Sheila's Space!

Wow I knew it was a long time since I updated my blog but 5 months is a bit longer than I thought.
Zoe has just had her 2nd birthday. Where does the time go? We went to Marwell Zoo for the day and we came home and had the cake (that I made!) lol
We have recently taken one side of Zoe's cot off, it is pushed up against a double bed in her room which she has always liked and she has stopped waking up for a bottle in the night now she can get on the bed herself, or back in the cot herself, she doesn't need to wake me. We were worried that she might hurt herself trying to get out of the cot as she is so strong now.
Zoe's weight gain has been brillian over the last couple of months and she is now just above average, in the sentile that she was born in. Her height is absolutely on the middle line for where she should be for a 2 year old. I am so happy because I wanted her to get back to the sentile where she started.
Zoe's speech is amazing, she can sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Incy Wincy Spider, the Rainbow song to name just a few, she can count up to 20, she knows her colours and her shapes, she really is our little star. There is not a day goes past when we don't sit back and admire what she's achieved that day, she is amazing. She really holds a conversation, she thinks about her responses which sometimes are quite witty.
Anyway I'm going o try and upload some old photos from Exbury and then try and get an early night. Teaching tomorrow.

Zoe has been in bed asleep for about an hour now. She tends to go to bed between 7 and 8pm now and sleeps through till 6 or 7 in the morning. I can't express what a relief it is to sleep properly now after so long. She didn't start sleeping though consistently until about 17 and a half months! This coinsided when she stopped breast feeding and when her speech started to really take off.
She's been walking since 8 and a half months, she can currently run about half a mile and that is not exhageration!
Our new concern now is that she seems to have no fear. She will happily throw herself off things an we drastically keep catching her and tell her to stop but she continues, we have to put her in her cot sometimes for safety and to let her calm down. We don't want her to have a serious accident.
Zoe's weight gain has finally gone up a sentile so she's just below average now which is also a big relief.

It seems ages since I've had the opportunity to sit down or 2 minutes and write to my blog. Even now Zoe is demanding everything off my desk and that I tell her the names of things.
She's still not sleeping through the night and last night I spent a total of 2 hours 15 minutes trying to settle her. I just want to sleep, I'm tired nearly all the time. I have to give in to her and let her sleep with me just so I can get some sleep myself.
She's saying quite a few words now but not on demand for an audience. She seems to shut down in front of other people which is interesting because she appears confident in other areas but I'm happy with what she can do so far. I've posted the "How your child will grow" document to her website so everyone else can see that she's on track too! A lot of other things she shouldn't be doing till she's 2 or 3.
Looking forward to the summer but not having to get the sun cream on her all the time! She has such fair skin she will burn easily like me.
Got to go... time's up... more demanding.

It's 7.20pm and Zoe has gone to sleep early as she hasn't had a nap all day again. I will probably be in bed within the hour as the twelve hours of constant playing and chasing wears me out and I don't know what the night will involve. Sometimes Zoe sleeps through, other times she wakes once and goes back OK, other times she can wake up to 4 times in the night and will want to come into bed with me. Sometimes, like last night it can take 2 hours to settle her and 2am-4am are long dark hours.
Zoe is full of life now she has got over all her colds she's had this winter. I don't know where she gets her energy from. She has a good balanced diet of freshly prepared food which she really enjoys and is always keen to try new things. She doesn't like fish and chips though but I think we knew that from when I was pregnant! I never managed to keep a mouthful down!
We might try and get Zoe a bookcase for her bedroom tomorrow. She loves books. Tuesday we will go to Krazy Kaves and on Wednesday we're going to try the new "Baba Disco" at a local club! Thursday and Friday I will be working on and off throughout the day. I still find it hard to leave Zoe and so do just half hour sessions. I miss her so much but I do enjoy my time with my clients when I can think and talk on an adult level and use my brain a bit!

Had a nice Christmas and New Year. All the decorations are down now, back to work, back to the routine and back to some sense of normality.
Zoe has had cold after cold and has not been well for weeks really, although is full of energy and just wants to play at night rather than go to sleep. We're going to have to be strict with her, regular routine and expectations, no desert till main is finished, no biscuits unless she's had a decent meal. I'm also starting to cut down on the breast feeding now, she's 14 months, she doesn't need it nutritionally or to get to sleep anymore. I don't want it to become a problem later. I've done my duty.
Hoping 2009 will be a good year.