Watch Them Grow...

This is my first update post that covers both of our kiddos.  I'll morph this overtime, but for now, I'm just going to do a little write up about where the kids seem to be right now.



  

Q-ball reading to a napping T-Rex.

 


   It goes without saying that bringing a new person into the house is quite a change for all involved, but, overall, we are adjusting.  Bedtime and nighttime is the probably the most difficult time to juggle.  Q-ball's bedtime routine can take up to 2 hours, and when she is actually falling asleep, she is rather adamant about having Mama with her. A hungry newborn, of course, does not understand this.  During the night, Q-ball typically wakes up between 1-3 times at night and, again, demands that Mama help her go potty and go back to sleep. And, as a toddler, she does not understand why the new baby needs to eat at 3 am, and why Daddy has to put her back to sleep.  So, we are working through these issues.
  Q-ball has had a few meltdowns that are uncharacteristic for her. But, she seems to really love her new brother, and has never expressed anger towards him.  She seems a little more comfortable now that she knows that she can still nurse after T-Rex. But, she is annoyed that we respond immediately to T-Rex's cries, but we encourage Q-ball to use words vs. tears and screams.
   Fortunately for us (and him!), T-Rex is a really easy going guy. He will happily lay  alone under his mobile or next to the mirror for extended periods (about 10 minutes in baby time).  And, as of this moment, he does seem to enjoy his sleep, but he is still trying to figure out how to fall asleep. And, we excitedly get lots of spontaneous smiles.  We are working on elimination communication, and I'll have more specific updates on that later, but we now typically have at least one catch a day.  Which, I consider a success given that we are only doing it part-time.

Watch THEM Grow...

It's hard to believe that nearly 2 and a half weeks have passed since T-Rex has joined the family!  I thought I'd finally introduce him to the blogging world!  Brother and sister are getting along well.  Q-ball had a few normal adjustment issues, but is still clearly in awe of her little brother. 

Watch Her Grow...

Showing off her kefir mustache.  She loves her kefir!

Interactions with Materials

• Given that we are just one or two weeks away from Baby, we have been getting out some items to prepare.  Q-ball has loved placing her animals in the carseat, the co-sleeper, and the swing.  She's also loved washing diapers and clothes for the new baby.
• Q-ball is training for her first race!  A 1/4 course for 0-5 year olds!  She is very excited and often will just start running, clearly focusing on pumping her arms.  She loves saying, "I'm going on a run like Daddy!" 

 Interactions with Others 

• She is really trying to reach out and play with other children her age (most times...)  She typically likes to observe play for a long time before diving in.  At church a few weeks ago, all of the children started to run in circles following the service.  This was perhaps Q-ball's favorite activity to date, and since that week she has started running after church, working to try to get the attention of all of the other children.  She'll often get one or two followers, but not all of the kiddos.  

Critical Thinking

• Q-ball continues to be deep into her imagination exploration.  As grandmas are on their way soon, it's important for them to stay on their toes to figure out if they are talking to the lifeguard, the engineer, the mailman, the gorilla, or Daddy.
• She has really become a little comedian. Her current favorite jokes include: pulling out pajamas to wear during the day; telling me that she wants to go to the library, park, grocery store, etc. after we've just left or when she knows that we are going elsewhere; or, saying that she is ready to eat lunch and take a nap when she knows it's not time for these activities. 

Practical Life

• We have finally become more formal with Q-ball's clean-up routine.  She has a "cleaning station" that she uses to spray and wipe up the counter after she eats a snack.

We are linking up with Vibrant Wanderings!  Check out what the other kiddos are up to! 

Watch Her Grow...

This Week's Focus: Practical Life

Sporting her new sunglasses

She loves the bars and rings the most!

Interactions with Materials

• We are still spending lots of time outside, despite highs that are over 100.  At parks, Q-ball can spend nearly an hour swinging. She likes to switch swings every few minutes, and desperately wishes that another child will come swing with her.  But, she has also enjoyed hanging and climbing, practicing her new moves from tumble class.
• She has also returned to her old love of reading, while we'd certainly never abandoned reading, we had very few days where we were sit and read for 20-40 minutes. Now, she's loving doing this again.  Maybe it's the heat!

Interactions with Others 

• She is typically excited to meet new people nowadays.  She even shared a huge hug with another girl in her tumble class, leaving them both on the floor.

Critical Thinking

• It's amazing to me what Q-ball notices and remembers.  When we are driving, she'll tell me which direction to go, and she'll tell me where I could turn if I want to go to the library or the grocery.  

Practical Life

• After much work, she has become quite proficient at putting on her shoes.  It's also helped that we did buy the next size shoes, but these are still a bit too big and fall off at times. 

Watch Her Grow...

This Week's Focus: Practical Life

Q-ball helping with laundry.  She decided to also hang up the shirt she had been wearing.

Interactions with Materials

• It seems like we didn't work with too many materials this week, somehow.  I think we spent lots of time outdoors and doing other out-of-the-house activities.  But, Q-ball's pretend play has expanded so that she now likes to take the roll of positions that she's read about or seen.  Typically, she plays a (train) engineer, but after a trip to the pool yesterday, she's been a lifeguard.  She walks around the house saying, "this engineer, this engineer, no, no, this engineer....." Over and over.  But, I we certainly know not to ask Q-ball to sit down to dinner.

Interactions with Others 

• While it takes her a bit of time to warm up, Q-ball likes playing with similar aged kids at the park.  She'll laugh with them and frequently come and tell me that they are playing together. We clearly still need to work on how to talk to others to encourage them to want as, "Hey! Hey! Climb up here!" might not be overly welcoming.

 Practical Life

• We have really been working on dressing ourselves this past week, and she's pretty much got it now.  It does take a bit of time, but she's typically happy to do it.  She talks through the steps as she dresses herself.  "Find the tag....put foot in hole...push through..."  She's also successfully put her sandals on now, but this is certainly not her favorite task, and she normally yells for me to do it for her.   

Watch Her Grow...

This Week's Focus: Practical Life and Language

Making cookies (if you consider food that's sugar-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free a cookie)

Interactions with Materials

• This week we invested in some more Legos. They were a very big hit.  She loves building tall towers.  The set also includes some construction vehicles, and she loves driving them around the house.
• She continues to pretend that items around the house are her dog, Roxy. Typically reusable bags or slightly deflated balloons.

Interactions with Others 

• She continues to improve in her skills with playing with others.  She willingly allows older children to help her at the park if she has climbed up too high.  And, she actually loves taking turns on equipment at the park- she considers this "playing together."  She gets really excited if another child comes to join her on a slide as she'll get to "wait on line."
• We recently changed churches, and she is doing pretty well staying in the nursery for 30-45 minutes.  Mainly because they have lots and lots of Goldfish.

Critical Thinking

• She is developing initial concepts of time and future events. When we have to leave a park or a store, she often wants us to assure her that we'll be able to visit "another time" or "next time."  She'll even come up with ideas (like riding a choo-choo train) and ask to do it on "Friday" or "Saturday."
• Q-ball is a big talker.  People are always shocked by how much she can say.  During some car rides, she'll talk for up to 20 minutes at a time, and she often dominates dinner conversations.  She's been using full, complex sentences for some time.  But, I still love to hear the phrases that she uses, although this week's "nope" is not my favorite.

Practical Life at 27 Months

I can't believe how quickly Q-ball is growing and how much she is now capable of doing on her own!  Although, it can still take a bit of patience on my part to give her the chances to do them  as it much faster when I do things.  And, it can take a bit of patience on her part as it's certainly easier for her if I do things.  

Dressing

• Q-ball picks out all of her clothes when directed.
• Q-ball can easily take off her sandals and put them away in the closet.  We are working on learning to put them on. We can do it on occasion, but need some more practice.
• She can put on and take off underwear and pants on her own, although Mama might need to straighten them at times. 
• She needs a little help with shirts- she's typically able to remove shirts on her own, but needs a little help getting them on.

Hygiene 

• If we prepare her toothbrush, Q-ball can brush her teeth by herself, but Mama or Daddy helps at least once a day to make sure all bases are covered.
• She is working on washing her hands on her own, but we need to get a better step stool- right now she can't completely reach the facets, which is a bit of a setback.
• After over a year of struggles and tears, she has learned to tip her head back when we are rinsing shampoo out of her hair.  This is a relief!

Cleaning

• Q-ball will occasionally clean-up materials on her own, but typically needs one or two reminders.  Some days, of course, we need lots of reminders and help, but by and large, things are returned to their shelves. 
• Q-ball helps me load and unload the washing machine and dryer.
• She places dirty clothes and dirty towels in the correct baskets.
• She cleans up her spills with available towels.
• She can carry her own plate, cup, and utensils to the table.  But, this is a something that has been really difficult for Mama to get into our routine- not because I don't trust her, but because we are juggling Daddy playtime, cleaning up materials, and hand-washing before dinner. I just need to do a better job of working it into the schedule.

Eating/Food Prep

• Q-ball lost interest in using her fork and spoon for awhile, but in about the past two weeks has taken to using her fork again- typically with little issue.
• She can cut veggies (carrots, celery, and a few others) on her own using a special knife.   
• We just tried pouring water for the first time in a long while. Overall it went well, but after a few minutes of practice and some excitement about the event, we did need to use a bath towel instead of a dish towel. 
  
  
  
  

Watch Her Grow...

This Week's Focus: Practical Life
Holy Cow! I can't believe it's been so long since I've done one of these posts- it's funny how a two-week vacation can spread when you include preparations and a recovery period!

Interactions with Materials

• I have spoken about Q-ball's desire for pretend play previously, but it has really blossomed.  Frankly, she rarely gets involved in other play at home.  She uses a reusable shopping bag to be a dog on a lease who often travels with us.  She uses her favorite walking wagon to go grocery shopping.  She cooks for Mama and Daddy.  Following our vacation, she would pretend to go to hotels to eat breakfast (waffles!)
• Her current shelf rotation includes her train set, and she has enjoyed pushing it around the room with a Superman figure serving as the engineer. 

Interactions with Others 

• She really has started to seek out others for play.  The other day we were enjoying a meal at a causal and empty cafe.  There was one other family with a 2-year-old who was playing under the table.  Q-ball was so excited to play with him, she finally pushed her food away and asked to go join him.  They play closely and rather cooperatively for quite awhile!  (Although her later description of the play was that he was "pushing" and "hitting" her.)

Interactions with Life 

• Q-ball has really gotten involved in personal life tasks.  After losing interest in dressing herself, she has again taken the riegns (with a little prodding from Mama.)  Yesterday, she dragged our dirty towel basket to the washing machine and filled the washing machine, so she could help Mama with laundry.  She's also taken out the drying rack and moved clothes from her closet to the rack to again help with laundry.

We are linking up with Vibrant Wanderings!  Check out what other kiddos are up to this week!

Watch Her Grow...

This Week's Focus: Emotional Regulation and Independence

Classic American photos- With Ronald McDonald's (messy weather has sent us to "inside parks") and hot dogs with a baseball game.

Interactions with Materials

• Q-ball has started working with her puzzles again.  I love that she is able to maintain or re-start interest in an object, even after mastering it.
• As I mentioned last week, she starting exploring shapes.  This has continued as she has gravitated towards her sorting and stacking toys.
• She is also loving playing with blocks.  She's working on creating tunnels and train stations for her cars and trains.

Interactions with Others 

• Like most kids her age, Q-ball is clearly very concerned about other children (or cats) touching her things.  When she sees another child approaching (or just standing on the other side of the room), she immediately turns to me and tells me that she is "scared that boy will touch my toys/books/rock/etc.)  However, she does clearly understand and accept the idea of taking turns.  In fact, she seems genuinely excited that she gets to "wait in line" for the slide or other park item.
• She still enjoys her personal time. The only way I could get her to agree to go to our park day this week was to explain that she did not have to play with the other children.  In a very pro-social fashion, she chanted, "me do not have to play with other kids" for the majority of our time at the park.
• We also had our first tea party for her bears.  She used the wooden cookies, doughnuts, and plates that Grandma and Grandpa gave her for Christmas.

Interactions with Life 

• Q-ball has started a "screaming" phase.  I think this is the second time it's happened.  I don't exactly remember the first one lasting all that long, which is a little uplifting.  High pitch noises while driving, during dinner, and while grocery shopping are not very life-giving.  
• Mama and Daddy often do our exercises (body weight strength training, stretching, yoga, etc.) at home in the morning, and Q-ball loves joining in.  She especially likes doing push-ups and is now very taken with jumping jacks as she observed the homeschool PE group doing them at the park this week.  And, she loves to randomly do yoga moves throughout the day.

We are linking up with Vibrant Wanderings!  Check out what other kiddos are up to this week!

Watch Her Grow...

This Week's Focus: Emotional Regulation and Independence

Still not able to upload pictures..if there is anyone about there more tech savvy than me, let me know if you can think of anything!


Interactions with Materials

•  Q-ball's primary source of independent play continues to be pretend play that involves her stuffed animals. This morning she spent most of her time in pushing them in "strollers" (a high chair, laundry basket, and step stool).  She still loves to have them participate in all aspects of life- potty, sleep, dressing, eating, car riding, reading and playing.
• We planted a small container garden a few months ago, and she now enjoys going to water her daises. 

Interactions with Others 

• Q-ball has continued to open up to others.  She is especially excited about play dates with two close friends.  She talks about her play afterwards for days. Yesterday she was especially excited to explore a "jungle" with the other kiddos.  As for kids that are less recognizable to her, she still gets excited and talks about the opprotunity to "play with mine friends," but as soon as these children approach her, she typically instantly shows her fear through crying, screaming, or just freezing in place.

Critical Thinking

• This week, we focused on learning shapes.  Q-ball very interested and quickly caught on to all of the shape words.  (Description of this 3-part lesson to come!)
• Like all toddlers, she's very interested in finding and establishing her own order.  One way she is doing this is through matching like items around the house. 

Interactions with Life 

• She has reached the stage where she can't seem to make up her mind.  She say, "I want Mama to do it!"   Only to immediately realize that she doesn't want Mama to have anything to do with anything.  Fortunately, this hasn't lead to too much emotional trauma for the family, but I can certainly see the potential.
• She is getting quite good at expressing her emotions.  She'll tell me if something makes her sad.  Sometimes she'll even emphasize the point by telling me "I have tears."  She leads a pretty tough life!

We are linking up with Vibrant Wanderings!  Check out what other kiddos are up to this week!

Watch Her Grow...

This Week's Focus: Language and Emotional Regulation

  Interactions with Materials

• No big changes on her likes and dislikes- stuffed animals for pretend play, puzzles, musical instruments.
• We are fortunate to have very supportive family members who often send photos of themselves to us as we do not live close by.  Q-ball loves these pictures!  I hang them on the refrigerator, and she often stands in front of them, naming everyone in the photos, and laughing at any stories she can recall.  She'll choose a few photos and carry them around the house with her or take in a car or stroller ride.

Interactions with Others 

• I am incredibly happy to announce that Q-ball's babysitting went very well last week!  Of course, the initial separation was difficult, and she continually stated that she wanted, "Mama and Daddy stay home!"  Apparently the first 30 minutes were rough, but then she was able to make some of Grandma's rolls with her sitter, play at a park, and continue some physical play at home.  When Mama and Daddy came home, she was so excited, it was hard to calm her down!  I don't expect our next separations to be problem-free, but I'm much more confident! 

Critical Thinking

• This week Q-ball experimented with the words "might" and "maybe."  It's funny to hear her use the words- not because she uses them incorrectly, but because she sounds so grown up!  Daddy was reading a book with her the other day and was trying to make a small object in one of the pictures, and Q-ball stated, "It might be a train."  Or, when I was looking for yet another lost object in the car the other day, she said, "Maybe it's in Mama's pocket."

Interactions with Life 

• Q-ball had a very exciting weekend- she was able to watch her Daddy in an obstacle-course race.  While we were watching, she was clearly a bit confused about all the fuss, and was very confused about why she couldn't go swimming in all the water.  We thought her favorite part of the day was getting to ride a "skool bus."  But, by the next day, she was gleefully re-telling stories of the day about Daddy "jump in ice water" and "getting muddy dirty!" 
• At nearly 22 weeks of pregnancy, I believe that I have stopped producing milk.  Q-ball seems to be taking it in stride. So far, she still tries to nurse, but gives up very quickly unless she is comfort nursing after dealing with some tough emotions.  Her nursing has declined in recent months, and some days she only nurses 3 or 4 times, so we'll see how this affects things.
• She continues to be very excited about the baby coming.  When we were loading up to go to Daddy's race, with all of the excitement and differences in our travel (we got to each a special breakfast in the car!), she concluded that the "baby come out of Mama's tummy."  A bit more time still!

We are linking up with Vibrant Wanderings!  Check out what other kiddos are up to this week!

Watch Her Grow...

This Week's Focus: Language and Emotional Regulation

  Interactions with Materials

• Q-ball remains very interested in pretend play.  Her animals tend to do everything she does around the house. It's really fun to watch, especially when she is clearly having a great time with the games.  She often will just start laughing by herself in the midst of play.
• Puzzles also continue to keep her attention.  On a recent trip to visit family, she enjoyed playing with a puzzle that allowed her to use a fishing pole to pick up all of the pieces with her great-grandfather.

Interactions with Others 

• Tonight marks another period of separation for Q-ball.  A family friend will again come and play with her while Mama and Daddy are out.  The parents are again very nervous about the separation, and from the conversations I've had with Q-ball, I think she's in denial.  Hopefully, she'll soon learn to have fun without Mama or Daddy.

  

  I entered the living room one day and found Q-ball had set this up to read to her rabbits.

  
  

Critical Thinking

• This age is wonderful as we can now have full conversations with Q-ball.  She is really enjoying making analogies, comparing behavior between Mama or Daddy, or explaining that her stuffed animals are doing things just like her.  I'm constantly amazed at the connections made.

Interactions with Life 

• She is now in the full blown "do-it-herself" phase.  I have added about 20-30 minutes unto each planned outing as this is how long it takes to get her to get herself into her shoes, carseat, close her own car door, etc, etc.  Or, calm down any tantrum that is caused by my ill-timed assistance.  "No, no- me!" is the most common phrase in the house right now.  Last night, she was actually saying this in her sleep.
• As she is trying to work through emotions that are much bigger than she is, she is very observant of others' emotions.  She'll often watch me and say, "Mama happy" or "Mama mad" (it happens...), or watch a crying baby and say, "baby sad."

 An Announcement
    In other news in Q-ball's life, she is very excited to be expecting a new baby brother in late August or early September.  She loves reading books about new babies and is very excited about explaining how she is going to help Mama with the baby and that she is ready to share so many things with the baby (her water, her clothes, her potty.)  Hopefully, she's able to hold on to the excitement for another 4 and a half months!

Watch Her Grow- 2 Years Old!

  Last week, Q-ball turned two!  She was very excited about her birthday, quickly realizing it was an occasion when even more attention than usual would be showered her way.  When asked how she wanted to celebrate, she replied, "Ride boat."  So, we found one of the closest boat rides and headed that way on birthday morning.  Daddy even treated us to doughnuts!  After returning from the trip, we told Q-ball it was time for her nap.  She looked at us like us like we must be a little confused and said, "me birthday."  I guess you don't have to take naps on your birthday.   That afternoon, we met a few friends at the park and enjoyed some of Q-ball's favorite foods: her Grandma's recipe for rolls combined with Oma's classic pigs-in-a-blanket, mac & cheese, hummus with veggies, strawberries and blueberries, and, of course, cake and ice cream (although she didn't actually eat any cake once the blueberries made it onto her ice cream!)

With Easter and her birthday in the same weekend, Q-ball got her fill of sugar.

As I did at 18 Months, I'll list Q-ball's currently favorite things.

• Books!
• Blueberries
• Oatmeal
• Ice Cream
• Larabars and dates
• Swings at any park
• Stuffed animals (she really attached to the Easter Bunny and has been very attached to bunny toys the past few days)
• Balls
• Anything musical- instruments, singing, listening to music
• Running around with Daddy

 We are linking up with Vibrant Wanderings.  See what the other kiddos are up to here! 

Watch Her Grow...

Bear sitting with us at the table. Q-ball wanted to make sure he had kombucha to drink- not sure all bears are the lucky!

This Week's Focus: Language and Practical Life

  Interactions with Materials

• For the past two weeks, Q-ball has been deeply involved in pretend play. Her stuffed animals (and a few of mine from childhood!) are invovled in nearly all parts of our life. I'm asked to fix them plates at mealtimes while Q-ball makes sure they are comfy in their chairs; they sleep with us; they wear our clothes and shoes; they go on stroller rides; they take baths in a little bath tub that an aunt gave us; and, of course, they sit on the potty!
• We are gearing up for Easter, so Q-ball has loved reading her books about bunnies and eggs. I have included some books about the actual Easter celebration in our mix, but this, of course, just don't seem as interesting.  

Interactions with Others 

• Q-ball continues to slowly open up to others.  She played with another child at the park for a few minutes yesterday and was excited about the attention.  But, after about 2 minutes, was ready to move on.  And, then refuse to have another mother push her on the swing. Small steps.
• Q-ball does continue to get excited about seeing her closest friends, a set of twins.  We went to dinner with them last night, and I talked with her about ways we can say hi to people when we first meet them.  I didn't think she was listening to me, especially as it was snack time, but, to my surprise, she immediately went up to them and tried to shake their hands when we first saw them!

Critical Thinking

• Q-ball's sentences are growing incredibly complex! The other morning the first statement out of her mouth was "Mama wash Daddy lightening bolt shirt so Daddy wear it right now."
• It's funny to hear the phrases she is picking up.  Certainly makes me think about when I use these phrases.  Some favorites- "right now!" "Keep your eyes peeled." (Very important when looking for choo-choos when driving.) "Beep! Beep!" (efforts to teach excuse me have not paid off...)

Interactions with Life 

• Still focusing on putting on and taking off her own clothes.  We introduced the "Montessori way," and she loves doing it! 
• The other night, Q-ball couldn't sleep (DST was not made by someone with toddlers.) So, after nearly 2 hours, Mama tapped out, and Daddy came to play.  He told Q-ball that she was a "goofball," and Q-ball thinks it's the funniest thing ever. Now, she'll randomly throw herself on the ground with her legs up and say, "I'm a goofball! I'm a goofball!"

We are linking up with Vibrant Wanderings!  Check out what the other kiddos are up to!

Watch Her Grow...

This Week's Focus: Language and Emotional Intelligence
Over the past week, it seems my little girl has really entered a new toddler phase.  We had several days of 3 more or major tantrums, no matter what I did.  These seemed to be do to her inability to sleep- perhaps because there was just too much going on in her growing mind.  But, this new phase also ushered in some very, very concentrated play, which I'll discuss below...

 

  Interactions with Materials

• So far, her concentrated play has centered on stacking or unpacking.  Some of the activities she practiced this week- she self-checked out 8 books at the library for almost 20 minutes, carefully stacking each after scanning; she laid all of Mama's cupcake holder around the kitchen and then re-stacked (most) of them; she has removed and replaced entire shelves of our bookshelves at home. 
• Of course, stacking involves blocks!  These are items that I rarely remove from her toy rotation as she always finds something new to do with them.  
• Like blocks, Q-ball has always loved her stacking tree ring, although I think it is supposedly aimed at children younger than her.  With this new interest in stacking, I quickly again brought out her rings. 

Interactions with Others 

•  Q-ball seems to have found her first real friends- a set of twins.  She practices saying their names, and she is excited to learn when we are going to meet them.  She loves showing them new toys or tricks, and even held the little girl's hand to when they were walking to watch a band at the market this past weekend.

Critical Thinking

• Q-ball's language skills are always growing.  She can express very complex ideas- describing what makes her happy and working to fill Daddy in on all of the details of her day.
• This week she seemed to really be practicing prepositions- on, off, in, out, on.

Interactions with Life 

• Q-ball is really increasingly focusing on doing more and more herself, especially when it comes to getting dressed.  She really wants to put on and off her own clothing and shoes.

We are linking up with Vibrant Wanderings!  Check out what the other kiddos are up to!

Watch Her Grow...

This Week's Focus: Language and Emotional Intelligence

  Interactions with Materials

• As I've discussed previously, Q-ball loves to push her umbrella stroller.  She now pretty much never rides in it- just pushes it around our small neighborhood as I walk next to her.  As we don't have sidewalks, this provides an excellent learning opprotunity for walking safely in the road...and a really big opprotunity for Mama to strengthen her patient muscles.  
• About two weeks ago, we gave Q-ball her dinner knife (part of a set of small silverware) for the first time.  She was very excited and quickly started to attempt to use it while carefully observing Mama and Daddy.  She now asks for a knife at most mealtimes.
• We have a small boombox set up in Q-ball's area, and she loves asking for us to turn on the music so she can dance along.  I'm surprised it's taken so long, but she is now working to figure out the buttons for herself- hopefully she'll be able to start and stop the music on her own soon.

We attended the stock show again this year- look how much she's grown by comparing these pictures to those from last year!

Interactions with Others 

• I think she is starting to try to initiate play with other children her age.  Of course, her social skills still need a bit of work.  At this point, she just runs up to other toddlers and then a short distance away and then toward them again, and repeat a few times.  A little like a dog trying to get your attention.  She hasn't had much success yet, but I'm sure she'll figure it out.
• She does have some guts in social situation.  The other day at the park, while I was sitting a short distance away, an older boy (around 8 or 9) was trying to kick her off of the swing.  Q-ball stood up, but held on to the swing and just said, "no, no, no," while pointing him to the slides.  He continued to try until he saw me watching.  Why don't kids pick on people their own size?

Critical Thinking

• Q-ball has loved stacking blocks and other shapes in the past, but this week she worked to expand her skills and stack plates and bowls during her snack time. 
  

Interactions with Life 

• Potty-learning success continued.  We've had only one daytime accident all week- even while out and about.  And, Q-ball completely surprised me on Tuesday by sitting on the potty and even pooping!  More glorious potty details to come in an upcoming post dedicated to early potty learning.

We are linking up with Vibrant Wanderings!  Check out what the other kiddos are up to!

Watch Her Grow...

This Week's Focus: Language and Emotional Intelligence

  Interactions with Materials

• Q-ball has continued to love music class. She is inspired to find drums and drumsticks everywhere.  At the park, she uses sticks to bang on different materials and listen to the different noises that surface makes.  I'm proud to have such an explorer!
• Perhaps it's largely my lack of artistic ability that affects my presentation of the activities, but Q-ball has yet to express too much interest in art.  But, she has really started to like playing with stickers.  Daddy's Valentine consisted almost entirely of smiley face stickers.  And, she has taken it a set beyond and started to like temporary tattoos (I love the way she says the word!) Mama currently is sporting a temporary dog tattoo- she lead me to believe that we would get matching tattoos, but she later backed out. :(
• Her great-grandparents gave her a rocking chair for and early birthday gift.  She has been very excited about using it!  She went with me to pick it out, and she also excited to re-tell the story of "buy rock-rock."

Interactions with Others 

• The few separations that Q-ball has endured recently have led to some increased attachment.  She is not at all interested in leaving Mama and Daddy again to go to the nursery.  Any separation from Mama leads to tears and stress, even though all of these separations have been with Daddy.  But, after the stress passes, she has really started to love her Daddy dates!  (But, this does seem to mean that parental dreams of a date have been put on the back burner.)

Critical Thinking

• As has been the case over the past few weeks and will no doubt continue to be the case, she learns new words every day.  I think what interests me is that she is excited to try new words she hears (light bulb was yesterday's), but doesn't try to use words that she uses every day for which she still uses signs or other sounds. For example, she hasn't tried to say any animal names and, instead, sticks to using the sounds they make.  Another common phrase around the house, "clean up", continues to be "di da!"
  

Interactions with Life 

• Potty-learning finally hit it's "got it" day about two weeks ago, and we rarely have any accidents at home.  She won't go and sit on the potty herself, but she might ask me to read her a book, or she'll start holding herself or cross her legs.  So, we just move to the potty and success!  Poop and nighttime are still to be mastered, so we'll see how those go!

We are linking up with Vibrant Wanderings!  Check out what the other kiddos are up to!

Watch Her Grow...

So, a child that has decided to regularly forgo or shorten naps has hampered blog updates, but we did want to send an update today to say, "Happy Valentine's Day!" and share a current photo as it has been awhile.

We coordinated a toddler Valentine exchange, which was excitingly successful.  As you can see, however, Q-ball wore herself out...not enough to continue her nap at home, but enough to need ten 10 minutes of rest in the car...

Watch Her Grow...

This Week's Focus: Language

  Interactions with Materials

• Q-ball and I are currently participating in a small music class, and she is loving it!  She talks about it all week before we get to go.  She has loved playing with the rhythm sticks, drums, and- most awesome of all- the parachute game.

Interactions with Others 

• Last week held some major changes in Q-ball's dealings with others and with overcoming separation anxiety.  She told us that she wanted to go to the nursery during church, and then she just did it!  She really enjoyed playing with the other children and especially the toys.  When we picked her up, she was obviously happy for the reunion and needed some time to decompress and think about everything, but overall it was a good experience!
• And, Q-ball stayed with her first non-family caretaker for about 30 minutes the other night. Mama and Daddy have a no-kids-allowed meeting coming up, and we are working to prepare Q-ball for the event. Again, she was ready for the reunion, but seemed to handle everything as well as can be expected.

Interactions with Life 

• Q-ball has started her own her fashion trend- she can't seem to decide if she prefers her mouse socks or train socks, so, while the days start with her wearing a single pair of socks, the day ends with her wearing one of each.  

We are linking up with Vibrant Wanderings!  Check out what the other kiddos are up to!

Watch Her Grow...

This Week's Focus: Language

She's loved pushing her shape sorting shapes around with a front loader.

  Interactions with Materials

• In this section, I typically fail to mention materials that we work with outside- which is a rather gaping hole as I try to ensure we get some time outdoors everyday.  At the park, Q-ball loves the swings- she have me push her on the swing forever while she stares at all of the other children. At her age, staring is not yet rude, just educational, so I figured she's getting lots of learning in.  She also loves swinging from and climbing monkey bars and riding the horses that rock.
• Also outside, she loves pushing around an umbrella stroller that we have for her.  While I can't stand the lack of mobility that thing has, she loves taking it over curbs and saying, "bump...bump....bump.."
• Back inside, we've continued reading lots of books, playing with bubbles, and stacking blocks (not to mention throwing and knocking them down...)

Interactions with Others 

• Q-ball is clearly becoming increasingly cognizant of emotions.  At home, we work to explaining the emotions she is likely feeling to her, and I always try to tell her how I'm feeling. While she is staring at others at the park, she's clearly registering their feelings, and when we are driving home, she'll tell me, "baby happy...baby happy..." or say, "baby" and then start crying or yelling to indicate sad or mad.
• She seems to respond to the power of persuasion.  While I've mentioned here on several occasions that she is often very timid around other children and adults, I've noticed that if I tell her we are going to meet "friends" she is excited about the trip and seeks out her "friends" with which to play once we arrive.  Today she spent a playgroup playing with a "friend" she'd only met a few times before- even accepting his hugs! 

Critical Thinking 

• Q-ball's love of music has been mentioned previously, but this week we were shocked when all of a sudden she started doing the hand motions for some of her favorite songs from storytime!  While she loves storytime, she rarely jumps up with the other kids to dance or do hand motions- I didn't even know she was watching them.  But, I guess she was actually picking up everything!

Interactions with Life 

• Q-ball has clearly passed the 50 word limit that I discussed in this post. She is picking up new words and phrases everyday- I certainly have to work to keep up as she hasn't perfected her pronunciation yet. When Daddy comes home from work, she'll often use her new words with him, and I'll have to serve as the translator.  

Finally, I haven't posted a Science Friday is quite some time.  One reason is that I'm short on topics!  I didn't think it was possible, but when I do think of a question and I try to research, it seems to go nowhere.  So, if you, dear reader, have any questions that you've always wanted researched or wonder about something you see in your child, let me know, and I can try to do the work for you! We are linking up with Vibrant Wanderings!  Check out what the other kiddos are up to!