Jessicat is 21 months old...

...and such a full on toddler now. As I may have mentioned in previous posts, the daytime nap is showing alarming signs of disappearing altogether, and is down to an hour or so tops. Yikes! Other areas of development are more pleasing. Jess loves to sit in her booster seat at the dining table rather than her highchair, and has enjoyed making the transition from babygros to pyjamas at night time.

Thank God all our classes and groups have now started again; there is only so much trawling round supermarkets and parks I can take before I expire through boredom. Bath is becoming a new haunt of ours; we have discovered the egg cafe (I can't wait until I can take Jessicat to the theatre properly) and have signed up for Kindermusik classes on Mondays. You never know how she will take to a new activity, but I felt we needed something to do with our day in addition to St Luke's Toddler Group.

Autumn has really come early this year, with lots of rain and nights dark by 8pm if not earlier. I am probably the only person in England who appreciates it, but it's great to have the kind of weather that invites you to snuggle indoors in something warm and cosy whilst (pre-baby - drinking wine and watching films) playing tea parties or making Duplo Blok creations with Jess.

A few of the books we have on the go at the moment include:
When Poppy and Max Grow Up - Lindsay Gardiner
Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose - Julia Donaldson
Let's Go, Anna - Vivian French. An unexpected hit this. Jess loves the idea that poor Anna has an accident on each page, and of course, she is very familiar with the shopping experience!
Something for Daddy - Ted Dewan. A Bing book. Jessicat finds the concept of "goo" highly amusing.
At Home with Tom and Pippo - Helen Oxenbury. Collection of 6 stories; sheer class.
Peepo - Janet Ahlberg. This would always be in my top 5 books to read to Jess. In fact, it's so utterly brilliant, it would probably be one of my desert island choices (well, you never know....)
Noisy Poems - Jill Bennett. And Jessicat can say "I love that poem"!

Some books that Jessicat is really enjoying

Big Red Bath - Julia Jarman. A rollicking rhyme that is a lot of fun to read. Jess is fascinated by the page that shows the bath flying round planet earth. Not sure she understands the story, but I think the repetition and the pictures help to hold her interest.

Fuzzy, Fuzzy, Fuzzy - Sandra Boynton. A bizarre book that makes Jessicat giggle. Must work on some level that is only comprehensible to toddlers.

Colours - Shirley Hughes. Beautiful drawings and nice rhymes; a pleasure to read aloud, and I am so pleased that Jessicat loves this book.

Bing Make Music - Ted Dewan. Our first Bing book. Jess enjoys the repetitive refrain and giggles when we read this.

Oh Dear - Rod Campbell. Another classic featuring Buster and lots of flaps.

Baby's New Shoes - Dashka Slater. What I most enjoy about this book is the way Jess can join in when the baby says "uh oh" and mummy says "on no" and the repetition of "go go go". It's very much like We're Going On a Bear Hunt for encouraging children to join in.

This Little Chick - John Lawrence. Stunningly crafted illustrations in this book.

All of these books are enjoyable for Jessicat and me to share. Some of them are so beautifully produced that I would be happy to have posters replicating the illustrations to put up on my wall; they would look great next to Jess's Bookstart certificates. I feel fortunate indeed that there are such amazing books out there for children of Jessicat's age.