Yesterday, Mishi said her own name for the very first time. She was lying down, while I changed her nappy, and she pointed - with both her hands - to her chest and said "Mishi". Today, while she was sitting in the little wooden highchair at Sylvie's house, she looked at me, with a knowing smile, and a tilt of her head and said "Mishi Mishi Mishi". And she smiled at me, with pleasure and delight; and I smiled at her with pleasure and delight and pride.

Each day she says a new word, often more than one word. She is so quick at mimicking Ari, constantly repeating words that he says. Often it's 'pooh pooh', knowing the joke as she says it. She has so many words now, that I'm not sure I can even put them all down here. Some words are more prevalent in our days, while other words appear momentarily as she repeats them. Sometimes she doesn't have words, but lots of little chattering noises, I know she's talking, but can't understand what she's actually saying. Sometimes she just talks and chatters to the dolls or the teddies, and often little singing sounds to herself.

'bird'; one of her very first words.

'no'; generally very emphatically, and lots of humour, and a cheeky smile. And big shaking of her head, more times than necessary.

'bye'; very quietly, and just as often when the person has actually gone. She is saying it on the phone now; sitting there not saying a word, but listening intently and then finally saying 'bye' when we tell her it's time to go.

'chook' and 'duck' and 'sheep' and 'cat' - 'Loulou' (which is our cat's name - and she knows the difference between other cats and Loulou). She says 'Ash' quite often, and 'Ari', but very quietly, not quite saying all the sounds - more like 'Asz' and 'A-i'.

'baus' (bath); 'shwr' (shower); 'tees' (teeth).

And sounds in songs - like in a "Froggy went a Courtin'*"she knows the 'uh-hum uh-hum' bit.

Of course, 'Mama', 'Mummy', and 'Daddy'. Last week she called Granddad (Sam's dad) 'dada'.

Yesterday she said 'knock knock', when Ari was saying jokes.

So many of her sounds I can hear words in, but I think that other people wouldn't be able to recognise it as a proper word. Generally Ari and I can understand best because we are with her all day, and we talk to her and listen to her. Sam too knows her words. And Grandma Mary (Sam's mum) can make out words too because she is really there with the kids, when she's with them - know what I mean?

She really is quite an observant little girl; taking everything in and reacting to things. She finds bits of things on the table, or fluff on the floor, and will take off to put them in the bin. A few weeks ago when a friend was visiting and we were all in our kitchen, my friend said to one of the bigger kids that she would sit on a cushion. Mishi went off into the lounge room and brought a cushion back for my friend to sit on. My friend and I looked at each other with a bit of disbelief.

The same day she brought socks to Ash, that he had discarded in our front room. I had been asking him for quite a while to put them on - it's Winter here. She had heard me saying over and over to him to put them on, and noticed that he was ignoring me. She gave the socks to him and said 'szoks'.

Last night she said 'bub-bels', while we sat on the front steps and blew from the bubble blower. A two-syllable word.

And recently 'flwr' has made it's way into her vocabulary - and she stops and reaches down and picks one, and sniffs it and passes it up to me. Knowing the love I take in being given flowers collected by my babies. Little clover flowers or grass seeds or colourful seedpods.

I'm sure there are more words that I can't think about now. Each day she changes again, and reaches a little higher into girl, rather than baby.

Tonight she learnt how to jump like a frog; crouching right down on the ground and then jumping up to stand-straight legs stretching onto her tippy-toes. A few times she actually jumped off the floor.

She really is so much of herself. Her personality shines through. I can see aspects of who she may be - quite a sweet girl, yet also I know she will have her own will. A very strong will about what she wants and doesn't want. She already knows how to pout, and crying to get her way. She knows how to woo people around her, with her smile and sweet pretty face.

She dances with such abandon, happily clapping her hands or spinning round and round until she's dizzy. Or nodding her head in beat with the music, and bopping her legs about.

It's past her 17month date, and I have been slack with doing these little updates. I find it hard to remember the precious moments at the end of the day - how will I remember them in five or 25 years? She will ask me things about herself as a baby or child, those things that I yearn to know about myself (but my Mother can never answer, and my Father doesn't remember). So, Mishi darling, I hope this is enough for when you have children of your own.

Maybe you could read Amy's notes of her daughter, who is only two months older than Mish. Most of what I read about little Junie, is what I see Mishi doing, or know she will be doing in milliseconds.

*I did a search for this, but couldn't find a version like the two we have - both are quite innocent and don't include the pistol and sword part; but do a search if you don't know what song I mean. It's quite fun. We have this CD (which we love, and even I can listen to on repeat and repeat and repeat) and this one (which Ari loves so much - we know each song, and even the order they play in!).