Grunt like a pig, I can walk & kindergarten

Unovandu is now what you call a "professional walker". He got his first outside shoes last week and now he does not really like sitting in hois buggy anymore - especially when we go out with Venotjari and he sees her walking and he cannot, because he is strapped up. That really frustrates the young man. But when one does leave him to walk outside, he always walks in the opposite direction to where the rest of us are going. And if you tell him to please walk along with us he gets upset and literally throws himself on the ground - which is really the worst, because the sidewalks here in Cologne are not the cleanest of places. I am now trying to dicipline him - so everytime he throws himself on the ground, he immediately goes back in the buggy and threfore forefits the opportunity to walk. I hope he learns to value the opportunity to walk freely more than the throwing himself on the floor... :-)

He still cannot speak. All he says is Mummy and Daddy (although I am sure that Venotjari could say a couple more words when she was 14 months old). Anyway, what Unovandu does do are the sounds that some animals make:
- grunts like a pig
- for a cow he goes "mmmmmmmmmm" (ilo mooooooo)
- for a sheep he goes "baaaaaa"
- for a dog he makes a sound close to "woof", but not quite "woof"
- for a horse he goes "ihihihihi"
- and for a hen or cock he makes a sound that I cannot describe in words (but still similar to the sound the real animals make)
That is why at the moment his favourite book is "My house is a squash and a squeeze" by Julia Donaldson.

Unovandu joined the Dolphins last week Tuesday. And by Friday he stayed in the group the whole day from 8:30am to 4:30pm - without me having to be there the whole time. He really got used to being there alone very quickly and also quickly accepted his classroom teachers as his carekeepers. I believe Venotjari need a couple of days longer, but she also quickly got used to being a "kindergarten child".
He really likes being there and having the other children around him. Puts my heart at ease when I go back to work next week (although, if I had a choice I would prefer to stay at home- but sometimes, one cannot choose these things).

Venotjari is still as precocious as aleways. She loves doing the alphabet, although she cannot point to a letter and say which one it is. But what she can do is list words that start with a specific letter. I get the feeling that numbers are still not really her thing. She can count till ten without any mistakes and if she really concentrates, she can count to fifteen without making mistakes. But that is seldom.
I have also noticed that she oftens plays a puzzel or a board game all b herself and can keep herself busy for quite a long while. Which is a great relieve for me.
Last week she asked me whether she could live all by herself when she is grown up. I didn't think anything of it and said, yes of course. Then she also went to Michael and said the same thing. Now that got me thinking. This week she says she wants to go and live with her friend Lavinia and she does not want to live with us anymore. When she says things liek that, I really get upset and worried, because I think to myself, what are we doing wrong that makes her want to leave us. I don't know whether that is a normal thing to say for 3 year olds. BUt we will see whether she will persist in saying such things. We basically told her that she cannot live with Lavinia and I hope that topic does not come up anymore.
But I must add that she doesnot tire in telling me that she loves me and giving me kisses. That is very sweet of her :-)