I am so thankful, though, that I get to witness almost every minute of his first year :), and that I can report on his progress to you, via this blog!
Taking his first steps
That major rite of passage is almost here - sometime this month your baby may take his first steps alone. Also at about this time, your baby may begin feeding himself with a spoon, though he still frequently misses his mouth.
Well, he has taken ONE step alone. He could, however walk a few steps while I hold one of his hands though. I'm not too worried because I know it's going to happen sooner or later. Most of my kids start walking a few weeks after turning one.
What's over there?
Izani can't feed himself with a spoon yet, but that doesnt stop him from trying. I notice that he likes finger food more than other kinds of food and insists on feeding himself. So he eats a lot of fries if we're out. At home I give him rusks, crackers and fried chicken wings. He also loves roti canai.
Oh, he can drink from a straw!! The first time he did it was when he took a sip of lollies' strawberry smoothie in Q@tar.
mmm yummmeeehh!!
New kinds of play
Around now your baby's play will probably start changing from mastering his fine motor skills (he's got that thumb-and-forefinger grasp down pat) to exercising larger muscles. He probably thinks it's fun to push, throw, and knock everything down. He'll give you a toy as well as take one, and likes games where he can put things such as blocks in containers and dump them out.
His favourite game nowdays is 'memunggah' (rummaging). He'd open up drawers, cabinets, bags, laundry hampers and take out all the stuff. His favourite toy nowadays is a tupperware, either with or without the lid. I have a cabinet full of tupperwares in between my stove and my sink, so that he can play with them while I cook. The other day, however, he ventured into the dining room and decided to play with the real stuff instead of the plastic ones and broke one of my neighbour's ceramic casserole dish (she had given me some food and I had not returned the dish yet). Aiyoh!!! It was a good thing that HomeCenter was on sale, so I bought her a new one as a replacement.
I brought him to the playground for the first time a few weeks ago and discovered that he really likes being on the swing. What a delight to watch his face light up in discovery of the sensations of being swayed this way and that.
wheeeeeeeeee!!!!!!
Making bedtime easier
As your baby approaches his first birthday, he may begin to resist taking naps, and his growing independence may lead him to make a fuss at bedtime. Following a well-established nighttime routine, which might include a bath or a bedtime story, for example, may help settle him to sleep.
This explains why you have not seen me blogging as much as before. He only takes 3 naps during the day. Once at 10am (which gives me time to shower and do a litlle housework), another at around 1pm (which gives me a chance to make lunch and eat it), then another at around 6 or 7pm (which is my only 'me' time). We don't have a routine, but switching off the lights usually works like magic. As long as he can't see anything, he'll go to sleep. As long as there are 'activities' around him, he'd try his best to keep himself awake, so that also means shoo-ing everyone out of the bedroom.
It's hard to say good-bye
Your child has probably had bouts of separation anxiety during the last few months. This is natural: he loves and depends on you, so he'll be distressed when you leave.
Oh man... Whenever Izani sees me putting on my headscarf, he'd know I would be going somewhere, and he'd immediately ask to be picked up. I would say "Bonda tak tinggal nya" (I wouldnt leave you), but still, he wants to be picked up. NOW. The only thing/people that could distract him would be his siblings. So far, I've only left him a few times, when we went out shopping in Jakarta.
I don't know whether I'm gonna be sending him to a nursery or not, because the one at my compound costs SR600/month. I was thinking, with that kinda money, I'd rather lug him around myself while I go spend it shopping somewhere.
So, can I get my driving license now?
Learning more about language
Though at this point their vocabulary probably consists of only a couple of words besides "mama" and "dada", many one-year-olds can babble short, fully inflected sentences that sound like they're speaking a foreign language.
I was asked what language Izani speaks, by someone the other day. I'm sure he meant whether it was English or Malay, but I answered 'German' because that's what it sounds like to me. :)
He understands "mintak" and of course, "No".
Giving everything a name
It's up to you to help your baby make connections between objects and their names - the more you do, the faster your child's vocabulary will grow. Keep talking to your baby and labelling things. Count stair steps as you climb them and point out the names and colours of the fruits and vegetables at the supermarket. Read your baby a picture book and ask him to point to or name familiar objects. Give him choices sometimes. Ask him if he'd like to wear the red or the blue socks, or if he'd like to play with his blocks or his stacking rings. He may not answer, but then again, you may be pleasantly surprised.
I'm sure the guys at the grocery store call me "The Crazy Lady" because I talk to my baby all the time. Sometimes Izani even helps me pick out my clothes.
All in all, I think Izani is a very cheerful boy. He is not shy to laugh when something or someone is funny.He is also somewhat of a comic. He knows that I laugh everytime he sneezes, so sometimes he fakes one and gives me a cheeky grin.
Picture courtesy of Auntie Lolly Q
