Rachel, Owen and Kathryn

When children first start using language they ignore articles because they're not as significant or meaningful as the name-label words they are so keen to acquire. (It would seem that for Russian children this phase lasts indefinitely ;-) Katy has now started using the definite article to make little sentences like "Sit on the cushion!" and "It hurts the teeth" (whilst tucking into a bowl of strawberries at yesterday's barbecue).

When I was pregnant I had already resigned myself to not having weekend lie-ins ever again. Well, not till the offspring reached teenage years anyhow. But Katy is beginning to connect certain days of the week with particular happenings and - bless her - has now got the concept of weekend . And weekends are definitely A Good Thing. 'Friday' is her favourite day of the week - but in the same way that 'two' is her favourite number. Normally an early riser (6:20 as a rule) this morning she slept in until 9:45. This never happens!

The recent bank holiday weekend provided the opportunity for lots of new experiences, visiting grandparents, meeting extended family, and more linguistic progress: Katy's first 4-word sentence. Katy was happily playing with her Grandma's wooden toys, sorting little rabbit shapes into a pot, when she said "Baby 'nother rabbit in". OK, so it's not the conventional word order, but that's the first time she's put two qualifiers in front of a noun. She's evidently enjoying the power of speech: you can say things and people then do them. Yesterday on the doorstep she told a friendly neighbour to "Go back in!" (there was a definite twinkle in her eye). This morning I was enjoying Rachmaninov's 2nd symphony on the car radio, until Katy said "No music!" But mummy likes this one . "Turn it off!" I turned it off. No point talking about democracy or proportional representation to this little dictator. Here we are messing about...

Baby monitors are wonderful things. Not only do they score quite high on the gadget rating (small, digital, multifunctional) but they let you listen in on your child's private world. The other night after I put her down I could hear her chatting quietly to her cot toys - amazing how quickly they pick up on socio-linguistic conventions like whispering because everyone's asleep . Then out of the blue came "Mama mia!" It's a line from her current favourite bed-time story.

I hope you like the blog in its latest garb. I've added a fixed page with a comparative table of Katy's vocabulary with mine at age 17 1/2 months. Might not be very legible in blog format, but it makes interesting reading. Since about 19 months her vocabulary has expanded too quickly for me to keep a list any more, and she's also linking words together in little phrases: Mummy sit here , or Daddy help . On the way home from nursery today she came out with Oboe, Mummy play . She's also demonstrating early signs of sharing the Kirkwood enjoyment at playing with language. I've been using her immediate environment to teach her new words and pairs of opposites, like the hot tap and cold tap in the bathroom. One morning we are doing the usual getting dressed routine, and we've reached the sock stage. "Left foot, right foot" I say. "Left foot, right foot" repeats Katy. "Hmmm. Hot foot, cold foot." Another time on the changing table I gave ...

Stockley Farm did have a few animals, but the indoor play opportunities proved more attractive in the end.