Dear Jayden,

you turned 15 months exactly on Saturday, the day we celebrated Mother’s Day with grandma. You were a good sport that day, going out with grandpa and grandma. Down to the nearby playground, off to great-grandma’s. I think you had fun. As did the rest.

As hard as it is to imagine, you are even more active than you were before. It is amazing to see how much energy you have. We have started to joke that the childcare centres would not want you there. The later the better they would say.

You are very mobile. Walking with confidence. Even climbing. With one swift movement you mount the coffeetable at my parents’, before taking to walking the elongated table like it were the runway. You climb the massage chair, even to the back of it.

You exhibit great understanding. What you lack in speech, you make up in gestures. When we speak of going to the aircon room, you immediately head straight for the stairs, ready to climb up to the cool haven. When you fuss and we speak of going out for a walk, you quieten down IMMEDIATELY. Sometimes we’d just tell you to grab your shoes and socks, and you would go off on a hunt for them, bringing them to our feet. Then you’d wait expectantly, somewhat like a playful puppy awaits the owner to toss the ball for a good game of fetch.

You have a strong mind of your own, we all can tell. You are determined not to eat. Nevermind that the same foods you reject end up in your milk. You will drink it, power slushies as we call it. Just not when it is the solid form. Your most recent meal encompassed milk, fruit juice, cod liver oil and chicken puree. Goodness.

If it be a solid, you will shake your head adamantly, push the offending spoon aside and instead, reach for your cup to drink plain water. Oh yes, you have started to develop a love for anything with a straw in it. While you would still drink from the bottle, you are and have learnt to control the amount to sip up. Its quite funny to watch you potter around, hands holding handles of cup and lips pursed as you slurp up the water.

You have a cheeky nature. Going around everyone’s homes and making a din. At grandma’s you love to grab a pail and toss in the clothes pegs. It seems that fanciful toys do not attract you. Instead it is the mundane everyday things that you delight in. You can spend quite a bit of time putting the pegs in and taking them out. You can stack cups, though not necessarily in the right order. When given the rings, you place them purposefully on the joystick. I do believe we have no worries for your motor skills!

You seem to love water. Just not water on the head and dripping over the eyes. Lately you have taken long splashes in the tub and totally enjoy it. However you showed the naughty side the minute we took you out. You wailed and screamed. A very spoilt child attitude showing. So much till you foamed. That was not good, so we promptly went to get the rod for you. And boy have we had occasion to use it.

But as the saying goes, “Spare a rod, spoil a child”. Proverbs 13:24… He who spareth the rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him correcteth him betimes.

And so we are now on towards month 16… Will you learn to speak proper this month?

with love