I have to summarize 6 months just in one post. Now that's a tough task but I shall try my best.
And the first and most important milestone is that you started walking. You had started pulling up and walking with support when you were about ten and a half month. You enjoyed this activity but later on you stopped trying further. As if you lost interest and we got little worried. Because even when we insisted on walking with support, you simply refused. We spoke with the doctor and she said to wait till 16 months. If you still didn't start walking by then, we should consult a specialist. However, she assured us that would never happen. And she was right, you started walking one fine day just like that. It was around Diwali and you were about fifteen and a half month old. Once you gained confidence, you were literally running within a week. And everyday, before bedtime, I would give you massage and rub your feet. Within few days you started walking holding things that were bigger and heavier than you. You would also move your hands while walking as if you were carefree and least bothered by your surroundings. So we started calling you 'Lehrati'.
Another important milestone was that you started talking. You could utter about 25 or so words and understand a lot more by 18 months. You would point your finger and say 'ooo...oo'. Mostly I would understand. When you started talking 'Mumma', it was a sheer poetry to my ears as if I had been waiting just for this day. At times you would utter 'Mumma' no less than 100 times a day. However, by end of 18 months your tone changed. The affectionate tone was replaced by order and demand :).
Other words included dadda, dada, nanna, lullu, kyla, siya, star, giraffe, billa, bhow-bhow, fish, hi, bye, hello, baba, tha (throw a ball), kissi, sha (socks and shoes), aa lo, haa, kaka, yum-yum, mamra, je-je, ghantdi, tissue, tikhu, be-biju, fla-fla-fla (aka fly). We were lucky that you started speaking 'haa' (yes) before 'naa' (no). Whatever we asked you, your response would always be 'haa'.
Once you started walking, you wanted to explore all the closets and cabinets, especially in the kitchen. You would want to touch and feel almost everything in all jars and bottles, especially the ones from refrigerator. Whenever I cooked, you would bring your small chair or a stool from the store room and sit in the kitchen to supervise me. Other times you would play with dish washer or magnets on refrigerator. You would know when I was making roti/paratha. You would stand near the stove so I would give you small bites. Whenever I turned on the mixer, you assumed it was your food and you would sit and ask for mumm-mumm. You were rarely cranky in the kitchen while I was cooking. It was me who got tired answering your questions and singing almost nonstop! So sometimes I would sit you up in high chair and give you snacks to kill the time. You ate almost all kinds of dry snacks. Sev, Mamra and Moncao biscuits were your all time favorites.
Though your vocabulary was limited, you understood a lot more. You were definitely ahead than other kids of your age. Maybe we used to talk to you a lot from day one and you were so much into books. When we asked you, you could clap your hands, give hi-five, give a hug and a kiss, give a flying kiss, play adko-dadko, play aam-chori, join your hands in prayer mode, play garba and dance on your favorite songs. Lungi dance was your favorite song. You loved pretending talking over the phone especially with daddy. You would help me by putting dirty clothes in laundry basket and transferring clothes from washer to dryer. You would get things ready for your bath and you could wipe your mouth if I asked you to do so. You could move your hands to imitate swimming and flying. 'Star' was the first shape you discovered when you were about 15 month old. Thereafter you could find stars anywhere and everywhere. We loved making starts and other shapes on our frosty balcony door. You had some knack for the music. After watching rhymes you could easily identify them with only music. You would play music for particular song in your toys if I tell you the words/lyrics. And we were simply amazed as this was not something we taught you. We just accidentally discovered it.
You loved going out like any other kid. Though we complained about cold weather, we went out at least 4-5 times a week. we frequently hit mall's play area, library and grocery stores. Your latest crush was riding the escalator. You loved shopping with us as well. You would explore toys, clothes and shoes on your own and let us shop, at least you would be good for an hour or so. Later, I would have to bribe you with your favorite snacks. After a while, as soon as we entered the store, you would ask for snacks and water :). Also, you started recognizing your clothes and shoes. If you thought that we were to go out, you would come up with jacket and cap and shoes. You also developed fascination for hairpins and rubber bands like any other girl. Though you would lose them real quick so I started cutting your hair. I would undress you and make you sit in the bathtub and you would let me do my job.
Like any other parent, we too got excited when you learned something new and showed signs of a fast learner. We would not let you watch TV for other than nursery rhymes and stories. That helped you a lot to identify birds, animals etc. and also to build a vocabulary. Baa..Baa...Blacksheep was your favorite rhyme and at times you would utter 'Baa Baa' literally 100 times a day. It was your way of asking permission for watching TV. You loved books more than anything. We would frequently go to library and get the books from there. You could easily identify all your books. We would also go to Discovery Room every Wednesday and you enjoyed 'learning with playing'. We also purchased some start-up books for babies and by 18 months, you could identify more than 60 objects from those books. We participated in Brain Stimulation Program for babies called Little Gems. Under this program, I would show you different words and pictures which will eventually help you increase memory and concentration. It's too early to see the results but we can see definite improvement in your ability to remember things.
You were bit late in teething and hence I still had to grind the food. On a positive side, you would eat almost everything as long as I could grind it. Pav-Bhaji and Idli-Sambhar were your favorite dishes. As long as food was tasty and not on sweet side and I had good books to keep you busy, feeding lunch and dinner was not a big problem. On the downside, I had always had hard time with milk.
We faced some tough days to put you to sleep. You would want me lie down beside you all the time but you would refuse to fall asleep. As soon as I came out, you would start crying out loud and follow me. We tried almost everything ranging from sweet talk to harsh scolding but nothing seemed to work. And then one day, I got really tired and frustrated, I became so determined that every time you came out of the room crying, I would console you and put you back in the crib. That day was a trigger and since then you started sleeping on your own.
Over all you are a happy go lucky kid, quiet and polite. We wish you all the best!
