Ivy, recently

- Now says: shoes, cheese, toes, toast.

 - Really is obsessed with going outside. As soon as we are downstairs she finds her coast and asks for it to be put on, and then zipped up. She rubs the ends of the zip together until she gets frustrated that she can't do it and asks us to make it work. She also finds her shoes and asks for them to be put on. If she can see her backpack, that goes on too. Then she will either stand at the front door pointing and gesturing "come on" or whine to get in the pram. This is usually before I am dressed or have had breakfast. If we go out, and then come home, she wants to go in the garden as soon as possible. Indoors simply will not do.

- Has discovered her belly button and loves it. Over winter she would be dressed in tights under trousers and a long sleeve vest that pops up between the legs, so the only skin she would see would be her hands. When good weather came, tights and vests were no longer needed and she realised that she has skin in places other than her hands. She pulls up her trousers and slaps her legs with glee, and will pull up her top to find her bellybutton on demand!

- In the mornings Ivy calls for me by saying "Mum"

 - Is really good at holding hands, and has learnt that she can lead people where she wants. She has strong grip! She also does it for a sense of security, sometimes.

- Still loves dogs and gets excited, points and barks when she sees any. We finally got a video of her version of barking. She also makes this sound if she hears someone say 'dog' or 'Charlie'.

- Prefers to eat from a plate or bowl (rather than straight from the table), and it usually doesn't end up on the floor. She is also keen to use cutlery, because she sees us using it. She can get a pre-loaded spoon or fork into her mouth, just can't load it up with food herself yet. She's working on it. Meals aren't usually as messy as this anymore:

- Ivy likes the wobbly chair at the park, and wobbles herself on it with surprising force (it scares Kwojo). She is now keen to sit on normal chairs and tries very hard to wobble them too!

- Signs a lot. Now signs 'hot', 'sleep' and sometimes 'drink'. As well as 'eat' and 'milk'. Between these signs, the few words she says and general gesturing and sounds she is quite effective at communicating with us. She is signing 'eat' here: