January 2014 - Annick 20 months, Luca 3y8m

Annick:
- Counting!  Much like Luca at a similar age, has a grasp of it, but there are gaps - Annick's sequence goes "1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, 12... blast off!"
- Favourite phrases at the moment: "tum on mama" (also, "I tumming!" as she runs towards you), "c'est quoi ça?" , "Annick's one!","IMMA STUCK!"
- When she is upset, cries for 'daddy daddy daddy', but doesn't apparently mean daddy.
- Very sure of who she is.  Luca and Annick are crawling around under the dining table, pretending to be animals (a favourite game).  Luca says, "woof woof!  I'm a big dog!"  To which a little voice responds, "I'm a BABBEH!"
- A few weeks of screaming hysterically before bed that she has only just finished up with.  What will she try next?
- WEANED.  I think her last feed was over a week ago :(

Luca:
- Mama: How much do you love me?  Luca: I love you... 20 dollars!
- Supremely comfortable on the balance bike, zooming along like a pro
- Speaking some awesome French!  Having Nonna around has worked!  Although having trouble weaning him off "I aime..."
- Responsible and takes his role as big brother, telling Annick how to behave properly, very seriously
- Has had his last ride on papa's back in the Manduca - he's hit the 20kg limit and papa's back is probably already over limit
- Is very sure he is a small boy.  When teased that maybe he has a pouchaquelle, he responds with great indignation, "c'est PAS une pouchaquelle mama, c'est un ZIZI".

Making bread! Guess which ones are Luca's.

Gelato with Nonna at Spring St Gelato.

Luca gets a tomato plant at the NGV and it is growing beautifully under his care on the balcony.

Annick waters a tree.

Papa busts a move in the Melbourne Now discotheque.

Annick makes her contribution to the amazing bird sticker wall at Melbourne Now.

Yes.

Luca and Nonna do Luca's favourite thing - take out the recycling!

Little Red Riding Hood goes for a drive.

Petit garçonnet.

Annick decorates her toes with hair elastics.

Luca prepares for his career as a hair stylist.

When they're digging up the road next to your house, it's a GOOD THING when you're a small child.  Less so for adults.

Luca is particularly fond of having a tail.  The shoes, I don't know.

Tralalire, a much anticipated monthly arrival in the letterbox!

Another of Luca's favourite things - window washing!  I will set him up on Hoddle St next week.

Orange bear drives the shoebox train.

Les yeux sexy encore!

Annick approaches Australia Day with the solemnity she believes it deserves.

Papa enjoys this as much as Annick does.

Banging out the tunes with papa.

A cheeky little lady.

Ipads and wafers, who needs anything else.

Reading le bébé ouin ouin with Nonna.

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.