Laaija is growing at a rapid pace and she is now fully capable of communicating with us in some of the best and funny ways.

Today, at dinner, she look closely and was curious about something, “Is that a small fish’s head?”
Thinking she just wanted to know, we replied, “Yes, we don’t eat the head of the fish.”

“Why did you eat the small fish? Don’t you love it?”
“Oh! That was so lovely.”

Laaija, “Next time, when you buy small fishes, I want to talk to them first.”
Sure, she will.

Here is a video of her since birth till now.

And here are some pictures through the years.

She is uncontrollable during those fits and can last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. She would then want her to keep holding her, walk around and when her crying subsides, she sleeps off. We’ve asked her many a times in the morning if anything happened. She had no recollection of what happened. She does not seem to be scared of something in her sleep.

A little concerned over her night troubles which, though not so often, I began looking around searching for relations with a child’s problem specially sleepless nights, nightmares. I found out that it’s a rather common happenings amongst toddlers and can affect the best of the best kid.

These happenings are called Night Terror, also known as a sleep terror or pavor nocturnus. Night Terror is a parasomnia disorder that predominantly affects children, causing feelings of terror or dread. Night terrors are periods of hysterical crying, screaming and non-responsiveness. Night terrors should not be confused with nightmares, which are bad dreams that cause the feeling of horror or fear. It is known to be prevalent in children from age two to six, and they affect about fifteen percent of all children.

Night Terror are not Nightmares

Nightmares happen during rapid eye movement (REM) or dream sleep. A child who’s had a nightmare is likely to have a fairly clear idea of what scared her, though she probably won’t be able to articulate her fright until she’s about 2. She may also be afraid to fall back asleep, and in the morning, she’ll probably remember that she had a bad dream. However, in the case of Night Terror, your child will return to a sound sleep and have no memory of the incident in the morning.

So, what do you do when your child have Night Terror?

It is advised that you just wait it out and make sure she doesn’t hurt herself. Don’t speak to her or try to soothe her, and don’t try to shake or startle her awake or physically restrain her — all of which could lead to more frantic behavior. In 15 to 20 minutes, your child should calm down, curl up, and fall into a deep sleep again.

If your child experiences Night Terror, make sure

• Hard toys are not around her when she sleeps.
• Of course, not sharp or dangerous objects around her bed.
• Close doors properly and do not allow objects that can be dangerous to her when she roams around or walks around during her night terror moment.
• Watch or listen to your child to make sure they are safe, but do not try to talk to them or hold them down. Talking or restraining a child often times makes the child more aggravated.

How do you prevent or reduce Night Terror.

• Let her get enough sleep, since children who go to bed overtired are more likely to experience night terror.
• Extend her nap time, let her sleep a little later in the morning, or put her to bed earlier at night.
• Schedule plenty of time for calming bedtime rituals, such as a bath, a song, a book, and lots of cuddling.
• Since night terrors usually occur during the first part of the night, you could also try gently rousing your toddler after she’s been asleep for an hour or two – about 15 minutes before the typical episode would start. This should alter her sleep pattern enough to head off the night terror at the pass.

Today was the the first day for Laaija. She was more than eager to go to School – Roots to Wings, loves the fancy play-things around. The Swing was her favorite. She didn’t cry at all but instead was angry when we took her back home. We had to indulge her to another park and persuade her that she will be going to School again tomorrow.

My 2 year 5 month old daughter is totally into her iPad. She can spend hours playing with her apps, arrange Barbie costumes or just watch YouTube videos. She talks regularly to Ben the Dog.

We all went to see Dabang, a Salman Khan movie and was good laugh, nice entertainment. Leia watched the movie from start to finish, enjoying every bit of it — the dances, the fights, everything.

It seemed she learnt something from the Movie. She wanted to look prettier. Later in the evening, I realized there was no usual noise and messing around from her. Upon looking further, we caught her with her mom’s lipstick all over her lips and more.

Leia’s latest fixation is the Iron Baby. While trying to appease her while her mother went shopping nearby, I decided to show her some videos on YouTube. I remembered Iron Baby and showed it to her. Well, she would not watch another video after that. It was Iron Baby all along. I don’t remember her watch count but we must have clocked over 50 since yesterday.

Leia is growing up fast; she’s already 20 months old. Typical of her age, she can now understand most words that we say. However, she can’t necessarily speak back clearly but in phrases that surprises us a lot these days.

Leia has even learnt to wear her short, shoes and would definitely love to wear her mother’s lipsticks. Of course, creaming herself with whatever cream she gets is her favorite pastime.

Leia also understands lots of how things work around the house. She has even learnt to listen to the music with earphones.

Iron Man 2

Laaija went for her second movie in the theatre, Iron Man 2. Though She slept mid-way through the movie, she thoroughly enjoyed the first half. She even clapped her hands when Tony Stark introduced Stark Expo to the world.

She also learnt that the pop-corn can be a good fun to throw it around and scatter on the floor. She shouted few times during the movie in responses to few sequences happening on-screen.