Zara : Kakak clean up.
Me : *surprised by her answer, but still put on a straight face* But Kakak didn’t play with the toys. Why must she clean up?
Zara : Uh-Ke Ah-Nua clean up then
(Uncle Anuar is what she calls King’s driver, and I don’t know why she dragged him into this)

Zara turned 18th month yesterday! Woh, she’s 1 1/2 years old now!
This is on her development, just like what I did for the previous months.

~ Weight 9kg
~ Height : 80.5cm
~ Her 4 Cuspids (canines) are still not fully sprouted.

Dexterity :
Good in climbing up furniture, but still struggle a bit when getting down from a chair or from our wooden chest.
There’s not enough practice for her to climb up and down stairs, so she can’t climb up stairs and down yet while just holding on to the wall, she’s good in going up and down on all fours though.
She can drink from a cup with a little spillage.
She’s very good in scoping things (ice, fish ball) from one bowl to another.

Language :
New popular phrases:
I don’t want!
Adding “Only” behind phrases :
~ Want mummy’s breast only
~ Want Christmas song only (she likes to listen to this Jingle Bell tune from a Karaoke VCD we have)

Making longer sentences, e.g.
“Take bath bath. Eat mum mum (Chinese : food). Christmas song. Read book book.” (telling me what we’ll do when we returned from the park)

Very good at requesting for things, and making sure we hear her demands.
“Want Bina (Ribena) ice.” (when we gave her luke warm Ribena)
“Don’t want biscuit. Want con fakes (corn flakes).”

She can count 1 to 6.
Knows the name of the colours, but still don’t know how to differentiate them yet, except for purple which is the colour of Barney.
Able to recite and sing part of some nursery rhymes (Hey Diddle Diddle, Row Row Row your boat, Cobbler Cobbler mend my shoes etc).
Knows a lot of animals names, some more uncommon ones, e.g.: Raccoon, panda bear, crab, octopus, snails, guinea pig, ostrich (thanks to my DK Visual Encyclopedia).
Knows a lot of fruits and vegetable names, e.g.: Pineapple, strawberry, broccoli, ginger, water melon, pumpkin.
Knows all my family members’ names : My sisters and their husbands, the names of their kids, my father’s.
She knows a baby dog is called Puppy, and a baby cat is called Kitten.

She knows how to use words like together (“Zara and mummy go home together“), loud and soft (for the volume of her songs), pretend (“Pretend drink tea“), shy (“Zara shy shy, don’t want to say Hi” when we ask her to greet people and she refuses), shame (“Shame shame, Zara never wear baju“) etc.

Feeding / Food :
Favourite food includes : fish, raisin, bread, fish ball, grapes, pear, wanton, water melon, spinach.
Takes 3 solid meals and have 3 milk feeds (about 4~6oz per feed, and mainly on formula now).

Emotions :
Loving, gives lots of hugs, and kisses.
More apprehensive with strangers now compared to how she used to be, will greet them, but won’t let them touch her.

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We just got back from the paed for Zara’s 1 1/2 year old jab. Dr has to administer 2 jabs. One for her booster DTP, Polio and Hib, the other is Pneumococcal vacination.

She walked into the Dr’s clinic very bravely, said Hi to the Dr. Let the Dr check her without fussing. Then took her jabs. She just complained, “Bum bum pain pain” after the Dr has administered the 2 jabs. Then shook the Dr’s hand, and waved bye bye and said “See you” and walked out of the clinic. Not a single tear nor wailing! That’s my girl!

She likes to hold on to Mr Blue in the day as a comfort object..
But in the night, she will do away with Mr Blue, preferring the linen cloth instead.
She says, “Daddy’s cloth, Mummy’s cloth (referring to our blankets), Zara’s cloth”

She saw Daddy working on our clogged drain pipe on Sunday.
When the plumber came and worked on the problem, she pointed to the plumber and said, “like Daddy.”

She thinks all trucks are rubbish trucks. She says, “Rubbish Truck!” when she sees one and then fans her nose and says, “Smelly“.

She orders her meal.
For breakfast Tuyam makes her oat, she will say, “put banana” or “put raisin”, depending on what she wants.
For lunch, she requests for “fish ball” or “bread and cheese”.
For dinner, she wants “steam fish and pork” (although we never cook pork at home and let her settle with fish).

She requests to have us read her a book before bed time.
“Read book book!” and then chooses her own book.
“Crab book” (referring to my DK Visual Encyclopedia, she likes the pictures, especially on the living things)
“Big book” (referring to her First 1000 Words Book)
“Snake book” (referring to her Size Book, as there’s a big snake on one of the pages)
(her top 3 favourite)
And on days she prefers a story to be told, “Maisy book“ or “Mr Night book“.

She thinks mummy is her jukebox.
“Mc Donald!” She looks at me and says. Asking me to sing the Old Mc Donald song.
or “Bingo!”
or “Baby” (and she would proceed to lie in my arms) referring to Rock A Bye Baby.

She sometimes asks Tuyam to sing too, but Tuyam will be singing out of tune or forget the words, and Zara would say, “Kakak don’t know one!“

Zara loves Roti Canai (Prata) and Nasi Lemak (coconut rice) very much. If we have it for breakfast, she’ll be hanging around Tuyam, shouting for “Canai” or “Emak”. She’s smart, she’ll take the part without the gravy or the sambal, if you give her those other parts, she would say, “Don’t want. Spicy!”

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We went to Jusco after meeting some mummy and daddy bloggers in Kidzsports on Sun (read about it here and here), since it’s members’ shopping day. I got Daddy to look after Zara at the toy section while I went to grab things I need. Daddy joined me at the cashier once I’m done. I then realised Zara was munching on something.
Me : You bought something for Zara to eat? (since the pram with all Zara’s goodies was with me)
Daddy : No
Me : *shocked* Then what is it she’s eating?
Daddy : *quickly checked Zara* Zara, open your mouth and show Daddy. *dug into Zara’s mouth, and scrap out some nut like thing* What is this Zara?
Me : *angry* Where did she get that from? Picked up from the ground? Or did you see someone giving it to her?
Daddy : I don’t know
Me : *even angrier* You were looking after her, and you don’t know?? What were you doing??
Daddy : I’m telling you I was looking after her and I didn’t see her picking up anything or anybody giving her anything!
Me : (“Yeah! You are blind!” But I didn’t say that) Please be more responsible when you are given the task to look after her!!
Men! Didn’t even realise his daughter is munching on something and how she got hold of that something to much! *slap head*

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I’m trying to quicken the process to wean Zara. Every time when she asks for milk, I tell her I’ll go make a bottle of milk for her. She’ll protest, “Don’t want. Don’t want bottle! Want only mummy’s breast!” But she’ll suck on the bottle anyway when the bottle is placed near her lips.

She’s still nursing for her first feed and last feed though, I let her get her ‘fix’ then will supplement with some formula since I know my milk suppy is very low now.

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Zara sometimes like to call us by our names
“Mummy XXXXX (XXXXX being my name), where you (where are you)?”
“Mummy XXXXX, come!”
“Daddy YYYYY (YYYYY being Daddy’s name) come home di (come home already).”
And I don’t know who taught her this, but she likes to say, “Ah Ku ZZZZZ (ZZZZZ being my brother, the King’s name) botak head (Malay : Bald headed)” since my brother has crew cut. (Tuyam denied teaching her this) .

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Zara as a whole is a very good girl, the only problem I have with her is during dinner time. She likes to climb out from her high chair, and scoop food from the dishes laid in front of her (she eats together with us, we don’t feed her at a different time). She likes to complain about the food, “Don’t want” “Don’t like” “Not nice” “Blech” are some of her complaints.

The last 2 days, I played a children music CD for her during dinner time. It did wonders! She sat down throughout (it could be us readjusting the height and depth of her chair too, since she’s using Tripp Trapp, which we need to adjust the chair occasionally based on how much she has grown), chewing her food, while we can see her mind working on the songs (she has this far away look).

She took lots of chopped vege (something she would spit out on normal days), rice, and fish. And because she’s busy with listening to the songs, she left our dishes alone. I wonder how long this ‘trick’ will work on her.