Raine's Dictionary

One of the first major milestones of a baby is when she utters her first real word. I say real because most babies babble and gurgle unintelligible sounds at the beginning. I remember when Raine said her first syllable, "Bah!", it was so loud and forceful it took me by surprise. She was only about 3 months at the time and I thought it was just a matter of time before she started spouting words. My mom once commented that Raine would probably be talkative because she always seemed to be "talking". It was as if she wanted to join in the conversation even if we didn't understand her contributions.

At 10 months she said her first real word, "Baby!". And after that she would say it as much as she can. Now that she is 20 months old she can say over 75 words. She loves to "talk" to hubby and me and although we still don't understand half of what she says we pretend that we do to encourage her speech.

Like most toddlers learning to talk she has difficulty saying some words and oftentimes invents her own versions of certain words too. These are Raine's top 10:

1. Boomboom - This means pillow. For the life of me, I don't know why she calls her pillows boombooms. We never talk to her using cutesy words or phrases so she must have thought this up all on her own.

2. Nus - She already knows the basic parts of the face and body and loves to name them all while pointing to them. Her favorite part of the face are her eyes and then her nus (nose).

3. Slimping - This is easy, since she can't enunciate yet this is her version of sleeping.

4. Gib - I taught her the word "behave" and everytime she acts up I just say this word and she crosses her arms and stays still. Okay, it only works for a few seconds, but still.

5. Sin - She loves raisins so I always mix it up with her cereal or oatmeal.

6. Pip - Another part of the face she loves are the lips

7. Tum - Here Raine is referring to her tummy. She loves to pull up her shirt and point to her tummy.

8. Suds - Hubby and I love massages and right before bedtime is time for a soothing rubdown. The little girl points to the lotion and says "Suds!", short for "mas-SUDS".

9. Bahd - Raine loves them all; whole wheat, white, dinner rolls. She eats them plain.

10. Soh - She likes all kinds of animals and after the dog and the cow, comes the "horse". I don't really know why she calls it "soh" but she knows how to imitate its neighing sound.

Raine used to call me either Mimi or Maymie, while her Dad is Didi or Daydie. Now she calls us Mommy and Daddy and it's music to our ears. Pretty soon, our little bunny will be carrying real conversations with us. We can't wait!

Always Be My Baby

Everyday Raine becomes less of a baby and more of a little girl; showing her independence by trying to do things by herself.

I’m always trying to make her drink water and juice so that she’s not too dependent on milk. One time, after drinking her cough medicine, I offered her water but she refused it so I let her be. Later, we brushed her teeth using baby toothpaste (the kind you don’t need to spit out) and I offered her water again. Still, she shook her head no. During lunch she finally took some liquids.
Lesson learned: just because I think she’s thirsty doesn’t mean she really is. I kept offering her water when she didn’t want any after all. When she finally wanted some she told me herself, tiptoeing and reaching for her cup on the kitchen counter. She also likes to feed herself now, oblivious to the mess she makes as she takes in spoonfuls of oatmeal, pasta or a rice meal.

Another time, I was laying out Raine’s clothes and diaper, getting ready to give her a bath. The next thing I know she is already inside the shower stall, pouring water on herself, while still wearing her pajamas!

Raine already knows how to remove her clothes so sometimes she likes to take them off and walk around the house butt naked! I usually have to put on her clothes for her two to three times before she gets tired of this “game”.

For her afternoon nap, I lie down beside her and she usually falls asleep in a few minutes. Once, she started crying and kept pushing me away. It turns out that she wanted to sleep by herself. Wow, that was a first! Now, even at night she no longer needs to have my arm wrapped around her while she sleeps. She takes my arm for awhile but when she’s really drowsy, she removes it from around her waist and buries herself in her pillows until she’s in deep sleep.

Usually at night hubby asks for a foot massage. Lately, whenever Raine sees me putting on the lotion, she excitedly positions herself near her Daddy’s feet and swats my hands away, as if to stay, “No, I want to do it.”

I have to admit I miss the days when she was totally dependent on us; for eating, bathing, clothing and everything else in between. In a few months, Raine will be two and show even more independence. Sometimes I wish she would stay a baby a little bit longer but she seems to be rapidly changing everyday. As she leaves babyhood behind and moves on to being a full-fledged toddler, I shall be in the wings guiding her and cheering her on.