Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

Brie is 21 months old now!

(Yes, that’s THREE months away from turning TWO! Baby Brie is growing up too fast!)

Okay. Time to jot down some quick updates on our littlest in the family!

Here goes :

>> She’s into scribbling and colouring.

She loves it too when we name an object, and she’s to find it on the page.

>> We talk to her mainly in Indonesian, with some English too at times, and we can see how her vocabulary is growing by the day.

Note: She still pronounces them in her own ‘baby language’ though, which only her family understands =)

Words like,

– ‘U U’ for ‘Susu’ = Milk
– ‘Ja-to’ = Fall down
– ‘Ba-ca’ = Read
– ‘Lee-at’ = Want to see
– ‘Peeessh’ = Please
– ‘E O’ = Video
– ‘Ma-oo’ = I want
– ‘Auwww’ = Painful
– ‘Dee-Keet’ = Little Bit
– ‘Meow’ = Cat
– ‘Oof’ = Dog
– ‘Cha-na’ = Pants
– ‘Oop’ = Soup
– ‘Boof’ = Shoes
– ‘Pee-pee’ = Pass urine
– ‘E-E’ = Pass motion
– ‘Ba-oo’ = Smelly =)
– ‘Mum Mum’ = Eat
– ‘Mee-nyoom’ = Drink
– ‘Bo-bo’ = Sleep
– ‘Dawww’ = Draw

>> She somehow insists on calling her big sister and big brother by name!

Our ‘repeat after me’ conversation would usually go like this:

Mom: Daddy 
Brie: Deeee….

Mom: Mommy 
Brie: Mommy

Mom: Brie 
Brie : Beee….

Mom: Ko-Ko  (means : big brother)
Brie: Va-eeeee ….

Mom: Brie, say … ‘Ko Ko’ 
Brie: Va-eeeee …..

Mom: Jie-jie
Brie: Nya nyaaaa….

Mom: Brie, say ‘Jie-Jie … Jie-Jie’
Brie: Nya nyaaaa…..

=)

And, strangely it’s been like this since the very first time she learned how to address her big sister and brother a few months ago! Till today, she calls them by name, although we keep teaching her to say and call them as ‘Jie-Jie’ and ‘Ko Ko’.

[Playing with colours using an old sponge]

>> She’d insist on putting on her own clothes, pants, socks and shoes

When I want to put them on for her, she’d almost always go, ‘Beeee… Beee…!!’, basically telling me how SHE wants to do it herself.

And so usually, I’d help a little when she’s putting on her shirt, and I’d remind her how the ‘picture on the front of her shorts’ needs to face outwards before she puts them on. Then, she puts the pants on herself.

As for her shoes, she still sometimes wears her right shoe on her left =)

>> The one song she sings well is ‘Bapa Terima Kasih’ (which means ‘Father, thank you’)
>> Brie is into looking at books (and getting us to read them with her)

>> She’s partially potty-trained

Out of all three kids, I’m surprised how Brie is half potty-trained by now (because none of my two older ones even indicated any ‘potty training readiness’ at this age)

She hardly wears any diapers at home. I’d bring her to sit on our toilet bowl every 20 mins or so, and she’d usually then pee (or poop).

Sometimes she’d tell me when she wants to pee or poop too, which still surprises me each time she actually does pee or poop into the toilet bowl!

(Note : ‘Accidents’ still happen every now and then)

>> She’s slowly being weaned off breastfeeding

Three weeks ago, I’ve managed to cut down all breastfeeding session to just once or twice a day (eg. Early in the morning when she wakes up). BUT, 10 days ago, Brie was down with fever, cough, wheezing and runny nose.

For a week, she didn’t eat much at all (like, only 20% of her usual daily intake), she’d vomit out the formula I spoonfeed for her, and she’s just lethargic. She’d cry during the day and night, and so I ended up comforting her and breastfeeding her again.

As to the question, do I still produce milk? Yes, apparently I still do (Thank God!).

But anyway, I really do aim and hope she can be fully weaned off breastfeeding by the time she turns two.

[Brie would insist to also have a paint brush when Anya and Vai have their painting session]

>> She loves to play with her big sister and brother

She’d giggle and play with them. She’d want to hold their hands.

She likes it when Anya carries her around. She’d cry (and ask for them) when Anya and Vai didn’t hop into the car together with her (because they’re going away somewhere else with Daddy).

And oh, just recently, as she’s about to climb onto her stroller, Vai smiled and said to me, ‘Aww… I’m tired, I want to sit on the pram.’

As he walked off, Brie actually turned and called out to him, ‘Va-eee …. Va-eeee …. ‘, then she pointed to her stroller and said, ‘Duduk … duduk..’ (which means ‘sit down’ in Indonesian).

And I was like, awww … that’s so sweet of her. When Vai told her how it’s okay, and that she can sit on her stroller instead, she then climbed and sat on it.

>> And when we pray together (eg. Before her mealtime), she’d close her eyes tightly with both hands folded together, and end it with ‘Ma-meeeen’ (her version of ‘Amen’ =) 

Love this.

>> She’s 11.5 kg now 

…

… God who has entrusted her in our care will surely be with us too, every step of the way.

ANYWAY.

As much as I’m enjoying her baby days, the littlest in our family obviously is not so little anymore.

Brie continually grows in her independence, and she’s showing more and more understanding towards what’s going on in the world around her.

And, although we know parenting our little Brie will naturally get challenging as she grows up, … it’s comforting and reassuring to know that we’re never alone in our parenting journey, for God who has entrusted her in our care will surely be with us too, every step of the way.

May God give us all the joy, strength, patience and wisdom we need everyday, to be the kind of parents HE wants us to be.