(June 15th, 1998) We've had the kitten, Cleo, for a couple of days now, she's so sweet. Climbs up and perches on your shoulder just like a parrot. And when I leave and come back home she runs up meowing and when I pick her up to say hello she purrs and rubs up against me and nibbles and kisses my fingers. Cleo and Shannon seem to be getting along well. Shannon is now twenty months old and has truly grown into a wonderful, and occasionally annoying, beautiful toddler. She and Cleo play together, the kitten follows her around like a puppy and they sometimes play hide & seek together, or peek-a-boo. Plus Cleo likes to knock over Shannon's soft pink "Little Mermaid" chair and sleep underneath or on top of it.
One of the reasons I'm writing today is because Shannon is very fascinated by Cleo's litter box. All this kitty-litter is just like sand, and smells so good. Only today did I find Shannon sitting crossed-legged in the litter box dishing it around with one of my spatulas. If it wasn't so funny I could have cried. I gave her a bath and cleaned her up. Well, after dinner tonight she did it AGAIN. Oooh! I can't shut the laundry room door, or the cat won't be able to get to the litter box, but I don't want Shannon in there either. Hopefully I can convince her to leave the box alone. If not I might have to purchase some sort of cover for the kitty litter. I don't want to have to do that, they aren't cheap, but I don't really want my daughter playing in cat waste either. (sigh)
On a brighter note Shannon amazed me today with how much she's learning. We've been playing the "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, etc." game for a long time. She's known where the locations of all the names are for awhile. But today, while we were at the local Rickey's Restaurant having brunch with my mother, did she actually point to a cartoon characters eyes on her placemat and say "eye". I was startled, but she did it again. (laugh) Now she not only knows where an eye is but she can name it too. It's not really her first word, she's been saying "Mummum, dada, nana, hi and bye" for a few months. Only recently have words like "doggy, kitty & lady" passed her lips. It's just amazing how quickly they grow, learn & develop.

(Apr. 23rd, 1998) Many people have commented how much Shannon reminds them of one of the Olsen twins. You know, "Michelle" from Full House? It makes me wonder if I should bother taking her back to the talent agency. I HAD backed away from that because I'm nervous of making her do something she might dislike. We'll see what happens.

(Apr. 18th, 1998) She has 16 teeth in and the other four, the canines, are slowly coming up. She has her good days and her bad days. Her hair is getting so much longer and it is quite kinky and curly. Because of her blonde hair and fair skin her blue eyes really stand out and many people have commented on how "big" and "beautiful" her eyes are. Naturally I'm biased and think this all the time, but it's nice to hear it from others too.

(Nov. 3rd, 1997) She can walk now, all by herself, and she's been doing this for about a month now. She says "Mama" and "Daddy" and "Nana". She can pull her shoes and socks off all by herself and delights in making her electronic stuffed toy train "choo-choo" all afternoon.

 She saw our local health nurse Friday, July 25th and was weighed, measured, and accessed for mental, social and developmental skills. She's a bit taller then normal for her age and just a tad underweight for her age group, but "she's stocky, strong and healthy", so quoted from the nurse. She's passed or excelled in many areas of development, in no area is she lacking.
Plus she just had her yearly shot last week, after her birthday, and she was still tall for her age, 79 cm. She must get this from some recessive gene of mine.
(Jun. 9th, 1997)She has eight teeth now, four lower and four upper. She's standing up on her own, I'm just waiting (very patiently) for her to walk by herself.
She's healthy and happy. As a parent, it makes you proud, yet in another weird way, what really did I really have to do with it? Other then the natural forms of healthy living (sleep, food, clean living, toys) what did I really have to do with her development? Would she have grown the same in anothers care? Hmm... just thoughts.

If you have any questions for me about anything, please let me know.

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