I was not planning to visit Roy and family till March next year, but when Shannon sent this charming photo of Roy walking home holding Nelum's hand, how could I resist? So I was back with them in October for 3-weeks.
When I saw Nelum six months ago, she was beginning to crawl and also trying to stand holding onto chairs and table legs. These attempts didn't always succeed and she would fall hard on her bottom, ending up crying. This time, she had already gone beyond crawling and was already into walking. She only crawled when going up the stairs, and quite rapidly at that. Coming down, she would walk, carefully holding on to the banisters with both hands. (She must have had a painful fall down the stairs; hence the caution.)
I don't remember much about Roy's days as a baby, but what I clearly recall is the way he "crawled", always dragging himself along on his belly, not on his hands and feet with his body off the floor. I thought Roy's style was unusual and half expected Nelum to follow suit, but she turned out to be a normal crawler.
Since Roy, which was 38 years ago, I haven't been around babies for any length of time so I am not sure if Nelum's progression is unusual. In language acqisition, a topic which I am more familiar with theoretically, Nelum seems to be following a predictable path. She is not speaking yet but continues to utter gibberish in sequence, as if she's carrying on a conversation. This happens especially when am riding in the back of the car next to the baby seat where she has been strapped down. (She doesn't like to be in the seat.) She looks at me and begins to "speak" and I just repeat whatever sounds she makes. This could go on for 15 minutes. He favorite words repeated every few minutes, sounds like "Guish". My sister Beaula says it's "You guys", a phrase uttered by Nelum's parents often. Occasionally, she will scream or make piercing high, pitched sounds, which I can't imitate. I am not sure whether it's in frustration or not.
With dad Roy
At a wine/music festival, with mum Shannon and friend Stacey (in dark shirt)
Roy and Shannon with friends
Getting off her bed, cautiously
Nelum gets into a crying mood when she is sleepy but is unable to fall asleep. Because she loves being outdoors, would take her out if the weather was good and if darkness hadn't already fallen. This would quieten her. At other times, I would take her for a round in her stroller, usually to the nearby lake. Nelum liked this, getting me to pause when we saw ducks on the water. She is fond of females, as I discovered when Beaula arrived for a visit. Nelum would prefer to be with her.
Once, when I was upstairs reading in bed, she came up, climbed onto the bed, and began to probe around, turning the pages of my book and starting a "conversation" with me. I loved it. After I left for Hong Kong, Roy told me that Nelum had gone a number of times to the guest room looking for me.
Will she remember me when I next visit?
