The 19th and 20th month

I have been a really bad mum not updating Rayray's progress last month BUT my excuse is that we had  only gotten back to London so we've been busy settling and enjoying the wonderful summer here!!!!! To the point that it actually gotten so hot last couple of weeks that the government issued heat wave warnings!!! (hilarious!!!)

Anyway, before we came back I thought about putting Rayray into a nursery for a couple of days a week.  I know I'm now a full-time stay-at-home mum and why would I send my baby to nursery when my job is to look after her? Well, I do want to get back to work and have a few projects I'd like to get done. So the search of a nursery began and I must have trolled through ALL of the outstanding nurseries from OFSTED and finally found Zoom to be the one I'd feel comfortable to put Rayray in. She has never spent any time apart from me since birth, ok maybe for a few hours but NEVER more than 3 hours so not only this will be a challenge for her but its more about how I'd feel not seeing my baby for that amount of time!!! We started off with three settling days and she really enjoyed playing with other kids but when we started on a Thursday as her first official day, she got a bit upset seeing mummy leaving and I think that was when the novelty worn off. And I was almost in tears but had to hold it back as didn't want teachers there to come and tell me she would be ok....when all I thought was 'have I made a wrong decision?" Last week was her second week at nursery and she seemed to settled well, she started to eat better and was 'ok' when told mummy was coming back later to pick you up whenever she pointed at the door saying mama (gosh, hearing this from the school really really broke my heart!)

Poor Rayray got chickenpox

Other than that, Rayray somehow managed to get chickenpox right before we started at the nursery but luckily, it was mild. She was fine apart from spots on her torso and they weren't even itchy. She still had good appetite and lots and lots of energy!

Rose Garden in Greenwich Park

We just absolutely adore the summer here! It is simply pleasant and as it doesn't get dark till 10pm we love sitting in our garden chilling in the evening!

Obviously we didn't miss the Wimbledon, either!!!

Eating her favourite dish at Scalini 

Favourite spot in Greenwich Park's playground

Getting ready to go shopping!

We have had a lot of play dates since we got back and I just love it!!! Probably more than Rayray does! hahaha It makes the day goes by quicker than it already is and I feel so much more of a 'human being' again. Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with Rayray but I do feel I need some grown-up conversations too!

Toy Kingdom with twinnies!

Colouring at her favourite restaurant - Bar Boulud 

Homemade espanola tortilla

Scooting in Kensington Garden

After months of pushing rayray on the scooter, she has finally learnt to ride it herself, more steadily. I can't wait to see her whizzing around on it! 

Play date with Sophia in the South Bank

I love this photo, walking out of nursery and gosh, Rayray looked all grown up!

Chomping on a bread roll happily on the DLR

On the way to nursery and she HAD to have her miffy 

Development -

• Loves and HAS to feed herself most of the time, including cereals! At first I was rather hesitant as didn't want milk splashing everywhere but then thought it was actually a sign of my baby growing and being independent!!! 

• A little helper - loves cleaning the dining table for me after each meal, I also got her a set of brush, broom and mop so she can clean around the house while I do the dishes! Also loves binning rubbish, getting nappy from her nappy basket for me and list goes on! Ahhhh, how lovely I now have a helper! hahaha 

• Knows when she has done a number 2 and would tell me 'mama, botbot' ie, mummy, it's time to wash my botbot! hahaha

• She can 'count'! She can say, 1,2 3 and then 6 and 9! I guess all the counting when going upstairs and downstairs on daily basis really helped
• I told her to call Jocelyn 'JoJo' when we got back and now it seems JoJo is one of her favourite people as she calls JoJo A LOT and goes to her room to wake her up in the morning! She is now more confident about saying new words and this month, she can say

- mummy instead of mama
- dada

- JoJo

- Chair

- Door

- Ball (all time favourite word)

- Ba (for ballon)

- Bro (for broccoli)

- B (for beetroot or bee)

- A (for apple)

- Moon

- Pool

- Nu (for noodles as JoJo cooks her noodles almost every morning!)

- SheShe (Thank you in Chinese with the nodding gesture)

- Ta (Thank you)

- More

- WoWo (for dogs)

- Buuuuu (when she sees cars)

- Baba (for baby or sheep as we sing baba black sheep)

- MooMoo (means cow)
-baobao (as 抱抱 in Chinese but she only says it when she wants to be lifted up or carried)
-niuniu (as 妞妞 in Chinese and she knows that's what daddy calls her)

 There are probably other few words I have left out but it just to show that she has improved her vocabularies! lol

Rayray has cut through four more teeth at the back, both top and bottom and so has been rather miserable and dribbling lots and lots! Though she looks a 'proper' toddler with all that teeth and I sometimes just struggle to believe the baby in my arms is no longer a 'baby' but a toddler that runs around and understands what we say and responds in simple words or her little funny faces!

I have also discovered that Rayray can be quite possessive. I know it is probably human nature but for example, when we are in playground and if she gets onto the slide or a climb ing frame first, she would push other kids who want to get on after her! She also gets terribly upset if she sees someone else 'touching' her buggy especially when we are at restaurants! 

My happy pumpkin