Bigger and better adventures

Talia has become a complete hoot since she got the gift of the gab. She comes out with new things every day and I have to say it is the most amazing time, you can see her soaking things up like a sponge - and squirting them all back out again.

* When I take off her nappy, we look at it together.  If she’s pooped, she says “oooooh, poo!” and if she hasn’t, she says “All gone poo! Nuffing poo!”

* For the first time ever, she tried to sing “head, shole, knee, toes”, with pretty good hand actions.  Less fortunately it was while sitting at the front of a synagogue in front of the rabbi in the middle of the serious bit of the service.  :lol:  It was hilarious.

* She is completely mad about animals, especially zoo and farm animals, and can name loads of them.  She has Maisy’s Farm on DVD and watches it every day.  It has lots of baby animals so we had this conversation this morning.  Me: “what’s a baby duck called?” T:”duck-ing!”  Me: “That’s right Talia, very good! What’s a baby pig called?” T:(huge grin) “pig-ing!”  Me: “Mmm, I think a baby pig is called a piglet. What’s a baby sheep called?” T: (another huge grin) “sheep-let!”

In a lovely development this month, Talia has started singing! She doesn’t do it much on her own, but joins in when I am singing at home or in the car.
So far her repertoire includes:
- Old McDonald - she does the animal noises and the e-i-e-i-o
- Galumph Went the Little Green Frog - she says “baaaa” when I say “but” and then sings “ya ya ya” when I sing “la de da de da”
- Pat-a-cake - just the first words, only she loses a syllable, so it sounds like “pack-ache, pack-ache”
- I had a Rooster - she does the animal noises
- Wind the Bobbin up - she says “poo, poo” for “pull, pull” and claps/pats her knees at the correct times

She also claps along to the first verse of If you’re Happy and you Know it, and does the beeps in the second verse of the Wheels on the Bus.

Karaoke here we come!

Talia loves playing peek-a-boo, but sometimes she doesn’t quite manage to hide herself… here is a little video of her.

Peek-a-boo

I’ve been borrowing childrens’ CDs from the library, and the quality varies. Here are a couple of lyrics which caught my ear recently.

Most Annoying Lyrics Award goes to a song from a Play School CD. This song combines truly awful lyrics with an annoyingly catchy tune that went around my head for hours, the way some advertising jingles do. Fortunately for anyone who reads this blog, I am unable to share the tune but here is the chorus:

They’re round in the middle and they’re bigger at the bottom
They’re smaller at the top and we’re glad that we’ve got ‘em
And they’re egg-shaped…..’cos they’re eggs!
Every bird you’ve ever known, lays eggs.

Best Adaptation of an Old Favourite Award goes to an ABC Nursery Rhymes CD. Following the usual lyrics to I’m a Little Teapot, suddenly there was another verse:

I’m a little teapot, short and stout
Here is my handle, here is my handle.
Ha ha tricked you, I’m a sugar bowl!

Even Daddyfeatures is getting into the silly song routine. His latest creation is to the tune of a well-known Aussie favourite.

Walking my Talia, walking my Talia
Who’ll come a walking my Talia with me?
And he sang as he watched and waited for the child to smile…
Who’ll come a walking my Talia with me?

This follows on from his previous hit single:

How much is that baby in the mirror?
The one with the smile and the curl
How much is that baby in the mirror?
She is such a beautiful girl

It’s so nice to have a doting daddy. Especially one with a good singing voice!

Adam Gilchrist isn’t the only big retirement of the season; my boobs have definitely played their last Test for Australia too. Talia is pleased to see them - but only for about a minute each side, and only before breakfast. After that there is plenty of smiles and giggles but no more sucking.

So here for the record is our last breastfeeding song, to the tune of Old MacDonald.

Young Miss Talia had a mum, e-i-e-i-o
And on that mum she had a boob, e-i-e-i-o
With a suck, suck here and a slurp, slurp here
Here a suck there a slurp, everywhere a suck and slurp
Young Miss Talia had a mum, e-i-e-i-o

I don’t feel the urge to sing while she’s bottle feeding - and these days I make up a bottle and hand it to Talia who holds it with both hands and feeds herself. Clever cherub!

New foods since last week: lentils, spinach, parsnip, fish

This is another of our favourite songs at the moment, usually sung as I am feeding but also at other times when I am busy with Talia and feel the need to keep both of us amused. I make up random lyrics depending on my mood, some I remember and sing again and others I forget as soon as I’ve sung them. It is almost entirely meaningless but I like the tune!

She’ll be slurping on her mother when she comes (repeat)
She’ll be slurping on her mother, ‘coz she hasn’t anyone other
She’ll be slurping on her mother when she comes

She’ll be wearing a pink nappy when she comes (repeat)
She’ll be wearing a pink nappy, and be looking oh so snappy
She’ll be wearing a pink nappy when she comes

She’ll be sucking on a bottle when she comes (repeat)
She’ll be sucking on a bottle, until she’s drunk the lottle
She’ll be sucking on a bottle when she comes

Singing key-eye-yippy-yippy-eye (repeat)
Singing key-eye-yippy, key-eye-yippy
Singing key-eye-yippy-yippy-eye

We have been singing to Talia since the very first weeks in the NICU. Sometime we sing “real” songs, and sometimes we just make them up as we go. I’m particularly good at making up new words - or making up the tune if I forget how it goes - or simply substituting la la la if all else fails!
As I’m sure our repertoire will change over time, I thought I would post the lyrics to some of them before they are forgotten.

This is one of our breastfeeding songs, to the tune of “Mumma’s little baby loves shortnin’ bread”

Mumma’s little baby loves milkbar, milkbar
Mumma’s little baby loves milkbar best [repeat]

I took her to the doctor, the doctor said
Feed that baby on milkbar (breast)

Mumma’s little baby loves milkbar, milkbar
Mumma’s little baby loves milkbar best [repeat... ad nauseam!]