December 2013 - Annick 19 months, Luca 3y7m

Summertime Luca and Annick.

Annick:
- blablablablablablablabla
- favourite words and phrases: Annick (still #1), more/d'autre (also "shamore"), celle la/that one. what that?, Annick's one, mine.
- takes some deciphering sometimes.  Pointing urgently at the counter chanting, "Shamolay! Shamolay!", mama and nonna eventually worked out she was asking for "some more lait" as if she were Sean Connery.
- given a flower, identified it without prompting as a 'daddy-wai-won', which is pretty impressive.  I blame Ah kong and Ah ma.
- will dance to just about anything, particularly likes turning around and around
- LOVES having her hair tied in the couettines.  Also, lost the mullet this month.
- is picking up the toddler attitude, will get the 'face de gorille' along with a determination not to do anything anyone tells her to
- after some tickling and kisses, looks mama in the eye and says, "je t'aime mama".

Luca:
- awesome toilet training!  Even in Sydney in an unfamiliar toilet!  Was in underpants by Christmas and has been pretty fabulous since.  You should see his sticker chart now!
-is very interested in all the different kinds of toilets there are.  Asks thoughtful questions about each new toilet he encounters (at Kheng Ee's house: "this toilet has flush mama?"  In shopping centre toilet: "this toilet can have caca mama?")
- is delightfully reasonable for many things, e.g. was told once not to touch Nonna's soap and sponge when having a bath and since then just leaves it be; knows to only go and get a sticker when there is a reason to get one, even though they are always in reach (although once he got himself one and told Nonna "c'est pour ma gentilesse").
- is obnoxiously unreasonable at most other times, as per being three years old
- still infuriatingly picky at mealtimes, but often quite randomly so (Roast sweet potato?  NO.  Raw fennel?  YES.)
- still all about mama

This month, we went to Sydney!

Coogee beach - Luca and Annick loved the sand!

And were quietly optimistic about the sea until, about 10 seconds after this photo, they got hit by a wave and from then on decided the ocean was not for them.

Luca was a cool Sydney dude.

An hour's nap in Hyde park after a big Sydney day!

A promise to Luca that we would go to a 'little beach' instead of big, whooshy Coogee meant a walk down to Clovelly, which was much more his style.

On return to Melbourne, we go to Brunetti.  Annick shows the sparkly reindeer the big chunk of gruyere she insisted on carrying all around Carlton, and her Cookie Monster 'handbag'.

Annick is pretty sure that Christmas decorations are not for trees.

And Father Christmas is not for her!

Watching Caillou with Nonna is one of their favourite things.

Luca rides a dog.

Luca and mama made a cake.  Annick cleared up after.

No more little Annick mullet!  Only cuteness remains.

Morning Annick with her pyjamas, milk and bunny.

Banana kisses for Nonna!  Banana kisses are what you get when Annick has just eaten a banana.

Luca doesn't wear nappies any more!

This is a preview of how Annick eats spaghetti.

 Annick and Luca LOVE jumping in muddy puddles!

November 2013 - Annick 18 months, Luca 3.5

Annick:
- talking up a storm - knows her colours and her animals and some numbers and letters and her favourite books and favourite things to eat and the people she loves.
- is almost too adorable when she says 'petit singe!'
- kissy kissy kissy kissy kiss
- obsessed with fire engines.  Nee nar nee nar nee nar!
- joining Luca in the toilet training for the company.  Showed him up a little bit at the beginning but has been overtaken.
- 18 month checkup and is "perfect"
- MMRV vaccinations, cried briefly as it happened, was dancing away in waiting room 2 minutes later.
- dancing and singing all the time

Luca:
- having a go at toilet training, you should SEE his reward sticker board!  Should be in undies before Christmas, good work Luca!
- has been quite naughty, especially when tired
- everything is "why mama, why?  Why why why?"
- some spectacular imaginative play, the little worlds he creates are beautiful
- is very clear about who can speak French to him and who can't (and is trying but failing to convince mama that she should "only speak English")

PLUS - NONNA EST ARRIVEE!  Photos for that are on Facebook.

Luca & Annick like nothing better than dancing to Amoureux Fous by Julie &Herbert Leonard.

A cool start to summer means Annick's little fox coat gets a last go before she grows out of it.

Angus, Luca & Annick in the park!

Chocolate ice cream, obviously.

Ready to go out in the rain!

Goodbye Ikea high chair, hello $2 booster from Camberwell market!

Luca thinks we let him do this for fun.

Annick is always the last one at the table, still noshing while everyone else is getting ready to start the day.

Little leopard.

Annick has worked out that she can climb the vertiginous ladder in the playground by herself and slide without assistance.  Mama is trying to calm down about this fact.

Bath hair!

Luca and papa make lavender play dough sculptures at the Como French festival.

Luca loves feeding the goats!

The petting zoo guinea pigs are incredibly saintly little creatures.

And of course, Nonna has arrived!!

Coucou!

 The best part of the day, stories with papa before bed.

October 2013 - Annick 17 months, Luca 3yrs5mths

Almost summer!

Annick:
- has manners and says, "sivutay" and "messy" and "peese" and "takoo" in appropriate situations.
- absolute favourite word at the moment is 'Annick', although final consonants are still a challenge, so it's more like Anni'.
- second favourite word, and a close second, is 'd'autre' or 'more'
- other favourite words include, sit, happy, baby (babbeh!), truck, roar!, souliers, lait, l'eau, jus, pomme, Humpty
- sentences!  Puts words together that make sense.  "Appeh babbeh book mama, Anni' sit!" then she hands over her Happy Babies Book, sticks her little butt lapwards and plonks herself down to settle in for a story.
- kisses with her TEETH
- loves to have her hair tied up, sits patiently while it's combed and bunched.
- is definitely not weaning.

Luca
- still always trying to get Annick into trouble.
- loves cuddles, particularly with mama or Annick
- very into Charlie and Lola and Dr Seuss at the moment
- gets particularly angry when told that he might be tired.  Bellows "I NOT TIRED!" or "I NOT FATIGUÉ!", thereby proving us right all along.
- doesn't like to do what he is told
- still asks every day if we will go to the airport soon.  Sometimes goes to the airport with papa just for kicks.

Les petits artistes font les peintures.

 After a while Annick was more interested in painting herself.

I read a tip that if you want to keep toddlers occupied for HOURS, give them a colander and a bunch of pipe cleaners.  The first time I did this, it lasted about 30 seconds, but the second time I got a good 15 minutes of silent insertion, so yes!

Luca has a t-shirt covered in vehicles called his 'bicycle t-shirt' which he would wear every single day, every single hour if it were magically self-cleaning and/or I let him.  I have been scouring K-Mart in the hope they will stock it again, and one day we were in luck!  Almost the same t-shirt, but with BONUS DINOSAURS.  Clearly they know their target market well.

Not wanting to leave Annick out, she left the shop with a pair of discounted shark slippers which she was INCREDIBLY pleased with.

The swing is Luca's FAVOURITE THING.  The swing is something Annick likes moderately.

Eating al fresco!

Annick is very fond of having her hair tied in bunches, but then spends all her time touching them and they end up falling out and then she gets upset.

Sometimes it is just easier for everyone's sanity to seat them at opposite ends of the table.

But sometimes proximity results in awesome cuddles.

Checking out the world's biggest stained glass ceiling at the NGV.

Mango was one of Luca's first ever real foods.  He hated it.  He continued to hate it for three entire summers, then all of a sudden this year he LOVES MANGO.

Every night, Annick places her night-time reading in her bed before going for the dodos.

Cool little lady, eating bomboline at a cafe.

Summertime Luca and summertime Annick are summery.

Les yeux sexy sont encore la!

Papa fait les couettes.

Luca and Annick are helpful.

CHICKEN LEG.