Asher turned 18 months towards the end of January. They say that time goes faster when you have a child. With more to fit in, it just seems that the days merge into weeks and weeks into months.
I had a great day with Asher and really wanted to document it. Although we have many good days, and our share of average days, I wanted to remind myself that with the storm comes the rainbow and sunshine. I wanted to remember the little glorious details because I know how quickly Asher will probably be a teenager and not wanting to spend this time with me.
Our great day began with a sleep in of additional 20 minutes. Asher slept of course, while I stare at this gorgeous human being, snoozing so peacefully. He woke with a smile and gave me a cuddle. He pointed and named “nose”, “mouth”, “ears” and pryed my mouth open so he could say “teeth”. I pretended to sleep, and he gave my nostril a jap. Yup. Indeed he is awake.
He laughed as I brushed my teeth. He rushed to grab my toothpaste so he could play with the cap (he enjoys twisting and opening items). I got dressed and applied my make up. He played with his little container of toys beside me and begin giggling as he caught sight of himself in the mirror.
As I prepared him breakfast- a smoothie bowl of smashed avocado, yogurt, pear, milk and probiotics. He walked around me. Oops! I forgot to close the pantry door and he went into it, opening and closing containers. Then it was breakfast time. He ate happily. He also decided that it is good fun to clap his hands, and do roly poly with his arms.
After a quick clean up, it was play time. We ran around the house- mostly in circles. What amazes me was how fast he grasp concepts. Today, I wanted to focus on stop and go. We ran and we stop. As simple as that. That little game went on for a near 20-25 minutes. That together with some swings, hangs, turn arounds and bouncing. He even attempted to jump- but can’t quite grasp that his feet needs to leave the ground. We threw, rolled and kicked balls. We sang songs- I’m not sure how many times I sang “Head, shoulders, Knees and Toes” that morning but he loved it. Pointing to his toes every time I sang. He learned a new word today- shoulders! Then we proceeded on to another song which was “Wheels on the bus”. He laughed as we go through each action. His favourite at the moment? When I sing “baby on the bus goes wa wa wa”- he would pretend to rub his eyes.
We had morning tea which was some banana bread and a big glass of milk. Asher called out “Milk milk” and nodded his head when I asked him repeatedly if that was what he wanted. Another clean up, and it was back to playing. Music time now I said. We played with the xylophone, bells and little tambourine. We tapped on different surfaces and he was more than excited to try new ones. Soon after, he became distracted and started to run around the house again, enticing me to chase him. Tickles and laughs got him going and I decided that it was probably time to start winding him down so that he could have his nap.
Sitting in his tent, he gave cuddles to Scout and his soft toys. Then, almost intuitively, he came and gave me a cuddle. It was almost like telling me “I didn’t forget you mummy! You need my love too”. In a split second, he pointed to his book and we started reading. He pointed “stars”, “cars”, “train”. Suddenly, he looked up. TRAIN! He pointed to his floor mat where there was a picture of a train. Then even more excitedly, he pointed to his toy train. It was like it clicked for him. The book train, picture of the train and the toy train are all trains!
As he started to yawn, I took him to bed. It took me an hour before he would wind down and lay beside me. In between that hour, he would want me to read- saying “book book”. Or play with my hair, ears, eyes- poking my nostrils and even trying to poke my belly button. In that hour, I could choose to be impatient but today, I chose to run with it. Eventually, he cuddled up to me and he slept.
Nap time means I get to cook dinner, clean up the house a little, and perhaps even surf the net if I have a chance. Today I promised myself I will not touch work which I did not.
A long nap means Asher felt refreshed and ready to face the afternoon. After lunch which was Pumpkin and Kale Fritters, and a big bowl of melon cubes, it was time to play again. This time, I decided to step back and give him free play time. Out came the blocks and the mess. I inhale and breathe because I know mess is good for him. I soon laughed though because he started putting the blocks back in the box. Then he tipped everything out and said “uh oh”- peeking at me. Then he started the process all over again. I made a mental note to be careful of my body language and speech when he makes a mess- that’s what kids do and I never want him to think it is wrong to to make a mess.
Hubby came home not long after, just as Asher requested for more milk! I warmed some for him and offered him a banana. He was stoked!
And then, I got changed and went to the gym. Asher waved and said “bye bye”- that’s a win! He did not cling on to me as I leave. A killer workout awaits me. I smashed it and returned home. Asher called out “mumma” greeting me with a grin as hubby fed him his dinner. Soon after, it was reading time with hubby and me and bath time.
I kissed my little man on his forehead as he doze off. Good night my sweet darling. Another day of adventure awaits you tomorrow.
I made this little “Tamago Boro” cookies with the memory of me being a little child and being fed with these cookies by my grandmother. Tamago means egg in Japanese and basically they are little egg biscuits. There are many versions online, but I decided to do mine with very little sugar- hence they do not have the same melt in your mouth texture as the store bought ones. They do hold a slight crunch and Asher loves them.
It is a little tedious to roll them into little balls- One batch can make up to 250 little cookies. I like to roll them into little logs and cut them into small balls. As we do not have milk formulae, I bought brown rice “milk” powder instead and that appeared to work. I used rice malt to sweeten these balls.
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I love cauliflower. I’m pretty amazed but what we can do with this vegetable. You can make it into a mash, enjoy it roasted with cumin seeds, transform it to a pizza base and now…we can have it in a cake form! 
Words That Nourish 